On the Dole

After an invigorating swim at the beach a block away, we four (Cam, Syd, Doug and I) drove our rented car  to the western part of the island, missed yesterday.  En route, we discovered a charming little coffee shop, that had a demo mini coffee plantation at the back and that gave out free samples (Dixie cups) of their very good coffee. (And also free advice about treating asthma with grated ginger, but I didn't catch the details, so don't try it!)
Next stop was the Dole Plantation - the largest pineapple plantation in the world.  It is complete with a train (Pineapple Express, natch), a garden tour, and a cafe that served a very delicious Dole-Whip Cone.  It is the kind of attraction that was probably a very big deal in the 1950s.  Perhaps a little tired in the Millennium, and if any of you should go, skip the audio tour of the gardens -TMI.  You could drown in all the facts and figures they figuratively throw at you from your audio-phone.
As we headed back to Honolulu, we found  Haleiwa, a funky ex-sugar plantation town, rediscovered in the late '60s by hippies.  It happens the novel I am reading takes place, in part, in this historic town.
It is Cam & Syd's last evening, so we went out for a nice Italian dinner across the road.