The Last Day in Paradise and a Bottle (or 2) of Rum

 June 20, 2021

Unfortunately, this was our last day in Hawaii. We leave tonight on the red eye flight back home. Since we still had most of the day free, we decided to go on a safari. Well, not a typical safari that involves animals but one that involves rum. Kauai Safaris offer a rum safari at the Kilohana Plantation which is near the airport. So, after saying a sad farewell to our condo, we headed south in search of some Hawaiian spirits. 

It was disappointing that the stores at the plantation were closed. It was Sunday but my guess was that they were not fully up and running for tourist season. They have a huge restaurant there and advertise Sunday brunch but I’m not quite sure Kauai is ready for buffets - not sure I am either! 

However, the rum tour was open and what a blast that was! Of course I don’t remember the names of our tour guides because I’m writing this a few weeks after we went but they were both very entertaining. The tour was 2 hours long where they drove us in an open air bus around the plantation. The plantation owners have an agricultural staff who farm the land but since there are 105 acres, they allow people from the community to farm the remaining land for free. This allows the owners to maintain their agricultural status and get a substantial tax break. The result of this is that the Koloa rum and the plantation restaurant use fresh ingredients and we received farm to glass cocktails.  

Our guides were a good pair. The driver/bartender/comedian kept us laughing and the other guide was involved with the farming and supplied interesting information about the agricultural side of things. Fresh pineapple was picked enroute to the first tasting spot in the jungle where a boardwalk led to a covered outdoor bar. We tasted about six (the number is fuzzy!) types of Koloa rum. Driver/bartender/comedian gave me a hard time about pouring a lot of my tastings out but I told him that when you are 5 feet tall, you have to pace yourself. However, none of my chocolate flavored rum hit the dirt! The fresh pineapple was used in the Mai Tais that were mixed for us after the tastings. 

We all made it back to the bus where we continued our exploration of the plantation and saw some of the farm animals that they keep around. Mountain apples and some oranges were picked for our next tasting that was held under a pavilion that coincidentally groups can rent out (a little advertising). Driver/bartender/comedian whipped up some tropical rum punch and we tasted the Mountain apples. They are lightly sweet and have the texture of a pear rather than an apple. There are so many fruits in Hawaii that I am not familiar with. I guess I need to up my produce game. 

After the tour we were very disappointed that the Koloa rum store was closed. It was unfortunate for them too as I'm sure our tour group would have probably paid the monthly mortgage! Their rum isn't sold online either but there is a map of the local liquor stores that sell it around us. I guess a rum search will commence once we get home.

After eating lunch  at a local restaurant recommended by our tour guides, we reluctantly headed to the airport to begin our long journey home. I have to admit that if it wasn’t for my dogs….and my kids….I might have been tempted to stay. Kauai is a very special place and I would love to go back some day.

Until then, Aloha and Mahalo!

Mai Tais in the jungle

Driver/bartender/comedian holding cashew fruit. See the cashew at the top. The fruit below does not taste good.

Farmer guide picking the perfect pineapple.

Rainbow Eucalyptus tree

Driver/bartender/comedian with a box of freshly picked Mountain apples.

Mountain apple

Taro field outside the pavilion

Two of my favorites - if you find these let me know!

Kayak Adventure

 June 19, 2021

Another early start today to go on a kayak/hiking adventure! We were lucky enough to get the last two spots on a Duke’s Kayak Adventures tour but we had to report at 7am in Kapp’a, about a 30 minute drive from our condo. This adventure included kayaking 5 miles on the Wailua river and then hiking 1 mile to the Uluwehi falls also known as Secret Falls which is not much of a secret but I will get to that later..

After being outfitted with a tandem kayak with Don in the back, we set out on the calm and clear Wailua river. Our tour guide was Brian and right off the bat we knew it was going to be a fun time when he started off with his Madonna repertoire! We tried to keep up with him because he had many fun facts, many set to songs. It was a beautiful morning and an added Hawaiian touch was all along the way were pretty orange flowers floating in the water. These were called Sunset  flowers which are yellow while on the bush but change to an orange color before they fall off the bushes into the water. Another fun feature was rowing past the site where the opening airplane in the water scene was filmed for the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indianna Jones movie. 

