Category Archives: Kauai

Hawaii, Kauai, Travel

Eight Days in Hawaii: Kauai and Oahu: Part IV

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If there was one bucket list objective that I had for our visit to Kauai, it was to hike the Kalalau Trail. I first read about the trail when I was planning to go in 2003, and in all the years since it had remained a future, unaccomplished ambition.

Once we decided that we would be going this year, I built a specific day into the itinerary for the hike. I wanted to give us enough time to hike a full eight mile roundtrip to Hanakapiai Falls, and so I planned for us to start in the morning with the rest of the day left open.

The Haena Park Shuttle

As a word of warning to anyone hoping to do this hike, or even enter Haena State Park to enjoy Ke’e Beach, Lamahai Beach, or Tunnels Beach: you can’t just drive in without a reservation. In fact, you are very unlikely to be able to drive in and park at all.

Due to visitation limits, parking in Haena Sate Park (where the Kalalau Trail begins) must be reserved in advance at this site. And by that I mean within the first couple minutes that the reservations open up 30 days in advance, at midnight Hawaii time. If you don’t get a parking reservation, you can still get a timed reservation for the shuttle that takes you to Ke’e Beach and stops along the way.

The shuttle reservations don’t sell out nearly as fast and you can choose between a parking area in Hanalei or the resort area in Princeville for the pickup location. But specific times (preferably in the morning) sell out quickly and so you still need to reserve as soon as the reservations are available: 30 days in advance at midnight Hawaii time.

Since that meant 4AM in my local mountain time, I set an alarm for 3:30 in the morning, 30 days before the day of our hike, made myself a coffee and made reservations for the shuttle for the four of us.

There is one additional benefit to the shuttle. If you reserve parking you are limited to 4 hours. In theory you could make two reservations for a total of eight hours, but if you reserve the shuttle you have basically the entire day as there are no time limits on your stay as long as you return on a shuttle. The last shuttle back is 6:40 PM.

On the day of our hike (our last full day in Kauai) I woke early and set about getting our gear together with ponchos for everyone and snorkel gear in my backpack as well for a post hike swim at the beach. Whatever we needed (sunscreen, mosquito repellant, lots of water, etc) I stuffed in the backpacks knowing we had a long day ahead

Overnight it poured rain and I had a bit of concern that the trail would be closed on the very day we were to hike. It isn’t unusual. Flash flooding is a common occurrence in Haena State Park and along the streams that cross the Kalalau Trail. Thus far we had been lucky to have had great weather during the trip, but mother nature had not looked promising that morning.

I kept checking the Haena State Park conditions page and was relieved to see that the park remained open as the first shuttles of the morning were to be leaving for the park. The park was indeed open for the day. Our shuttle time was 8:20AM. A quick bite to eat and we were in the rental car on our way to the Waipa Shuttle Park and Ride.

We arrived at the parking area and grabbed our backpacks. We checked in with the attendant and boarded the shuttle van, sure now that we would indeed be hiking that day, no matter the rainy weather overnight and into the morning.

It wasn’t until the shuttle left the lot that I fully understood just why the shuttles were really necessary. A few years ago an entire portion of the road washed away in a huge rain storm and the road was still being slowly rebuilt. The road itself is windy and the parking options at the end of the road are limited. If everyone just drove in and parked along the side of the road it would be a congested parking nightmare.

So yes, there is the overhead of making reservations, and if you aren’t on the ball with your planning you could miss out. But in the end the experience is better for everyone.

Haena State Park

Once you arrive at Haena State Park you are given an orientation talk. Almost everyone is headed for the Kalalau Trail, but due to the challenging terrain along the way and the various dangers that have led to the trail being labeled one of the most dangerous in the US, the park staff has apparently decided that they should give visitors a full understanding of what lies ahead.

About two months before we arrived in Kauai, we talked to a nurse that had done the same hike and raved about it. And she told us about a woman that had slipped on some rocks near Hanakapiai Falls and died. Her body was still there when she arrived at the falls, waiting to be transported out. Still she said we should absolutely do it. Just with a high degree of caution.

The primary dangers that await hikers on the trail are flash flood risks and falls on the wet, muddy terrain. There are sections of the trail, beyond Hanakapiai Beach (where most hikers turn around or divert to Hanakapiai Falls) that are on a narrow precipice above the ocean. A fall from the cliffs is certain death.

