Successful Vacation - Friday

May 31, 2008

Time to go home, booooo. This was an excellent vacation! We did a lot, saw new places and didn't spend all of our hard earned cash (always a plus). We did discover that this is where we are going to live someday, hopefully sooner rather than later. The flights home were uneventful. Not one crying baby which is amazing. J was waiting for us at the airport right on time. Had that long drive back home from S.D. with our captive audience. No place to run from all the boring vacation stories! While we hated to leave Hawaii, it was nice to get back home, at least temporarily until we can figure out a way to move. We had been away from home for so long that the cats were freaked out that there were people in the house. Anyway, the plotting begins! Wish us luck!

Kauai Bound - Thursday

May 29 2008

Had breakfast then Matt went for a run. I grabbed the camera and went for a stroll. I was going to go past the Sheraton but decided to go over to Poipu Beach Park instead. I am glad that I did. Just between the park and the Marriott there was a monk seal asleep on the beach! I knew when I left the condo that I was going to have to charge up the battery when I got back since we had not done that since the first night in Kauai. I got about 5 shots of the seal before the camera died. Luckily I had my cell so I took a few with that as well. Went back to the condo to wait for Matt. We grabbed our snorkel gear and headed back over to the park. We were surprised that the seal was still there. Some jackass and his kid were inside the ropes walking up to the seal like idiots. Apparently barriers are for other people. Again snorkeling was just average here. I took a few pics of fish that we hadn't seen on any of the other islands. I tried to save the last shot on the camera because I just knew that the seal was going to swim past me at any moment. No such luck. By the time we were done snorkeling the seal was still lounging. in the perfect Kauai sun. Maybe 15 minutes after we got out, the seal decided it was time to leave. It swam out the opposite direction of where we had been snorkeling so it didn't matter that I used up the last shot on the camera. Back to the condo for lunch and a shower. Then we drove up to the tree tunnel to take pictures. Stopped at Koloa Fish Market for our plate lunch and the wine shop for a 6 pack of beer from Maui Brewing. After a short nap we went over to the shopping center and bought Matt a baseball cap at Crazy Shirts. We read for a little while then went over to the Sheraton for cocktails and to watch the sunset. Matt had a couple beers and I had 2 Na Palis which were Midori, Malibu and guava juice. Back home to watch a little TV and wish that we were not going back home the next day!

Kauai Bound - Wednesday

May 28 2008

Yummy sausage and cheese english muffins for breakfast. Then we went to the Beach House to snorkel. There was a good variety of fish but the current was really strong as well as a little choppy. It was also very murky and the coral was mostly rubble. Lesson learned this trip is snorkeling is better on Hawaii and even Maui than it is on Kauai. Maybe others have had a better experience but we did not. We decided that we would go over to Shipwrecks Beach which is next to the Hyatt. So glad that we didn't spend the money to stay there. I would have been really disappointed if this was the beach that I got stuck at. Way too dangerous shore break for swimming. But I guess if you are staying at the Hyatt you are probably lounging by the pool with the cocktail waitress coming around every so often. The scenery is gorgeous here though so don't count it out. The end of the beach near the cliffs gives off a 'locals beach' vibe. Don't know that I would hang there on the weekend. We hiked up the cliff which is called Makawehi Bluff. The view from here is stunning. We took at ton of pics here. It was starting to warm up so we headed back to the beach. We laid our stuff out on the grass at the park there and hung out under the palm trees to cool off before heading back to the condo. We took a trip into Koloa to see what time the fish market closed since that was our plan for dinner the next day. We bought a couple of trinkets to take back home. Came back to get ready for dinner at Keoki's which is the same as Duke's back home and Kimo's on Maui. I had the best monchong Keoki's style while Matt had the ono cooked the same way. Of course we had to have Hula Pie. Although it was not the best one we have had, I will say it again this stuff is evil. We also did a little shopping for shirts. Back on our side of the road just in time for the best sunset of the trip. Watched Top Chef then hit the sheets.