For the most part, Don and I were compatible rowers, when he followed my lead(!) However, there were a few times I was enthusiastically rowing away only to notice that he wasn’t! He assured me that he was an excellent rudder and would guide us in the right direction. But

after 5 miles, I was glad that he was in the kayak with me because that is the farthest that I have ever rowed.

We docked our kayaks and set out on the hike. The first part reminded me of walking through a corn maze because we had to trek through very tall grass until we got to the stream that we had to cross. “Stream” was the wrong description in the tour advertisement - it was a 2-3 foot river! I was so glad that I didn’t wear my hiking boots and had opted for my Keen sandals to forge my way through the swift current. As with our canyon hike, this trail had many roots and some rocks to navigate. Our guide pointed out that a positive outcome of the Covid caused tour shutdown, was that it enabled workers to install a boardwalk for most of the trail which previously was prone to be a muddy mess and hard to walk through. This is a heavily traveled trail so I’m sure it was ecologically necessary as well. 

Our destination, the 100 foot Uluwehi waterfall, did not disappoint. It was beautiful! Because we had left so early, we had no problem finding a spot in the rocks to set up “camp” and enjoy the view and a snack. Brian told us that going behind the waterfall was a great experience and if we stood in the right spot behind the falls, released leaves would fly up the waterfall. Well, of course Don and I had to try this. How hard could it be? Well, we found out that it was not easy. First of all, the water was very chilly so I had to force myself in. Then when we reached the waterfall, we got the full impact of the force of the water coming down. Fortunately, Brian had given us great instruction about where to enter from the side and then the niche to back into when behind the falls. We released our leaves and they did fly up! I found out later that Don was worried the entire time about losing his contacts from the pounding water so didn’t “see” much of the experience. Brian filmed our venture and even added some special effects. Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed this tour guide?!

After about an hour, we set out on our trip back. We had noticed that by the time we left the falls, more and more people had begun showing up. The trail back was very busy and when we got back to where we left the kayaks, it was a packed kayak parking lot! Then the race was on to get on the water before everyone else got back. This also reminded me of the open scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, when all the natives are running through the jungle! Actually, the river is pretty wide so there was enough room but quite busier than our trip there. 

I have to tell you that by the time we made it back to the marina, I was pretty pooped but what a great adventure! I highly recommend it but go early! We felt like we deserved a good lunch so we found a restaurant by the beach. Loco Moco for me and Poke bowl for Don which gave us the strength to drive back to our condo for a nap! Well, actually I may have started the second part on the way back..

We decided to start Happy Hour later at the secluded beach that we found near the condo the other day. We schlepped some chairs and our snorkel gear down the trail which was much easier this time since we knew where the actual trail was. It was a little tricky to navigate the rocks down to the beach but well worth it. The beach is sheltered a little so the water was not rough there but there were a lot of lava rock formations in the shallow water which looked like it made snorkeling a little difficult. So, we set aside our snorkel gear and soaked in the relaxing, warm water instead. Life’s a beach!

At Uluwehi Falls

Are you rowing back there?

Sunset flowers

Brian can even talk to the birds!

Uluwehi Falls

Behind the falls

A kayak parking lot!

Our secluded beach

The rainbows confirm that our Kauai hideaway was magical!

The Beautiful..and soggy..Waimea Canyon

June 18, 2021

We got an early start today in order to drive to the southwest part of the island in search of the Waimea Canyon. It took us about two hours to get there. The island is round and there is only one road that connects the north shore and the west side of the island. You cannot drive completely around the island because of the rugged Na Pali coast on the west side. The southern part of the island is much drier than the northern part because it does not get as much rain. As a result, the vegetation is not as lush and filled in. 

We climbed in elevation as we got closer to the rim of Waimea Cayon which is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is not as big as the Grand Canyon but it is ten miles long and 3,000 feet deep and it is gorgeous! It is very colorful with red dirt and green vegetation. The canyon was formed 10 million years ago when a central volcano collapsed. The Waimea river has carved its way through the bottom of the canyon. 