Likewise, just before Hanakaiai Beach is a stream crossing that routinely floods. When it does flood, if you are on the wrong side of the stream you must wait until it has returned to its normal calm flow before crossing. If you don’t, you’ll be swept away, probably out to sea.

And at Hanakapiai Beach, you don’t risk swimming. The attendants make sure you understand this is a very dangerous beach with rip tides that kill people every year.

So yeah, the Kalalau Trail is beautiful, but its got a reputation as well.

The Kalalau Trail

When you first exit the shuttle stop, we traversed a boardwalk past some taro fields. It’s rather picturesque and interesting to see the fields which hearken back to past centuries when it was grown in a similar manner by the native Hawaiians.

Once past the fields, we entered an area of rainforest that ends at the entryway to Ke’e Beach. I had heard the bathroom there was nightmarishly smelly online and by someone we talked to, but it was actually very clean.

After our quick bathroom stop, it was time to hit the trail. The first several hundred feet are a bit of a steep ascent, but being regular mountain hikers, it was pretty easy for us. What is different is the the humidity and the coastal views. Both were impressive.

Because of the rain, the trail was muddy. But the the traction was much better than what we encountered at Waimea Canyon. I always enjoy walking through rain forests, even if I end up getting rained on because it is such a unique environment and I love the mistiness of such a humid environment.

We hiked at times together and at times we ended up separated. My eldest son Daniel likes to hike fast and really wanted to get to the waterfall, while my wife and youngest son were a bit behind. I ended up in the middle, trying to catch up to Daniel who I finally met at the river crossing just before Hanakapiai Beach.

He told me the crossing was easier than it looked. The hop between rocks was as he said not as slippery as it appeared. We crossed and walked down to the beach, while a light rain fell.

After spending a moment at the beach, we returned to the trail where we debated continuing onward to the falls while the rain steadily increased. Shelley and Evan were still behind and I didn’t want them to be unaware of our continued progress, especially if they decided against crossing the river. I also wanted to make sure everyone was ok, since slips and falls are a common issue.

We waited for several minutes as the rain picked up and another concern hit me. Would the stream become impassable on our way back from the falls? In the end I told Daniel that we would need to start back and leave the falls for another day in the future. Reluctantly, unhappily, he agreed. He’s like me. We hate not finishing our journey.

On the hike back the rainfall came to an end and we saw the brilliant blues of the ocean from the other perspective. We even saw a rainbow over the ocean water created by mist and the spray of the waves. Eventually we met up with Evan and Shelley, who had already decided to turn back and were near the last downhill section before Ke’e Beach.

Once back to the trailhead, I took a moment to visit Ke’e Beach. There would be no snorkeling today as the surf was very rough. In fact the surf was so strong that it caught me unaware and my hiking boots got soaked. I trudged back to the trailhead and washed them off at a shower, questioning whether I should replace them soon after I returned home.

After cleaning ourselves up, we walked back to the shuttle stop. Just as we walked beneath the covered waiting area, a huge downpour ensued. It was enough for me to think that we might well have had issues crossing the river if we had gone to the falls. In all likelihood, we would have been fine, but it was a rather voluminous downpour.

Hanalei

We drove back to Hanalei after the hike to find some lunch. We decided upon Mexican food and found a good, and fairly inexpensive (for Hanalei) restaurant in the town, called Federico’s. We got some burritos and ate a good, filling post-hike lunch. Afterward my son and I took a photo by some wooden tiki statues.

From Hanalei we could see waterfalls cascading down the sheer mountain cliffs in the distance, fed by the ongoing rains far above.

While we weren’t immediately hungry, we decided to go ahead and get some takeout barbecue from across the street at Chicken in a Barrel. This would save us from having to leave the townhome later when it was dinner time. That barbecue dinner was quite good too.

I thought about taking a drive over to the Kilaeua Lighthouse just east of Princeville, but we ended up just relaxing the rest of the day at the townhome. Since we had a flight early the next morning to Oahu, and we had never really taken a moment to unwind, it was necessary.

Thus ended our time in Kauai. But we weren’t going home. We would be traveling to Oahu to experience more of Hawaii.

