Jan 19, 2020. We did a lot of southernmost things today.
We attended St. Jude’s Episcopal, the southernmost of the denomination in the USA. They had some hula as part of the service, as a sendoff to Cordelia and Richard, who were stepping down from their longstanding duties. Someone recalled a Machete-like quote from Cordelia: “If not me, then why not me?”
After a bit of lunch at the church, we checked in at a new AirBnb. This new one was above the road in Ocean View, and more rustic.
The toilet is outside. This is inconvenient, since the path to it includes a short step on sharp rocks. It’s chilly at night at this altitude, but at least that stops the mosquitoes.The cabin doesn’t have internet, but a complimentary toilet warmer is included.
The rest of the day was available, so we decided to drive to South Point, the southernmost point in the United States. I’d never been there. That is, the southernmost place in an actual state. American Samoa certainly is further south than South Point, Hawaii.
Wind turbines near South Point.
At first, we went to the Green Sand Beach parking lot. It was a 90-minute hike down to the water. There were people with ATVs offering to take us down for $20 each. I decided that green sand was nothing special. We drove over to another site, where people were jumping off the 40-foot cliffs.
This is the ladder to climb back up to the platform, which swimmers were saying was scarier than the jump itself.This picture looking down the ladder doesn’t capture the distance down.Doesn’t look so bad from this angle.Can you tell I’m gripping the railing for dear life?There was also a blow hole that people said could be jumped into. This was even worse, as I could see lots of rocks at the bottom, and one would have to hit the water, hoping for high tide and a fill wave. Nobody was jumping into it.This is the southernmost bakery in the United States.Coconut bread pudding was out of this world. Notice that I’m still wearing the shell welcome lei from church, clearly identifying me as a tourist. As if the long pants and tucked-in shirt aren’t enough as clues.Stacy, our host at the present AirBnB. She cans things, including tuna with no flavorings or preservatives.Stacy gave Ahmad a shopping bag of lilikoi, which we have been enjoying.