After visiting a few overlooks, we decided to do the Canyon Trail hike which ends at the top of the Waipo’o Falls. I had read that this viewpoint of the falls is just as good as the view you get from hiking down to the bottom of the canyon. Since the descent to the bottom is 2,000 feet and there are no escalators to bring you 2,000 feet back up, we went with the Canyon Trail.

The trail was through the thick forest with many rocks and big roots to navigate. There were several beautiful overlooks with not enough railings in my opinion. I’m not a big fan of heights. It started raining a little when we got to the end and there was a little confusion about where the waterfall overlook was. Don scrambled down some slippery rocks to a ledge and said, “Here it is!” Through the rain, which was much heavier at this point, I shouted that he should take a picture because there was no way I was going to slide my way down to a ledge of a canyon with no railing! A few anxious minutes of stressing that I was newly widowed, Don reappeared. I could not see a waterfall in any of the pictures that he took so I had to take his word for it. I guess we should have hiked to the bottom!

The 1.8 mile hike back to the car was very, very wet. It was pouring so hard that streams of water were gushing down where the trail was supposed to be so our feet were completely soaked and caked with red mud. It wasn’t cold, however and we had rain jackets on so I decided to soldier on. Don made us some walking sticks which helped us get over the slick rocks and roots and we eventually found ourselves back at the car about the time the rain stopped and the sun emerged. While wringing our socks out we pondered the question, why did it rain so hard on us on the south side of the island where rain was not frequent and it has not rained once on us while we have been on the “rainy” northern side? I guess we’re just lucky like that!

We decided that we had earned a great Hawaiian BBQ lunch so we found a highly rated place in Waimea. Chicken In a Barrel BBQ is a popular chain on the island and this one is situated on an old plantation that has been converted into a little resort. We had a great view of the plantation from the deck and the food was delicious or we were just starving…

Next on the agenda was the Kauai Coffee Plantation. Alex’s only request was that we bring him back some Kona coffee. Well, since Kona coffee only comes from Kona on the big island, we decided to check out Kauai coffee. It turns out that Kauai Coffee is the largest coffee farm in the United States with over 4 million coffee trees. First we did the coffee tasting. I’m a cream and sugar person so I didn’t know how I would like straight coffee but I could really taste the difference between the different roasts. Being the nerd tourists that we are, we did the self guided walking tour around the farm and learned a few things. Kauai coffee actually started as the McBryde Sugar company in the 1800s and grew sugar cane. It wasn’t until 1987 that they diversified their crop to coffee. We would love to come back in the spring when all these 4 million coffee plants are blooming. What a sight and smell that would be! Harvest runs mid October through early December, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That’s a lot of coffee!

You don’t go to the southern part of Kauai without seeing the Spouting Horn so we set out to find it. It is located on the coast in Po’ipu and I called this the Hawaiian version of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful except it was more frequent and a lot less smelly! Basically, this is a blowhole where the strong tide moves the water under the lava shelf, the water gets forced through a nature made rock tube and shoots out the top of the rock. The larger the wave, the larger the blast. The legend is that a large lizard was chasing a swimmer. The swimmer tricked him by swimming under the lava shelf and escaped through the hole. The lizard got stuck in the tube and is there for eternity. The hiss and the roar of the water is actually the lizard’s breath. Regardless of the origin, it was quite addicting to watch. An added bonus was a sea turtle who decided to float around the rocks while we were there. 

We made it back to our condo in time for happy hour and the sunset. Needless to say, we were exhausted!

At the Waimea Canyon

Of course there were chickens on the trail!

Always great to come across these signs…

Beautiful!

A small waterfall along the way.

Soaked through and through!

Kauai Coffee

The Spouting Horn with bonus rainbow!

Home for the sensational sunset!

Exploring Hanalei

June 17, 2021

I have to say, breakfast on the lanai was nice. It is so weird to me not to be freezing in the morning. While listening to the roosters announce the morning, literally, we planned our itinerary for the next few days. Many people tend to do this months in advance but we like to be more laid back - at least that’s our excuse! Of course sometimes this is not to our advantage especially during the busy season. However, we ended up putting a good plan together.