Hawaii, Kauai, Travel

Eight Days in Hawaii: Kauai and Oahu: Part III

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Port Arthur

Our third full day in Kauai meant packing up and departing early in the morning from Poipu, as we were not only going on a morning boat cruise of the Na Pali Coast, but would be spending the next two nights on the north shore.

We needed to be at Port Arthur, Kauai by 8 AM which meant getting up and checking out of our room by 7AM. We managed to get everything including ourselves into the rental car on time, saying goodbye to a friendly cat that seemed to live in the Kiahuna resort complex as well, and started on our way.

We arrived a half hour early and checked into the Blue Dolphin Charters office. I chose Blue Dolphin from among the many charter companies based on the description of the tour (which included a snorkeling stop), the reviews, and the relative cost.

Since we were a half hour early we decided to get some coffee to kill some time and to feel a bit more alert after the groggy start to the day. We ended up driving back up the road to Kalaheo to Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company. They made our coffees quickly and I enjoyed the atmosphere of the coffee shop (even if we were in a hurry).

After getting our coffees, we hopped back into the car and drove down to the Blue Dolphin parking area and grabbed our backpacks with our supplies for the charter cruise. The cruise would last until 2PM so we needed to be sure to have sunscreen and anything else we might need for the trip.

Blue Dolphin Charters

Once we were back in the office we waited while the crowd slowly grew. By the time the captain led us outside there were about 40 guests. We walked down to the boat and were advised that if we did not have close-toed sandals we should leave them on the dock for our own safety. Then we boarded the boat and waited for departure.

Due to the topography and currents, the first half hour of the cruise would be through relatively calm waters on our way to the snorkel spot on the south shore of Kauai. We arrived and the catamaran was anchored for snorkeling.

Shelley and I helped get our sons their snorkel masks and flippers on and then we all jumped into the open water. Evan was having difficulty getting his snorkel onto his mask strap so I swamp him back to the boat and reattached it, making sure he was able to use it properly before we swam away from the boat.

Able now to look at the underwater world, I saw that we were about 40 feet above a reef with scattered fish far below. I swam around looking for larger schools but didn’t have much luck. And then my GoPro battery began to die out as well.

For the next half hour I swam with the family in search of fish and for the most part didn’t find very many. Not until we were just about to reboard the boat did I at last find a number of relatively large wrasse near the ship. I recorded these fish briefly amid the turbid waters of snorkelers reboarding the catamaran.

I felt a little disappointed, but there would be more snorkeling opportunities on the trip. I would not have use of my GoPro for the rest of the boat cruise (I had spare batteries but forgot to bring them). But I did have both my phone and my EOS.

The South Shore

For the next 45 minutes we cruised along the southern coast of Kauai with the current driving us along. We took turns on the bow deck platforms enjoying the feel of the wind and surf and taking in the views of Kauai and the island of Nihau in the distance.

Eventually we came upon a pod of spinner dolphins and I took as many photos as I could from the bow, hoping to catch one as it leapt momentarily from below. For the most part, they stayed just below the waterline.

As we continued on we saw flying fish darting from the sea. I took rapid shots just hoping to catch any of them. I got a couple photos of them in flight.

The Na Pali Coast

Turning northward to follow the coast of Kauai, we were entering the Na Pali coast. The word ‘pali’ means cliff in Hawaiian, and Na Pali means ‘many cliffs’. An apt description for the region of Kauai that we would be entering.

If you are wondering whether you should spend the money to see the Na Pali coast on a visit to Kauai, the answer is an absolute yes. The scenery is incredible and I don’t know that you will find any stretch of coastline that can match it for dramatic beauty, not only in Hawaii, but in the world.

This actually wasn’t the first time I had seen the Na Pali coast from the sea. Way back in June of 2003 I took a kayak trip from Kee Beach to Polehale Beach. A distance of 22 miles. I got seasick along the way and spent the majority of that distance puking, but it was an amazing experience nonetheless.

From the boat it was much more relaxing and instead of puking I was able to eat pulled pork sandwiches and drink mai tais and beers. We were also lucky in that, since it was mid October, the seas would have been expected to be a bit rougher than they were. As we cruised along the coast we had fairly gentle seas. I think God wanted me to enjoy this moment with my family as much as possible.