Kauai Bound - Tuesday

May 27 2008

Up at 6am to make the trek up to Tunnels for snorkeling. On the road by 7:45. We ran into traffic and rain between Kipu and Puhi. Both cleared up on the north side of Lihue. Perfectly gorgeous scenery this morning. I told Matt that this is what the phrase "awe inspiring" was meant for. This is truly the most beautiful place I have ever been. As you get closer to Hanalei you start running into one lane bridges. This is interesting. You can definitely tell the locals from the tourists when you come across them. The tourists look a little confused. Luckily we had read earlier how to negotiate these and did just fine. It was the others that we had to worry about! The beaches along the North Shore are stunning. We finally made it to our destination. We had already decided that we would not get to Tunnels in time to get one of the limited spaces so we parked at Ha'ena Beach Park and walk up the beach to Tunnels. This turned out to be quite a hike. Maybe half a mile and walking in sand, as you know, is hard. If you walk in the shade the sand is really soft and that makes it difficult. If you walk along the water line the sand is more course which can be hard on the feet. So if you go, be forewarned! On the way out, we did see some people walking along the road. That may be the way to go. Before setting out we walked across the street to check out Mahinolo Dry Cave. It was pretty cool. Of course there is a legend attached to this place as well-The name Maniniholo comes from a legendary head fisherman of Kauai's mythical little people, the Menehune. Ha'ena was a productive fishing ground for the Menehune. Traditionally, fishermen divided the catch, leaving half under the cliff at the site of the dry cave. The remaining half was carried to other Menehunes who lived in the island's interior. One day, the story goes, an evil spirit made off with the fish left at the cave. The fishermen went after the culprit. One team climbed to the top of the cliff and began digging down. The other worked up from the base. The result is the Maniniholo Cave. Anyway, back to the beach. Snorkeling itself was just ok. Not a lot of fish and the water wasn't real clear. I guess we were just spoiled by Two Step on the Big Island. There were a lot of scuba divers out and they said they had seen a shark. So of course, we headed over to were we had seen then come up. No luck yet again. We decided this may just be the island for beaches, sunsets and hiking but not snorkeling. We did the hot walk back to the car. We bought a shave ice and banana chips from the truck in the lot. No ice cream at the bottom and more of a snow cone consistancy than a true shave ice. Way too chunky but it was cold and refreshing. We drove to the end of the road at Ke'e Beach since we had planned on hiking part of the Na Pali trail. What a cluster f***! People just walking in front of your car like they are special and no place to park. The parking lot is one giant pot hole. I felt like we needed a 4 wheel drive. We figured that if the lot was this bad, the trail would just be impossible even if half of those people were going to the beach. Now that we know the snorkeling isn't worth it, we left that hike for another trip. Next time we will just go there straight away. We stopped in Hanalei and took pics of a really cute church. Our next photo op was at a turnout on the other side of Hanalei. You can see up the valley and there is all this taro growing. In Kapa'a we had to make the obligatory stop at the ABC Store. I had been looking forward to this the whole trip and nothing. Not one cool thing to buy. Walked over to Safeway. Since it is the same as Von's back home, I felt a little homesick. Funny that until then I hadn't really been thinking about home. We ate lunch, showered and then read for awhile. Matt finished his book so we walked over to Whalers. They didn't have anything that struck his fancy, so the only thing we bought was coffe since we were out. I dragged Matt into the Sand People store. They have really cute things. Matt kept picking things out for "our new place on Hawaii", especially the "Beach House" sign. Matt said he would buy it for me but already there is no extra room in the suitcase. I decided to track it down online from home. We watched a little of the free Polynesian show then went home. Hot dogs for dinner then another gorgeous sunset followed by the rest of Harry Potter.

Kauai Bound - Monday

May 26 2008

Back to Waimea Canyon. We stopped at the Pu'u Ka Pele lookout and took some pictures of Waipo'o Falls. Damn, they are tall! We didn't see Pele's Footprint though. We continued on to Kalalau Valley lookout. Clear skys today. The view is absolutely amazing! You could see all the way to Ni'ihau although there was a little bit of haze. After we took some pictures there we drove to the Pu'u O Kila Lookout. This is even more spectacular! There was a group of older men going on the 7 mile Pihea Trail. More power to 'em. Maybe next trip. We ended up doing about 1.5 miles and that is a very rough estimate. We turned back since we weren't really prepared other than having our hiking boots in the car. We had very little water and I left my inhaler back at the condo. Also, no sunscreen or OFF and there were a ton of bugs. We took a ton of pictures on the trail. When we got back to the condo Matt noticed that one of the pictures has what looks like the ghost of a headless Hawaiian warrior standing in the middle of the trail. I am now officially creeped out. We have had a lot of stuff like that on the camera this trip. I don't know if it is dust on the lens at times or what but it is freaking me out. Maybe that is the spirits of Hawaii telling Matt that it is time for a new camera(hint, hint). After our second long, hot hike of the trip we have to stop at Jo Jo's, of course. I decided that I was not going to chicken out and order the Halo Halo this time. Just my luck they were really busy the day before and are out of half the ingredients to make it. I ended up with the usual but this time we had our own. No sharing! After we got home it was time to go in search of the garlic shrimp truck on Lawai Road. It was parked right in front of Prince Kuhio Park. It was really busy. Popped into Whalers for beer to wash it down. Matt wasn't hot on the shrimp so I made him a sammich. After lunch Matt went for a run while I sat on the lanai and read. I am sure you are noticing a pattern of Matt being good and working out while I am very bad and NOT working out. Whatever! We took a quick dip in the ocean. It was very refreshing. Finally a shower then some quick grub. We walked over to the little park area betwen the Sheraton and the Plantation to watch the sunset. They were doing the luau at the Sheraton so it was really nice. Watched part of Harry Potter afterwards. We are such the party animals. Then it was off to bed.