Today the plan was to snoop around Princeville and then head down to a town called Hanalei. Hanalei is not too far away and is probably where many people who stay in Princeville go to eat but now there is a problem with that scenario. There was a mud slide due to heavy flooding in March which caused major road damage so now there are only certain times that cars are allowed on the road during the week so that repairs can be made. The time slot we were shooting for was 1:00pm. 

Before starting out, we had seen people with beach chairs following a path next to our condo that supposedly led to a secluded beach so we decided to find it. Of course there were no signs so I trusted my Eagle Scout to guide us...a few minutes of forging streams and bushwhacking through the jungle uphill was not successful. We caught up with another couple who were just as lost. Working together we retraced our steps and finally found the right path which was much easier and eventually led us to the beach. Once we arrived, there were some big rocks that had to be negotiated to get down to the beach. We didn’t go all the way down since we weren’t staying but we added a true visit here to our agenda. 

Princeville to me looked like one big neighborhood with beautiful homes surrounding a golf course. There is a little shopping area where we found the local grocery store, Foodland, and a few shops. After enjoying an açaí bowl and a little live Hawaiian music, we headed out to get in line for Hanalei. There were many cars lined up but once we started going, most people were courteous and took turns merging into line but there were a few who obviously flunked the “take turns” lessons in preschool. Once we started down the road, it took no time at all to get to the little town of Hanalei.

We drove through the town and continued down the road to see where it led. We crossed many one lane bridges which made me thankful that we weren’t in Don’s huge truck. Although there were many beaches along the way, we often couldn’t see them because of the foliage but a big give away were cars parked along the road. There were no signs. We stopped at Haena beach which had a parking lot and the name of the beach on the lifeguard shack. Across the road we also explored a little cave which thankfully was not too deep and had no bats. At the end of this road was the entrance to Haena State Park which had many popular hiking trails. Well, because we didn’t plan ahead we could not get a permit to enter the park. They limit how many visitors uper day ( I think 700) so you have to get a permit months in advance. June and July were completely sold out. 

Instead, we stopped at Limahuli Garden and Preserve and did a little botanic walking tour. It was very interesting and gave us a great education on all of the plants we had been seeing around the island. A big takeaway for me was that when the Polynesians came to the island, there were no edible plants so they brought with them plants and animals so that they would be able to survive here. Only about 3% of the plants on Kauai are native, the rest have come from somewhere else...even pineapple. We also learned that the banyan tree that I love so much is actually an invasive strangling fig tree that pretty much kills whatever it decides to take over..Hmm it might have dropped a little on my favorites list. Also the Albizia tree is one that I’ve admired since we’ve gotten here and originally came from Indonesia. However, it is one of the fastest growing trees so it doesn’t fully root and is very unstable. Because they are huge and tend to blow down, the Hawaiians do not intentionally plant these trees and are trying to get rid of them. I’m starting to really question my tree judgement!

We did a little beach time at Hanalei Bay ( well we think that’s where we were - again, no signs!). The surf was strong so we thought we would get in the river next to it but it was very cold. 

On the way back we stopped in the town of Hanalei to find an early dinner. We happened upon Bar Acuda, a tapas restaurant. There was a line, which was pretty normal. Tourists are once again flocking to Hawaii and Hawaii is not quite ready. Not every establishment is open and if they are, aren’t fully staffed. We had heard several locals comment that people aren’t wanting to work because they are enjoying their unemployment benefits. While visiting with the couple in front of us, they had tried 2 months ago to get reservations here with no luck (big planners!) but they thought they would take a chance to get in. I guess if you stand in line before they open, you may be able to get a table. Who knew? We waited and as luck would have it, we got a table with the understanding we would eat up and be out of there before their next reservation which gave us an hour and a half- no problem! It was a nice place with delicious food and wine. We were a little underdressed but they served us anyway!

Before getting to the condo, we decided to stop at Foodland along with many others. While standing in the checkout line, I thought I saw someone I knew but couldn’t tell because everyone are still required to wear masks in stores in Hawaii. I almost walked up to her but didn’t want to embarrass myself. I later messaged her and found out it was my friend Lauren who I worked with several years ago. Small world! 

Haena Beach

A photo that I found of the mudslide that damaged the road to Hanalei in March.