After reaching the point of Kalalau Beach (where I remember our kayak trip made a beach stop) the boat was turned about for the journey back to Port Arthur. The journey back was about 1.5 hours, spent lazing about on the deck, enjoying the views, the drinks, and the sun.

Once back at Port Arthur, we departed the boat and walked back to our rental car. We had about 1.5 hours to drive ahead to Princeville.

Kapaa

Along the way, the desire for shave ice and souvenirs became too much to resist and we made a stop at the Coconut Marketplace in Kapaa on the eastern shore. There was a lot here to choose from and we found JoJo’s Shave Ice serving up our much needed cool dessert.

After eating our delicious shave ice, we walked around and bought some souvenir shirts, a shot glass, and other necessities for our travel needs.

Princeville

The north sore of Kauai receives more rainfall than the southern shore of Kauai and the scenery is even more dramatic. Many postcards have been made of the scenery from Princeville and Hanalei Bay and movies such as South Pacific were filmed here.

We followed Google Maps along the windy route to the Alii Kai vacation homes and after a momentary bit of confusion, we found our nicely appointed two bedroom condo where we would be staying for the next two nights.

Guarding the path, however was a nene.

Carefully walking past the hostile nene we unloaded the rental car and made ourselves comfortable in the townhome. We had brought our groceries from the other condo, which we unloaded from an insulated bag we bought at Walmart, and placed in the refrigerator. This would enable us to continue to enjoy some inexpensive breakfasts without the cost of dining out.

Out the back porch was a nice view of the cliffs on the center of the island and a family of chickens. Because in Kauai you are never far from a chicken.

We showered and got dressed for the evening dinner. After some discussion I decided upon the Kalypso Island Bar and Grill in Hanalei. Only that is not where we ended up going.

Hanalei

We drove down the hill into Hanalei which is a really cool, laidback town on the north shore of Kauai. It kind of reminds me of towns you might find in some third-word beach communities.

Since it was dark and rainy we followed the directions from Google Maps until we approached a restaurant that seemed to be where Kalypso Grill should be. We pulled into a parking spot and walked around. The host seated us and we got a table under the covered, outdoor patio.

We were trying to avoid overspending on meals (which is a common issue for travelers to Hawaii), but we were already seated and things seemed pretty chill. Plus it started pouring rain and nobody was interested in walking back to the car in it.

Needless to say, this restaurant was pricier than we intended. And it wasn’t the Kalypso Grill. It was Tahiti Nui.

The dinner was a decent, but for the price it was a bit much. One personal size pizza was $30. Oh well, we were celebrating my birthday. They also brought me a free birthday dessert (although the person who brought it wasn’t nearly as nice as the waitress who was working our table).

So, do I recommend Tahiti Nui? Yes, if you want a bit of atmosphere and a sophisticated vibe. For cheaper eats, there’s plenty more in Hanalei.

After dinner we drove back to the townhome and crashed for the night. We had an early day planned with a big hike the next morning.

Hawaii, Kauai, Travel

Eight Days in Hawaii: Kauai and Oahu: Part II

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Poipu

Shelley and I decided to get a morning coffee before we left the townhome in the morning. We walked over to Little Fish Coffee across the road from the Kiahuna Plantation.

On the walk we saw a couple nene geese and felt fortuitous. We were having a lot of luck seeing Hawaiian wildlife.

After waiting in a brief line when the coffee shop opened, we got our lattes and walked back to the room to have breakfast with our sons.

Once everyone had eaten and showered we got in the rental car and drove to LIhue for our tubing adventure.

Lihue

Tubing Adventure

We arrived about a half hour before our check-in time at Kauai Backcountry Adventures. We took a stroll down outside but couldn’t find anything of interest to us so we returned to KBA to wait for our tour to start.

When it was our time for the tubing adventure we were given our helmets and headlamps and boarded an open-air truck to drive into the interior of the island.

The tubing journey takes place on a former sugar plantation. Sugar was once a major part of the economy of Kauai and Hawaii as a whole. But starting at about the time Hawaii achieved statehood, competition with foreign markets made the sugar industry unviable due to the cost of labor and shipping.

