Hawaiian adventures
Trip Start
Mar 21, 2009
1
Trip End
Mar 31, 2009
Kauai, Hawaii, United States
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Went to "Big Save" for lunch material, lunch at Poipu Beach
(baby chickens, monk seal!), Terri Plate Lunch in Lihue, hike along coast near Shipwreck Beach,
Costco Lydgate State Park
walk
Monday, Day 2:
Two hikes in Waimea
Canyon, Swamp Trail and Waipoo Falls,
rib dinner at house
Observations:
We went into the driveway of our home for the next nine
nights and our "landlord" Robby met with us, where he began to explain to us
the ins-and-outs of the vacation house. It's quite a cozy home, not far from
the town of Waimea,
and once lived in by Robby's mother. The guests who last visited left a few
items, such as delicious Kauai Coffee and sausages which are tasty for
breakfast. The kitchen is equipped with everything one needs, except the oven works
less-than-perfectly. Our goal for the
second day was to make it to Costco and pick up all the goods for the week,
including ribs. We would have gone the first day except our flight was delayed
so Costco was closed when we arrived (Hawaiian Airlines provided a lunch voucher for us - we went
to Anthony's). Tony lost his cell phone in the Honolulu airport on the way through there,
unfortunately. However, we had a good flight and arrived in Kauai
easily and picked up our car, a Pontiac G7 with a sunroof, very nice for hot
days driving on the island. Mango and lemon trees are right outside our house.
I had a mango from the tree outside with breakfast this morning. There are all sorts of wildlife on
the island, geckoes, different types of birds, frogs, and a monk seal we saw
the first day at Poipu Beach, where we swam
around for awhile. There are also a huge amount of wild chickens. The roosters
can be beautiful, with yellow and red feathers. We soon realized they'd be our
alarm clock each morning. When chicks follow their parent around in packs,
they are too cute! Anyways, yesterday we had a fun time relishing the
tremendous views at Waimea
Canyon, right up from
where we live in Waimea. There are ocean views where the blue water goes on
forever. I couldn't tell where the ocean ended and the sky began. The hike we
went on weren't too challenging, except for the first hike I stumbled a bit on
slippery clay, appropriately called "Swamp Trail." For the second hike, we
reached a serene waterfall surrounded by a jungle, and I dipped in it up to my
waist. The sun so far has been friendly enough, slight burns on the back, but
nothing painful (here's to SPF50). The stars are perfect at night, when the
crickets chirp happily, and the radio stations are all tuned to cheery music,
the perfect soundtrack while cruising along the ocean shoreline. Paradise incarnate!
Tuesday, Day 3:
Poipu
Beach, snorkeling near
there, Spouting Horn, Lihue Costco for swimsuit
Wednesday, Day 4:
Hike in Waimea Canyon, shrimp tacos at Shrimp Station, shave ice at
Jo-Jo's, Salt Pond Park
Swimming with the fishes is my new favorite thing to do in Kauai. On Tuesday we discovered a good snorkel spot near
Poipu and explored around. The fish were incredible with an array of bright
colors. Snorkeling is not difficult and many hours could be spent finding the
many varieties of fish in Hawaii.
Before snorkeling commenced, we saw the wonder known as Spouting Horn. A
mesmerizing sight to witness, water shoots out of a hole, timed to the surf, and
makes a glorious "whooshing" noise. Careful not to hit any baby chickens with our car, we
went across the road to the Botanical Gardens and saw native fruits of papaya,
pineapples and incredibly beautiful flowers, with a few giant spiders and
lizards sitting in the gardens. I also needed a swimsuit, a nice one, one that
I could forever remember as being my swimsuit from Hawaii. There was a nice, basic two-piece at
Costco, however it was too small so we had to go back and exchange it. I found
one with better colors the next time, anyhow. Next, because we were hungry and
Costco hot dogs are about the cheapest meal around, we decided to grab a quick bite at the most beautifully located Costco, right at the sides of
a spectacular grassy valley. Today we did a 6 mile hike to the western edge of
Kauai in Waimea Canyon. The mud hiking, although intense,
resulted in amazing views. My reward was a shave ice with ice cream in Waimea.
After we stopped at home to grab the gear for snorkeling, we ran out to Hanapepe's
Salt Pond Park, a simple, swimmable beach with a front-row view of the sunset. On the way
there, we saw several rainbows and I screamed with delight.
Day 5:
Drive to the North end. Bubba's Burgers, Ke'e Beach (monk
seal), Kapaa tacos
Day 6:
Coconut
Coast bike ride
Day 7:
Hanapepe Art Night
Day 8:
Poipu Snorkeling, Beach House dinner