The secluded beach that we found

An impressive cave 


A small portion of the Limahuli Gardens

The scenery from the gardens were breathtaking. I expected a dinosaur to appear anytime…

The town of Hanalei

Moving on to the Garden Island

 June 16, 2021

Don didn’t have to work today so after coffee on the lanai, we went across the street to the Moana Surfrider hotel for breakfast. This is an elegant place and was the first big hotel built on Waikiki beach, opening in 1901. There are old photos and historical information on the second floor which we thought were interesting, especially when you see how the area looked before it was developed. In fact when Don’s grandmother visited Oahu in the 1930’s she stayed with friends who had a home on Waikiki beach!

We had time to kill before our afternoon flight to Kauai, so we headed to find the second oldest hotel, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel which is easy to spot from the shoreline because the outside structure is pink stucco. However, It is not easy to find the entrance from the street side because it is hidden behind a big mall which blocks it from the main drag.This hotel is really lovely and has an old Hollywood feel. It’s historical archives were harder to find than at the Moana. We ended up asking for help and were directed to the basement next to the spa. Of course! There were great photos of famous people who have stayed there like young Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney, and Bing Crosby. This hotel opened in 1927. The opening night black tie gala was $10 a plate which is equivalent to $1,000 today! A fun fact that we learned was that after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the hotel shut its doors to the public and became a place of R&R for US Navy personnel. It reopened to the public in 1947.

Later in the afternoon, we hopped on a short 20 minute flight to the island of Kauai. We really lucked out because just yesterday the governor of Hawaii announced that visitors flying within islands no longer needed a Covid test. If this change hadn’t occurred, we would have had to get another test to fly to Kauai and then yet another test when we flew back to Oahu to catch our connecting flight home. We talked to a couple later on who were not as lucky and ended up paying $400/ea for tests at their hotel! 

As I mentioned earlier, rental cars are scarce on the islands. I found out from a friend about an app called Turo where you can rent people’s personal cars like you rent houses on VRBO. So we decided to try it. After we landed, Don received a text giving us instructions on where the car was parked. After Don sent proof of his drivers license next to the license plate of the car, it was unlocked remotely and the keys were inside - slick! We now had a new Subaru Crosstrek with only 420 miles on it to use for the week!

The first thing I saw and heard when we walked to the car was a rooster. There are chickens and roosters roaming everywhere on the island. We have since learned why. In 1992 hurricane Iniki hit Kauai and caused millions of dollars worth of damage. It also blew down many chicken coops so the chickens ran free. Since then wild chickens are everywhere on the island. Supposedly they are not good to eat or their eggs, if you could ever find one. 

We decided to rent a VRBO condo on the north side of the island. The north side gets more rain so it has the most vegetation. Wow, was this true! The farther north we drove, the more lush it got. The mountains were huge and covered with green. I guess there is a reason why Kauai is called the Garden Island. Our condo was in Princeville which has many nice homes and resorts but is not too populated. Our condo was secluded and overlooked the ocean. There was no air conditioning but we didn’t need it. All that was needed was to open the windows and let the sea breeze blow in. It was very calming to let the sounds of ocean waves lull us to sleep.

Before bed, however, was the matter of dinner. We had stocked up with some essentials at the Kapp’a Safeway- wine, eggs, bread, pineapple, etc. but nothing for dinner. This was on purpose on my part. Vacation isn't a vacation if I have to make dinner. Unfortunately, there are not many restaurants in Princeville. We ended up at the bar at a pizzeria watching an Australian surfing competition on TV. Perfect!

The view from our Kauai "yard"

The Moana Surfrider Hotel

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Our greeter at the Kauai airport

A resort casualty of Hurricane Iniki

Our lanai at the condo

The Beach and Burmese

June 15, 2021

Since we were still on Colorado time, we woke up early enough to see the sunrise and the wacky surfers already out waiting for their waves! Unless there was a coffee mug holder on my surfboard, I’m out. 

After waiting a long time for an acai bowl and bullet coffee for Don at his favorite coffee stand, he headed off to work so I had a whole day to myself. I’m not used to traveling by myself and am navigationally challenged but I was in luck. It seems that navigation comes easily if I use stores as landmarks so I was set since every store known to mankind was surrounding us. 