What is left is the infrastructure that once allowed the sugar plantations to thrive, including irrigation canals that were cut through the center of the island. And it was to these canals that we were headed.

Before we arrived at the canals, we were driven to a scenic overlook where we were able to view the cloud enshrouded Mout Wai’ale’ale.

After taking some photos of Mount Wai’ale’ale and the surrounding landscapes, we continued onward to the launch point.

Wet met some additional guides at the launch point and once the entire group was aboard a tube, we started the float downstream.

The journey downstream travels through several tunnels and through some beautiful countryside. The guides were friendly and fun and they even sang happy birthday to me in one of the tunnels 🙂

My son Daniel took a shine to one of the female guides that was about his age. He was starting to enjoy the trip a lot more and was finding that there were quite a few very attractive, fun loving girls. And Evan had a lot of fun bantering with her as well at the start of the tour.

Once the float ended we exited the tubes and had a lunch of sandwiches and chips. Then we boarded the trucks again to head back to Lihue.

Along the way we learned some interesting facts about the population of feral pigs on the island. There are more pigs in the interior forests than even chickens, though people don’t often see them.

Pig hunting is a popular activity for the locals who will use dogs to track and corner the pigs, allowing the hunter to make a kill using a knife.

Koloa

After returning to KBA and returning our equipment, we decided to make a stop at Walmart for some additional supplies , then drove to Koloa in search of our first shave ice of the trip.

The Shave Ice at Fresh Shave was really good. They add ice cream to it along with tropical fruits to make a really refreshing desert. We knew after our first shave ice it wouldn’t be our last.

We drove back to the townhouse and changed into our Hawaiian shirts. Next stop a luau.

Wailua

Smith Family Garden Luau

I had a hard time choosing a luau for our trip. I knew we wanted to go to one and there were several to choose from. I considered the Auli’i Luau in Poipu right on the beach. It would have been close enough to walk to from the resort where we were staying.

There is the Luau Kalamaku near Lihue which is at a plantation and includes a train ride.

There is one at the Coconut Beach resort at a venue that was the same as the one Shelley and I went to in 2003 when we were in our twenties. It was the first luau either of us had ever attended. We had a great and memorable time at it.

In the end I chose the Smith Family Garden Luau. The reviews for it were consistently good despite it being a bit less expensive and meant for larger crowds. It is at the Fern Grotto area along the Wailua River which is a scenic area. And they cook the kalua pork in a true underground imu. Some of the others just provide the cooked pork from indoor kitchens.

We arrived and walked over to an area surrounding the imu pit where we were welcomed. There was a large crowd around the imu and I didn’t get any photos of the imu ceremony, although it was done in a traditional manner.

The host of the luau introduced himself and explained how the Smith family had for many generations run the luau that we were now going to experience. They explained why they were Smiths and didn’t have a Hawaiian name. Ultimately they provide probably the most genuine luau on Kauai.

Once the imu ceremony ended we entered the very crowded dining area. It was at this point, as we searched for seating at at table, that I began to have doubts about my decision. We usually prefer smaller groups and a more relaxed environment. This was a much bigger event.

After getting seated and with cocktails in hand, we began to get more comfortable. We chatted with other families and told our individual stories of our times in Kauai. We told them that two decades ago Shelley and I had come to Kauai while still dating, and now we had returned with our kids.

We got our plates of kalua pork and more drinks and and as many desserts as we wanted. Evan volunteered for the hula lesson and did a great job.

During a bathroom run Evan encountered some feral pigs outside and ran back to tell us to come with us to see the pigs. We wandered outside and sure enough, some feral pigs were lurking by some back buildings.

We met a native woman near the pigs and she told us about her own experience owning a pig as a pet. As expected the pig grew very large and she sadly had to let it go.

I had never realized how many feral pigs were in Kauai or just how much they were a part of life there. Certainly though, I enjoyed the kalua pork for dinner.

After our conversation we walked quickly over to the amphitheater for the show. The show told the story of the discovery of Hawaii and other Polynesian Islands, of Pele, and featured numerous hula dances and a fire dancer.

Overall, the reviews for the show are mixed but I think it was a good show and we enjoyed it. Yes, this is a family show and the performers are not professionally trained. But they do give it their best and clearly love what they are doing.

