While living in Hawaii, one of my goals is to visit every main Hawaiian island that’s open to tourists. As of October 2021, I’ve visited Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and Lanai. Dan and I decided to visit Molokai over Indigenous People’s Day Weekend to check off another from the list. Our Itinerary Saturday We booked flights on Mokulele Airlines at 6 AM on Saturday, October 9. Like my trip to Lanai, the flights left out of Terminal 3 at Daniel K. Inouye Airport (HNL). So, we got there early, found a parking spot, and checked at the tiny desk. It was great knowing that I could leave my car just a few steps from the tarmac, and it would be waiting for me when we arrived back at the airport on Monday. Our flight landed at 6:36 AM on Molokai. We arranged for a 7:00 AM pick-up from the airport with our rental car. We rented our car for the weekend through Molokai Outdoor Activities. The only car they had available was a minivan, so Dan had the pleasure of driving that all weekend. They also do other island tours and activities around the island, but we opted to take it easy and do the weekend on our own. After we got our vehicle, we went into town, which is small compared to just about everywhere’s standards. We ate at Kanemitsu’s Bakery and Coffee Shop, which became our favorite breakfast spot for the next three days. It was a typical local diner and had absolutely delicious breakfast options. If you visit, get the French toast. The bread is to die for! After breakfast, we drove over to the west side of the island. To me, this resembled Lanai more than any other island. It was drier and had the same red clay look that Lanai had. We drove out to one of the beaches on the west side of the island and saw an insane rainbow but weren’t quick enough to capture it on camera. It’s always insane to me how quickly the rainbows can fade, but this was one of the most vibrant I’ve seen in all my time in Hawaii. A picture of a rainbow I captured over the airport (not the super vivid rainbow I saw on the beach) The emptiest and most expansive beach I've ever seen in Hawaii At this point, it was still only about 9 AM, and both Dan and I were tired from our 4 AM wake-up. Dan called over to Hotel Molokai where we were staying to see if we could get an early check-in. Fortunately, they had availability, and we were able to drive over and nap for a little while to get our energy back up. When we woke up, we headed back to the west side of the island because Dan was hoping to swim at the beach over there. While Molokai is similar in length to Oahu, it was only about 20 minutes to get from the center of the island where we were staying to the west side. Few cars were on the roads, and we never encountered any traffic. For dinner, we ate at Hotel Molokai’s restaurant called Hiro’s Ohana Grill. I had read before traveling that this was among the best restaurants on the island (not that there are many to choose from). Dan walked over when we arrived to make sure we could get a table for that night. We got the best table on the ocean, and we were really pleased with both the service and the meal. We ended up returning for the next night as well, and we highly recommend this as a dining spot if you decide to visit Molokai! Sunday On Sunday, we had yet another leisurely day upon us. After breakfast at Kanemitsu’s, we decided to head to the east side of the island to check out Father Damien’s churches and Halawa Valley. Unlike the west side of the island, I thought the east side of the island resembled Maui and the Road to Hana. Father Damien was a Catholic priest who is considered a “martyr of charity.” He led a ministry in Molokai for people with Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy). During his time in the Kingdom of Hawaii, Father Damien taught the Catholic faith, established leaders within the community to build houses, schools, roads, hospitals, and churches, and cared for patients by dressing their ulcers, digging graves, making coffins, and eating poi with them. He was a figure who provided both medical and emotional support. After 11 years of serving the community physically, spiritually, and emotionally, Father Damien contracted leprosy himself and died in 1889. He is now the patron saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii. There are six churches on the island of Molokai. We were able to visit two; although, this didn’t include the church Father Damien himself is buried at. That church is located on a portion of the island that is generally closed to visitors to protect vulnerable populations. Saint Joseph Church Interior of Saint Joseph Church Our Lady of Seven Sorrows - built by Father Damien After our stops at the churches, we headed on to Halawa Valley. This was one part of the trip that didn’t go as either of us anticipated. We were both hoping to do the short hike to the waterfall in Halawa Valley. This is a hike that you need a guide to do. I originally read it’s because the land is sacred. However, our hotel concie