First off, I tried to follow the Waikiki boardwalk. When we were here with the kids in 2007, one of my fondest memories was walking along the boardwalk and hearing the music from all of the hotels along the way. After losing the boardwalk which really isn’t made of wood but asphalt, several times I gave up, thinking that it didn’t exist anymore. I have since learned that we had walked it from the other end. Where we are staying this time the boardwalk has never existed. Oh well, I got my steps in trying!

There is an outdoor mall nearby called the International Marketplace. It was built around a giant Banyan tree which is gorgeous. I truly wish that we could grow banyan trees in Colorado because they are my new favorite. I didn’t shop much, just picked up some rashguards- long sleeve UV blocking shirts- to protect our sun abused skin when we snorkel and kayak along with some beach towels. I tried to stay away from all of the touristy chatchskis because I don’t want to haul them around and they usually end up in the next garage sale!

In the afternoon, I picked up lunch and decided to join the hundreds of other people on the beach. My dermatologist and I have agreed that my sunbathing days are over so I rented a beach chair with umbrella. This is when I realized how much technology I rely on on a daily basis. I had my phone, smart watch -which is like an appendage so forgot to leave it in the hotel room- and my kindle. Not exactly beach equipment. Luckily there were no tidal waves to wipe out my devices and I spent a relaxing afternoon reading.

That evening we met Will, who is the managing veterinarian of the Honolulu practice, for dinner. Also included was Megan, the project architect, as well as Connor and Rich who we had Happy Hour with last night. Dinner was at a Burmese restaurant which is a favorite of Will’s so he ordered for us and the food was amazing! The dishes were loaded with different spices, similar to Indian food but not too hot. Great food and conversation equaled  a very fun evening.

Me and the Duke. Photo taken by a fellow tourist..

Surfer parking lot




M

Banyan tree in the middle of the mall.

Lunch at the beach,

A fun group- Don, me, Connor, Megan and Will. Rich is taking the photo.

Welcome to Waikiki!

 June 14, 2021

This afternoon we began our journey to Hawaii. Don is still working on a veterinary hospital build for Ethos and needed to check on the progress. The hospital is in Honolulu on the island of O’ahu and since he has had to make a few trips on his own, I decided it would be nice of me to keep him company on this one! The plan is to stay on O’ahu until Wednesday for work and then fly to Kauai for vacation. 

Making arrangements to travel to Hawaii was not easy. First of all, we had a tight turn around- one day!- between the RV trip and the Hawaii trip. Also, although COVID  restrictions are loosening up in Colorado and other mainland states, Hawaii is behind. This is very understandable because an island has fewer resources and needs to protect their residents from thousands of tourists. Consequently,  to go to Hawaii, we had to register on their Safe Travels website and upload negative COVID test results within 72 hours of arriving. After doing this, we were emailed a QR code which we showed to the officials at DIA who then gave us a wristband that we showed to officials at the O’ahu airport when we landed. If we hadn’t done all of this, we would have gotten to spend 10 days in quarantine at our hotel! Masks are still required inside establishments but not outside, thankfully.

Hawaii is four hours behind Colorado so we landed just in time for Happy Hour! It seemed like it took forever to get to our hotel since we opted to take a shuttle instead of Uber. Due to the current scarcity of rental cars since many were sold during the pandemic to reduce overhead, Uber prices were high and not as readily available. But the long day of travel was worth it when we were upgraded to a hotel room which overlooked Waikiki beach. However, we didn’t stay long. We needed to walk and wake up our legs from sitting for hours and besides we had been invited for drinks at Don’s coworker Connor’s VRBO a few blocks away.

The streets surrounding Waikiki beach were packed with people! I had heard that hotels were fully booked and it showed. We made it to the beach in time to see the sunset which was spectacular. Connor’s condo also had a great view of it and the lit up Honolulu skyline. We had a great visit with Connor and coworkers, Rich, Justin, and Adam.

They put on a terrific Happy Hour complete with snacks that thoroughly welcomed us to Hawaii!

We're off!

Not a bad view at all!

Beautiful sunset over Waikiki

Honolulu skyline