Every luau is different and I don’t think you can go to Hawaii and not go to a luau. I’m glad we went to one and next time we are in Hawaii we’ll go to another one.

Hawaii, Kauai, Travel

Eight Days in Hawaii: Kauai and Oahu: Part I

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A 50th birthday is a pretty big milestone. And mine was coming up.

I usually don’t feel like my birthday is a big deal, but turning 50 is different. It’s the big transition from the youthful decades to the second half of life (though nobody expects to live to 100).

Despite that milestone, as a family we’ve also gone through a lot of ups and downs over the past couple years. Every few weeks a new challenge would emerge and so would the stress. It felt like a gauntlet and I longed to return to the simpler days of the past.

So with that in mind, it was hard at first to consider doing too much for my 50th. A roadtrip perhaps. Or maybe nothing at all but a few days of rest at home.

But early in 2025 I began to think about it more. I longed to go someone warm. Beaches, tropical weather. I thought about Belize, a place I went in 2002 when I was 26 and enjoyed as an adventure. I thought of the Yucatan in Mexico, and places father afield. It couldn’t be too complicated or be a place we were likely to visit on a subsequent trip in the next couple years. And it had to be a place that would be relaxing and fun.

And then I made up my mind. It was time to go back to Kauai.

My wife and I went when we were still dating in 2003. We were young and still figuring things out. We were adventurous and care free. We saw and did a lot on Kauai with a couple additional days on the Big Island. But we left a lot unseen and undone, never expecting that by 2025 we would still not have returned.

I viewed it as an opportunity for all of us to take one last family vacation. My eldest Daniel is 19 and in college. His only visit to Hawaii came in 2007 on a trip to Maui (our last visit to Hawaii). He was 11 months old at the time and had no memory of the experience.

My youngest had never been to Hawaii at all.

We were now a family of two aging parents and kids growing into adults, and I felt like we could all go to Hawaii as a family. The kids would get to experience it for the first time and we’d get to go back to a place we last experienced as two unsure about the direction of life twenty-somethings.

After we made our initial plans to go just to Kauai, we began to think a little more about extending our trip to include Oahu. Our flight back already had a connection in Oahu and only I had ever been to Oahu, when I was 13. The family wanted to visit Pearl Harbor and my wife and I found a number of additional things that we wanted to do in Oahu as well, including a UTV ride.

After some planning that removed any moments of relation from the trip, we had built out a fun eight day adventure for Hawaii. Evan would miss a couple days of school and my eldest would miss some class time, but we’d hit all the major stuff that we really wanted to see and do without feeling like we had any real regrets about what we didn’t do.

Hawaii is expensive and not a place we can travel to often, so we might as well do as much as we can within those eight days.

Day 1: Flight to Kauai

We are lucky to live near a major city with a major hub airport. We have a lot of direct flights that a lot of other places don’t. Denver International is a massive airport and not a relaxing experience, but it does offer a lot of direct flights.

We had a direct flight to Lihue leaving at noon. Easy. No getting up really early in the morning. No ending the work day and frantically packing everyone up and rushing to the airport.

We were all seated together in extra legroom seats and our seat backs had entertainment screens. The flight was an extra hour long though and for whatever reason United Airlines seems to have cut back on the beverage service. My wife and I might have ordered a mai tai, but instead they offered only a tiny cup of soda after seven hours in the air and never came by at any time between the lunch service at the beginning of the flight. Their loss.

Lihue, Kauai

Once we arrived we were met by the warm, humid air of Hawaii and all of the lush green foliage. And the hot sun. And a blue ocean in the distance just outside. That’s what we came for.

The tiny airport took only minutes to exit, but we had to rush onto the shuttle for the rental cars as a horde of people who arrived after us made it clear they were not willing to wait their turn.

Once we got our rental car we stuffed it with our luggage (we were honestly overpacked), and started on the ultra slow road to Poipu.

It was at this point that my eldest got cantankerous and irritable. For whatever reason he decided to pick a fight with my youngest in the back seat over nothing and I eventually lost my temper as well. This is my birthday trip. Shut up and get along.

After an hour of slowly proceeding through rush hour traffic in a place with only 60,000 or so people, we got through it and drove the rest of the way to Poipu.

