One of the things I’d wanted to come to Hawaii for was a chance to get away from people because, in general, I don’t like them and don’t want to be around them.

What better way to do that than to go to an isolated beach? And what better beach for that than one the guide book introduces like this:

If you have a 4WD (and your fillings are tight), you can take the nasty road from the highway between the 88 and 89 marker. It’ll take you just north of the beach before a gate forces you to walk like the rest of us dogs.

With those directions in hand this morning we headed out for Makalawena Beach, just north of Kekaha Kai State Park, in our trusty 4WD.

Note to readers: You should not blaze any trails in a Trailblazer. As it turned out, they were not kidding when they called the road nasty. It was terrible! Though we had rented a 4WD, as suggested, we bottomed out quite a few times. Good thing they don’t check under the car for damage when you turn it in…

The reward for our ride of terror was well worth the effort. The beach was relatively uncrowded and absolutely gorgeous. The water showed several amazing shades of blue, as the photos show. I swear to you that I did no color maniupulation in Photoshop; this is how it really was!

We spent most of our time at Makalawena playing in a protected cove. The waves would break about 20-40 feet off shore thanks to some rough rocks and then dribble into a shallow pool. Emma and Henry both had a blast playing in the pebbled sand.

The nearby “hill” is Puu Kuili, a 340 foot high cinder cone. The “mountain” in the distance is Hualalai, a 8200 foot volcano that errupted most reacently in 1800. The airport is, in fact, built on top of a flow from 1801. Everywhere you turn here, there’s lava!