Kauai Bound - Sunday

May 25 2008

Woo Hoo Laundry Day!! I can't tell if this is an advantage or not to renting a condo. On one hand you can pack less, on the other you are doing laundry on vacation. We figured after the previous day's heat and crankiness, we would have a 'laze around' day. No real agenda other than minimal sun and very little driving. We went into Koloa to pick up gear at Snorkel Bob's. We walked around town a little. As we passed Lapperts Ice Cream we had to go in, it smelled just like Main Street at Disneyland. Wow, 2 Disney references in one vacation. After stopping in Kauai ATV we decided that we would skip the excursions on this trip, especially since we needed to buy a new stove once we got back home. We ate a lunch of sandwiches, Maui onion potato chips and Kona beer on the lanai while perusing the real estate ads. We absolutley cannot afford to live in Kauai. Then it was time for a short nap. Its good to be on Hawaiian time!! Our short nap turned out to be an hour. Made a couple of iced coffees to perk up then headed out to the beach. The water was perfect. There were a ton of little kids out. Not too many to be annoying which was good. We hung out for a while then Matt went to go get us drinks. After another dip in the ocean we were done. Showered and lounged on the lanai the rest of the afternoon. One of our neighbors in the next building had a small trampoline that their grandson (who appeared to be 2ish) would play on. Not really interesting in itself until you hear your husband say "Hey, there is a little naked boy on a trampoline next door". So of course, the rest of the trip he was always referred to as 'little naked boy' even if he had clothes on. After dinner of burritos we went to sit on the grass next to the beach to watch the sunset. We took some good pics. There was a crane in the hedge next to where we were sitting that was just gorging on geckos. Back inside after sunset to read and catch up writing in my journal. Early bed so we could get an early start to the Kalalau Lookout before the clouds roll in.