Poipu

Early on in my planning I had decided that I wanted to split our time on Kauai between and south and north shore. I decided upon Poipu because of the popular beach which I wanted to be able to easily visit without a drive.

We found the Castle Kiahuna Plantation where we had reserved our VRBO and lugged our stuff inside. Once sort of settled, Shelley and Evan went to pick up a Walmart order back in Lihue (fortunately the traffic was clear on the return trip) while Daniel and I unpacked and tried to figure out a plan for dinner.

Daniel pulled out his laptop to work on a school project (still seemingly annoyed by the earlier argument and acting as though he regretted coming) so I stepped outside to find the beach. It was right outside at the edge of the condo complex. It was sunset and I took my first photo of the trip from Kauai.

I walked back into the townhome and decided that with darkness setting in we would be best off just getting Kenji Burger to go from Lihue, where Shelley and Evan were getting the Walmart order. When I relayed that info to Shelley she was unhappy, as she wanted something ore after a long flight. I just couldn’t find very much nearby and with it being dark I didn’t have a good sense of what was good (and not outrageously expensive).

They returned with all of our groceries for the next several days (which would save us time and money on many breakfasts) and the Kenji burgers. Once everyone was fed and able to relax the mood improved. Still, I wasn’t feeling that great after the grumbling and decided that it was best to just call it a night. We were, after all, four hours ahead of the local time zone and had no time to adjust.

Day 2: Poipu and Waimea Canyon

I struggled to sleep past 3AM. Eventually at 4AM I gave up.

I wanted to get outside and explore and despite it being dark, I did just that. Outside a cat greeted me, and then I almost stepped on a huge frog.

I wanted to find the path from the condos to Poipu Beach (which isn’t a straight walk on the shoreline due to the terrain), and found the passage in the darkness. It led to a cement walkway past a hotel and to the surf and sand.

I trudged onto the sand with my phone flashlight on and two little kids ran past in the dark on the beach. That was strange, but I guess it’s safe. I walked onward and found the crescent arc of Poipu Beach Park, but no turtles were visible to me (I was on the wrong end and couldn’t see them in the darkness). Still I had at least found the beach access way.

Returning to the townhome I found Shelley was awake and was eager to go visit the beach at sunrise. I told her about the passageway to Poipu Beach and we went together back to where I had been only moments before. This time we found the turtles.

Poipu Beach Sea Turtles at Sunrise

We enjoyed watching the turtles slowly inch their way back into the surf. I had been hoping to see the turtles which frequent Poipu Beach and we had found them early the first full day of our trip.

We stopped off for coffee and bought some Hawaiian bread across the street from the park, then walked back to the townhome where Daniel and Evan were still sleeping. Along the way we found this enormous snail on the pathway.

Reentering the townhouse, we found Evan wake and told him about our discoveries. He was eager to see them too so I took him to Poipu Beach (my third trip that morning).

We not only saw the sanil and the turtles but we found a couple sea cucumbers stranded on the shoreline. Evan and I gently push them back to the surf where they hopefully survived. We were proud of ourselves for rescuing the sea cucumbers.

After returning again to the townhouse, we fund everyone awake and I finally got a chance to eat some breakfast. I stepped onto the patio where we could enjoy the surrounding tropical foliage, numerous birds, and the horde of beggar chickens.

The last time we were in Kauai there were a ton of feral chickens running around. In the twenty-two years since, that number has now seemingly increased. They are literally everywhere you go.

If you are not familiar with the story behind the chickens it dates back to 1992 and Hurricane Iniki. Apparently there were a lot of Asian workers living on the islands that raised a certain breed of fighting chickens. When the storm hit, the chickens were set free and thrived on the island.

Because they are fighting chickens the meat is tough and so no one catches them for food. They have no natural predators on the island. The chickens have become a part of Kauai’s identity and now show up on souvenirs like shirts and coffee mugs.

Once everyone had eaten breakfast we strated off for Waimea Canyon.

Waimea Canyon

Kauai is full of scenic wonders that are pretty much unmatched in the Pacific region. Among these sites is Waimea Canyon.

The drive up to Waimea Canyon is a pretty steep ascent from the coastline town of Waimea. Once at the top the first viewpoints off that breathtaking vista that makes it worthwhile.

