Trip Report, Part II, Mar. 27 - Apr. 13

PART II

Friday I hung out at the Condo., did some laundry and cleaning, then picked up my sister-in-law and her sister and my niece at the airport at 10:00 p.m.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at Wake Up Café (Over the Falls French Toast and some kind of breakfast wrap - all very good) and then went to Hanalei Sunshine Market and bought great organic lettuce and heirloom tomatoes and pineapple. It rained while we were there and as we were leaving we got stuck in the mud following the path of another car, but some locals helped us out. They gave advice and pushed the car until it was free. They were so kind and funny, that it was a good experience in spite of the frustration for my sister-in-law, who was driving, (although I was the one who told her to follow that path, oooops!).

We decided to head south to Salt Pond in hopes of finding some sun. Just after Kapaa, a wild boar ran in front of the car, and we just missed it. When we arrived at Salt Pond it was raining there, too, but the water was nice and the sun was out more often than not. I recognized and talked with Uncle Louie, the unofficial mayor of Salt Pond Beach. He’s a very nice man and while I was in the ocean he brought some malasadas to the rest of my group and talked with them for a while. They enjoyed his company. He gave us lots of information about sights to see on the way up North and told us some good jokes.

Sunday we drove to the end of the road and Kee Beach. We saw a monk seal on the beach, and loved the view of the Na Pali cliffs in the background when you walk up the beach a bit. Had lunch of heirloom tomato sandwiches on sourdough, with Mayo, and Thai basil from the sunshine market, and fresh pineapple, too - delish! Water was too rough for snorkeling and the hike to the Hula Heiau was closed for improvements, so we left and spent a great afternoon at Hanalei Bay, swimming near the pier. The scenery was of course, stunning.

All through the trip we did a fair amount of driving and we had an on-going game where when someone brought up a subject, we quickly came up with all the sayings we could think of, (proverbs, platitudes, and mild insults) relating to that subject. Someone would say something about their hand, and we would say “Gotta hand it to you, “ and then “On the one hand” and then “One hand washes the other,” and if someone commented on a beautiful horse they saw, we’d say, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” “Never look a gift horse in the mouth,'; “I have to see a man about a horse,” “and You and the horse you rode in on.” I don’t know why it was so funny, but it was, and we drove around laughing our heads off. We also had a spirited debate about the correct pronunciation of Lihue. We finally decided that it must be yodeled, “Yo-de-lo-de-LEH-HU-eh.” I very much enjoyed the company of our little group.

Tuesday we stayed overnight at the Hyatt so we could play in the pools, which was fun. We saw Molly Shannon (from Saturday Night Live) at the waterslide. Her little daughter is a mini-Molly, she was too funny! All the way down the waterslide at every turn, you could hear her yelling, “Here I come, Here I come, Here I come, Here I come.”

We ate dinner at Keoki’s Paradise and loved the macadamia crusted Ono or Opah (can’t recall) special and my sister-in-law loved the Ahi and my niece loved the ribs, (a very generous serving of ribs).

Wednesday I went shopping with my niece, and the other two hiked the Mahaulepu trail. They enjoyed the hike and we enjoyed the shopping. We checked out and headed to Port Allen for our Captain Andy’s cruise. On the way we stopped for lunch at the food place right outside Sukeoka’s Market in Koloa. We had great burgers and a fish sandwich and it was very cheap.

When we checked in at Capt. Andy’s, we learned that the waters were too rough to go to the Na Pali Coast, but they were going to head out along the south and east shores and we had the option to do that. We decided since we were already there we would go out. GOOD DECISION! We saw dolphins, a view of the Allerton Gardens from oceanside, which was gorgeous, a baby sea turtle, and four or five whales, including a mom and baby whale. The captain told us that he had seen the whales off in the distance, and he headed in their general direction. He then stopped the catamaran and shut off the engine and we all looked off in the distance to try to see them. After five minutes or so, we hear a very loud WHOOSH!!, and they came up right next to the boat - scared everyone silly, including the captain. Those whales must have been laughing THEIR heads off at the screaming tourists! We also had one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen, (wait ‘til you see the pictures!) It was a fun time. The crew took great care of all of us and the food and drinks were good.