Kauai Bound - Saturday

May 24 2008

It is hard to believe that we have been gone this long and still have 6 full days left! We took a walk this morning down to Poipu Beach Park. We watched the surfers and a guy out throw net fishing. I am always fascinated watching them do this. I can't imagine having the patience to do it. As we were walking across the park to walk over to Nukumoi Surf Shop to check snorkle gear prices, Matt found a wallet laying in the grass. It was empty except for the ID. We left it on the lifeguard tower since the lifeguard wasn't there yet. If nothing else the guy gets his ID back. The surf shop was closed so we walked down to Brenneke's to check out the food prices. No way am I paying $10 for nachos!! Matt went for a run after we got back to the condo. There was still so much sand all over from the previous day that I swept the floor and cleaned up the place a bit. I went down to the beach hut for fresh towels just in case. Took my journal with me so I could sit at the beach and write. There was a group of really little kids taking surf lessons so I watched them for a bit. They were really cute. Matt was back by the time I came back. After hitting the showers we went to the Kauai Products Fair in Kapa'a. Not much to write about this, we could have skipped it. The beach across the street was gorgeous. There is lots of reef so very little wave action near the shore. We stopped at the furniture store across the street to check on the prices since Matt was curious. I think that Matt was thinking about moving more than me for once! They were very friendly here. The feed their customers on the weekend so the owner, a little Japanese lady was making stew in their little kitchenette in the corner. The prices were pretty much in line with the mainland. I had expected to be shocked. The salesperson that we talked to was from Huntington Beach. She told us she has been living in Kauai for a year and was finally having her possessions shipped over. Ten thousand dollars to ship over a 3 bedroom house full of furniture. Guess we have to sell the truck to pay to ship our stuff over or just sell it all off. Guess we could give it to J but that is just getting ahead of ourselves now, isn't it? Off to Lihue to go to the Polynesian Cultural Festival. We made a detour to Opaeka'a Falls. This was a quick drive not far off the main highway. It was really pretty. A little frustrating too thinking you could just drive right up to a waterfall instead of doing the Bataan Death March through the jungle! Too bad the lady that 'took our picture' didn't. Guess we should have checked before we left. Lesson learned. Just means another trip! Across the street is the Wailua River lookout. We saw some kaykers and boy does it look like you get a lot of sun on this trip. We had talked about either renting a kayak or taking a guided trip but decided to skip it. I had already had more sun in a week than I had in an entire year. Plus, we still had snorkeling to do. It was starting to get hot and we wanted to get back in the car. We figured we might as well swing by Wailua Falls on the way. There is very pretty scenery along the way. Parking at the falls is a nightmare. Definitely a place to get to early in the am. I actually stepped in gum!! I hate people. Why would you toss your gum out, one in a place this pretty, two where someone is bound to step in it and three, 10 feet away from the trashcan? Lazy bastards. End of rant. Anyway, the falls themselves were stunning. Looks like there used to be a trail but it is fenced off. Since we were getting hotter by the minute, we walked back to the car only to find that 2 cars had parked along the road right behind us making it difficult to get out. Did I mention that I hate people? We got a little lost in Lihue looking for the stadium where the Polynesian Festival was but eventually found it. We should have maybe planned to go later in the evening since it was hot, no beeze and no shade. Plus, according to the schedule all the good Tahitian dancing was later in the day. Not the wisest way to spend $20 but at least we gave the money to them and not some big resort. Off to Long's for beer and Zantac. Went to Jamba Juice and that just hit the spot. Checked out appliance prices at Sears, again pretty much the same as back home. Then over to Borders for a book for Matt. Back to the condo to get out of the heat. Spent the rest of the afternoon reading. Burgers for dinner then out to the beach to watch the sunset. We took at stroll over to Whalers to pick up "So You Want to Live in Hawai'i". Reading and cocktails the rest fo the night. It is good to be us!!

Kauai Bound - Friday

May 23 2008

Off to Waimea Canyon. This was such a pretty drive. We stopped at the Hanapepe Lookout along the highway. This was just a warmup of things to come. We drove up Highway 550 which is Waimea Canyon Drive. This is not the road that they direct you to take, it is the highway just before and it was recommended in the Ultimate Kauai book so we took that instead. We were going to stop at the Pu'u Ka Pele Lookout but we missed it. This is where Pele leapt from Kauai while being chased by her sister Na-maka-o-kaha'i for stealing her husband. These stories are just so cool. We will have to go back on the next trip. You can see Waipo'o Falls from the road though. Our first stop was Waimea Canyon Lookout. While not on the scale of the Grand Canyon, it is more stunning. After this we stopped at the Pu'u Hinahina Lookout. You can see the Canyon Trail across the valley from here. We saw people walking along the ridge and thought they must be crazy. We walked across the parking lot over to the Ni'ihau overlook but it was too cloudy to see across the channel. Yet another reason to come back. Next we were off to the Koke'e Museum. While there we bought a trail map. The lady behind the counter told us to take the trail to the falls but if we were going to the Kalalau Lookout we should do that first before the clouds roll in and obscure the view. That is what we did but we didn't make it in time. Supposedly the clouds roll in and out so if you wait awhile it may clear up. We waited about 10 minutes and decided to leave so we could get our hike in before it got too late. We figured we would come back later in the week and drive straight to the lookout. Back down the valley to the trailhead for the hike to Waipo'o Falls. This was a tough hike with lots of ups and downs on a wet, muddy trail since it had rained the day before. We got to the portion of the trail where we were on the ridge that you can see from the Pu'u Hinahina Lookout. Who's crazy now?! This is an amazing view point. You feel so small being below the top of the canyon. After you turn the corner when you descend the ridge you hike down a narrow trail to a small water fall with a pool below. Even though it was gorgeous we were a little disappointed. We thought there was going to be a larger water fall at the end. Then we started thinking we made a wrong turn somewhere since this definitely is not what you can see from the highway. Found out later there is another trail that goes to the larger drop of the falls and that this is basically the beginning of the falls. I was a little irritated that I had to keep taking hits off the inhaler. There was no vog so it must have just been the elevation. So then we had to look forward to the long trek back to the car. We were actually whistling the song from Bridge on the River Kwai on the way back. Gotta have a sense of humour. Of course on the way back I slip in a patch of mud and leaves my feet come our from under me and land right on my ass. Luckily we both had worn trasher clothes. I figured I would now have a pair of "Red Dirt" swim shorts. On the way out we were almost back to the trailhead when we came across a couple hiking in. They were dressed to the nines in white shorts and tennis shoes with nice shirts. They had that back east either Philly or Jersey accent. They were going to hike the trail with one bottle of water between the two of them. We told them that it was a hot tough hike and that they were going to get dirty. In that cocky eastern way they told us they could handle it. This is bad karma but I hope they slipped and ruined their clothes! We had sandwiches from Grinds in Hanapepe waiting for us in the car. We also had a very persistent rooster trying to snake our grub. We had to keep shooing it away. I really thought it was going to start chasing me like that stupid Thai junglefowl the parents used to have that chased me every time I went over there. Of course after a hot and tiring hike you need to reward yourself with a nice frosty shave ice! So we hit Jo Jo's once again. I chickened out on the Halo Halo even though there were a ton of people ordering it. We ended up with another Tropical Rainbow to split. When will I learn to either get the bigger size or order my own? This really is the best thing ever invented. We had some rain again in the afternoon but we just hung out and rested after oure eventful day. We had quesadillas for dinner then took a walk over to the Sheraton for sunset. They had a luau going at the Sheraton that you could hear all the way over to our place. I told Matt that I couldn't belive people were paying $85 to get rained on when they could go to the Polynesian Cultural Festival in Lihue for $10. We saw some turtles off the beach on the way back. We spent the rest of the night watching the visitor channel and reading before crashing early thanks to the long hike.