Waimea Canyon is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and though it isn’t quite that deep, it’s still dramatic. We pulled off at a couple viewpoints, before finding that the main viewpoint area was closed. We proceeded on to the Pu’u’hinahina Lookout which wasn’t quite as impressive as the previous roadside viewpoints, but i did provide access to the trails.

Waimea Canyon Trail

It’s pretty rare that I take a hike and bring back no photos from the experience. But the Waimea Canyon Trail was one of those times.

The issue here was dense folliage and thick, sloppy mud. I couldn’t pull my camera or phone out for risk of getting it covered in mud. The first half mile down was reasonably passable, but after that the trail was a quagmire of wet mud.

Daniel and I traveled a full mile into it before we gave up. I was wearing old running shoes that provided almost no traction. After descending a couple hundred feet we had to go up a slope and I was sliding and slipping and holding onto branches and vines trying to stay upright. His hiking boots fared better but he was still covered in mud.

We hiked back up the trail, advising anyone without the proper shoes or clothing to not go much farther. Once back at the parking lot all four of us used a water spigot to try to clean ourselves up. My shoes were totaled and I pretty much decided that I would throw them away before the trip came to an end.

Kokee State Park

Since hiking wasn’t going to happen we continued on to Kokee Stat Park. Kokee State Park offers a view of the Na Pali Coast called the Kalalau Overlook. We parked and walked up to the overlook, our feet still wet from dousing them at the Canyon trailhead.

We also saw some of the light blue hydrangeas we had seen growing there in 2003. A our wedding a year later we had blue hydrangeas for decorative flowers.

Tired and hungry we decided to drive back down to find lunch. First we would stop in Waimea at a Big Save Mart, which a local woman at Waimea Canyon recommended for cheap flip flops (since we really couldn’t wear our shoes into any restaurant).

In Waimea we found the Big Save Mart and bought some flip flops, cleansing wipes, a couple cheap snorkel masks for the beach, and some pre-mixed mai tail and run punch cocktails to enjoy later that night at the townhouse.

After getting cleaned up be headed off to Koloa to enjoy a good sit down lunch.

Kauai Island Brewing Company

One of the things I love about Kauai is how rustic many of the towns are. Koloa is a great example of that. It’s a small, historic town on an island that feels like it could be in foreign country. There are no tall buildings on Kauai and everything in the rest of the world feels far away.

Our first impression of Kauai Island Brewing wasn’t all that great. We deicided to sit inside and were seated at a table in a busy passageway. But soon another family left and we asked if we could move into their more relaxed booth seat.

I don’t know why I didn’t take any photos of the food, but the appetizers were really standouts. We ordered calamari and poke. The calamari was huge (something we mainlanders can’t comprehend is possible) and the poke was so good I thought about ordering an appetizer for my entree.

I ordered a entree and honestly don’t remember what it was. I should have just ordered more poke and calamari. The beers were great too and much needed.

Poipu Beach

After returning to the the condo we changed into our swimming trunks and grabbed our snorkel gear before walking back to Poipu Beach (my fourth visit of the day). This time though I was going to get into the water.

While the sandy beach is great for lounging and turtle viewing and the water is warm, the undersea surface is a rocky, old coral surface. We didn’t bring water shoes and our feet got cut several times as we swam in the shallow bay.

Snorkeling at Poipu Beach

As the short video shows, there were plenty of fish to be seen, but we just weren’t ready with water shoes for the shallow.

Despite the cuts and scrapes, we took the snorkel gear back to the townhouse and went to the beach nearer to the complex: Kiahuna Beach. The beach was sandier here and easier to swim in, but there were still some rocky spots which hurt our feet. Nevertheless, we swamp for aout an hour in the surf.

I didn’t have any cameras with me which was unfortunate because a harbor seal swam right by us as we stood in the surf. It was pretty cool.

Puka Dog

To close out the day we walked over to Puka Dog to try out the incredibly popular hot dog spot in Poipu. We enjoyed them on the walk back to the townhouse where Shelley and I also poured ourselves some cocktails and relaxed on the porch.

After that, we had a big day ahead tomorrow and needed to get to bed to rested and ready.