wiemea

Once I reached HWY 19, I headed inland to Wiamea, a town in the Northern interior of the big island. This drive was spectacular. The beautiful landscape reminded me of the rolling hills of Ireland. One of my favorite places on earth.

I arrived in the small town of Waimea about 12:30, in time for lunch at a Restaurant that I had heard about: 

Merriman's. I was very interested in trying this place because it is said to be one of the original "hawaiian cusine" restaurant. The owner and chef, Peter Merriman buy 90% of his meats and organic vegetables from local farmer and ranchers.  For me, buying Locally and knowing where you food originates is a high prioriety. I started off with a fresh organic salad with dill dressing, it was amazing. The hierloom yellow tomatoes were quite possibly the best I have ever had. I thought of ordering a plate of tomatoes (and my thoughts on tomatoes is like what my grand-nieces would about other things: "Their not my favorite"). But instead of plate of tomatoes I had fresh local grilled Mai Mai  with a buttery lilikoi sauce and stir fried veggies and one more slice of that wonderful tomato. Praise God for our senses and the wonderful things He has created to satisfy them. The only thing missing was one of you to share it with. (Food is such a community thing and I guess that's why I'm sharing this with you now.). If I would have gone back to the hotel from there, my day would have been complete. But I continued on with my adventure. The day was just getting started!