I had been on a Captain Andy Na Pali Cruise with my mom and dad about five years ago and we saw a couple of humpback whales breaching over and over again right in front of the boat. It was spectacular, but what my mom always recalls, is how at the end of the cruise they took the almost full tray of fantastic fresh pineapple and dumped it in the trash! Really, I know she was impressed with the breaching whales, but throwing away fresh pineapple really seemed to make an equal impression on her because she’s mentioned it, (and not the whales), several times since - go figure!

Thursday we drove around and explored and then walked down the public path to the Princeville Beach in the late afternoon. It was beautiful there. My niece and I made dinner. We had a mango avocado salsa with chips, and ahi cubes seared and rolled in home-made teriaki sauce, then coated in toasted sesame seeds. We had a salad with the great tomatoes from the sunshine market, then ice cream for dessert. As usual we fell asleep listening to the sound of the wind through the palm trees and the ocean below the bluff.

I’ll do a final report tomorrow, and hopefully link my pictures.

- Marilee.

Trip Report, Part II, Mar. 27 - Apr. 13

Aloha from Kaua%26#39;i!

So nice to hear these stories about Uncle Louie at Salt Pond - he is a real legend on the West Side and his hale that backs up to the highway above Eleele has a faux ';HVB'; sign that someone made for him that says ';Uncle Louie'; (you can see it from the highway) - and I agree, he is worthy of an HVB sign -so glad to hear he is still around and talking story with visitors!

You know I thought I saw Molly Shannon at the Hyatt one night when I was working torchlighting, but wasn%26#39;t sure - now I know! They get so many celebrities, but usually they look quite different from the way we know them - they also have the ';Kaua%26#39;i look'; - little or no makeup and not dressed all fancy! No one ever seems to bother them much there - and those that are approached (that I%26#39;ve approached actually!) are always kind and gracious.

So glad you had such a lovely time!

Malama Pono,

Janet

Trip Report, Part II, Mar. 27 - Apr. 13

That is so cool that you saw Molly Shannon! Can%26#39;t wait for part III and photos!

Thank you for such a lovely trip report. Be well!

I really do hope I get to Kauai some summer...

Another enjoyable report. Someday read the book ';Grayson'; from Lynne Cox - wonderful book about a whale encounter. Can%26#39;t wait for photos!! :)

I love the way you guys eat! My husband would be impressed, for sure. Did you get the heirloom tomatoes at the Sunshine Market? We%26#39;ll have to makea point to buy some when we are there. Can%26#39;t wait for pictures.

Really enjoying your reports so far, and can%26#39;t wait for the last installment and photos. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!

Martik,

I got the heirloom tomatoes at the Hanalei Farmer%26#39;s Market on Saturday. They were soooo good.

We went out with Captain Andy%26#39;s too. It was not a nice day but we did go to the NaPali coast. It was not bad going but coming back was a crazy ride! We were soaked to the skin when we got to shore.

What an experience with the whales. We saw some the day we went but not real close. Lots of dolphins though which I really enjoyed seeing.

I look forward to your photos.

Wondefully detailed report! I enjoyed it so. And I too missed that NaPali boat tour the one December I spent 5 days in Princeville. (Never stopped crying about it, but I should count my blessing that I was able to visit Kauai.)

Wish I could see a Kee Beach sunset. Looking forward to your pictures and so glad you were able to visit Kauai.

Little known fact: Taking the Kee Beach trail about 5 miles in, the is a makeshift statue complete with coconuts of Caddyshackman. It%26#39;s not a good likeness; most people say I%26#39;m much taller than it.

(I guess you missed that on your Kauai stay huh malawacky?) LOL is Caddy%26#39;s style.

I am so impressed with the way you spend your vacation time while visiting Kauai. Obviously you go at a relaxed pace and I find that this is the BEST way to see Kauai!