Kauai Bound - Thursday

May 22 2008


This place is noisy at night! Very little sleep. I am sure part of it was the first night in a new location. The rest was crying babies and sprinklers. Oh, and lets not forget the ever present roosters! We have got to remember to close the windows at night. We drove to Spouting Horn. It was awesome! This is a blowhole that is near Lawa'i. Water rushes under a lava shelf and bursts through a small opening at the surface. Every wave produces another spray. Supposedly the water can shoot 50 feet into the air. There is another hole nearby only blows air, making a groaning sound. Legend states that this coast was guarded by a large mo'o (lizard) who ate everyone who tried to fish or swim here. One day, a man named Liko entered the water. When the mo'o went to attack him, he swam under the lava shelf and escaped through the hole. The mo'o became stuck and was never able to get out. The groaning is the cry of hunger and pain from the lizard still trapped under the rocks. I love Hawaiian legends. There are vendors at Spounting Horn. Matt bought me a silver plumeria ring. Ahh, trinkets. We had passed a sign for a garlic shrimp truck but we couldn't find it. So we figured that we would have to come back another day to look for it. We decided to drive to the west end of the island. We stopped in Hanapepe to take pictures of the Swinging Bridge. This is an old plantation town that is now home to a lot of artists. Our next stop was Waimea. This is where Captain Cook first landed in the Hawaiian Islands. Waimea was the original capital of Kauai. We then headed toward Kekaha. This area is very desolate. We couldn't imagine going to the end of the road at Polihale so we turned around for home. I made Matt stop at Jo Jo's in Waimea for Shave Ice. I cannot believe that in all our trips we have never had Shave Ice! What boneheads. This place may have spoiled us though. I don't think any other will compare after this. We got the small Tropical Rainbow with mac nut ice cream on the bottom. The rainbow flavors were lilikoi, mango and guava. Who would have thought that this would be so good. Do yourselves a favor and do not get a small to share. Get your own!! They have a flavor called Halo Halo that intrigued me. I thought I would have to come back to try that one. Back at the condo for lunch. Made a couple of sandwiches then we hit the beach. Yes, we waited 30 minutes before swimming. The water was refreshing although there was a slight undertow. Ended up get my feet pulled out from under me and then had half the beach in my suit. Back to the room to shower. Matt went for a run because he was antsy. I walked across the street to the Poipu Shopping Center. I checked out all the shops. There is a cute store there called Sand People. They have a Crazy Shirts there also so I can stock up later. After all, what is a Hawaiian vacation without a shirt plus we didn't buy ANY in Kona. After our swim we cooked up the teriyaki burgers that we bought at the grocery store. We then had a heavy but brief rain shower. We walked down the point between rain showers and took some pics. Then we just hung out and read for a while. Off to bed for our busy day at Waimea Canyon.