Kauai- Day Four, You Can Dance if You Want to

Aloha!
       I finally got my pictures in order for Kauai Day Four! I think you're going to enjoy them. In the morning of day four, I took some time to explore downtown Kapa'a (where our hotel is located) on my own. Its a cute little beach town, but I wouldn't recommend swimming or snorkeling due to the strong current. I saw little swimwear boutiques (expensive) and some surfing outfitters (expensive) and a guy with a rooster sitting on the handlebars of his bicycle. Yes... a live rooster. Now, if I rode around with a live rooster sitting on my handlebars, I would just expect people to take photos of me- I may even be encouraging them to through the act of rooster carrying, but when I asked if I could take a photo I got a cold stare and a "I would prefer you didn't". This is why rooster-bike-man is not pictured here today.
         After wandering around for some time  and spending too much money, I got a craving for some coffee. I found a little place (a local chain) called Java Kai. I recently discovered (when I went surfing there) that there is also a Java Kai in Hanalei Bay, but if you don't want to wait in line forever, you should arrive before 7:30am, because Java Kai is practically one of the only competent cafes on the island. A good breakfast/cafe place would make a killing in Hanalei Bay. Anyway, I had a pleasant day wandering around little Kapa'a. Its cute here.
       Around 4:30pm, my parents picked me up for the Smith Family Luau! I know, "Smith" Family? What is that? Apparently, the man who first started the Smith Family Luau was an Englishman who came to Kauai years and years ago and married a pretty Hawaiian girl. Hence the Hawaiian Smiths. When we arrived we checked in at the front gates of the gardens. Tickets for both the buffet dinner and the show are $80 a person. This is a decent price for what they offer, and its half the price of the Princeville Hotel Luau.  

Smith's Tropical Paradise!

The tram they take you to the Luau on

       Upon Arrival, you receive a shell necklace, and a photograph with two young, fit-looking people dressed as Hawaiians that you can purchase later, if you wish. Then, they load everyone onto a tram that drives you around the park while a tour guide tells you all about the plants and birds in the garden. I'll be honest- it has a bit of a Disneyland feel. Like, it should be a magical experience filled with the purest intentions of a culture, but its been so well-loved by so many that it's lost a bit of its magic, and now the paint is wearing off and you can smell the fried food in the garbage cans, and there are way too many people. Its similar to the Disneyland feel. 
       However, I really did enjoy myself. The Smith Family Luau begins with the Kalua pig ceremony. This is where a pig is buried in the ground with lots of very hot rocks after being wrapped in large leaves and seasoned. Two burly young Hawaiian men appear in traditional clothing to unearth said pig. This is what we eat. Also included in the buffet is an assortment of salads, some sweet potato, fish, chicken, teriyaki beef (my favorite), and an array of dessert options like coconut jello, and rice pudding. They also serve the traditional Poi (not the dance, but the food) which is a gooey paste made from the root of a taro plant. In ancient Hawaiian times, the early Polynesians would take dehydrated Poi with them on long voyages (like the journey to the Hawaiian islands) and add water to eat it. Dehydrated Poi is very nutritious, and can be kept for up to two years- it tastes gross though. 
       After dinner (oh yeah, and the open bar) everyone shuffles to the amphitheater to check out the show. The Smith family Luau has a dance performance involving dances form all parts of Hawaiian culture- Hula, Tahitian drum dancing, the Chinese New Year dance, the Japanese fan dance, some Filipino dances, and the dances of the Māori tribe of New Zealand. But I think the best way to tell you about the show is through photos. 

Pele, the goddess of fire, ascending form a volcano to create her people

Hula dancers

Tahitian drum dance

detail

detail

Split bamboo dance

Gourd dance

Shaker dance

Japanese fan dance

Filipino stick dance

     


 
     and  lastly, the fire Poi dances!


 Thanks for reading! Mahalo.




 

Kauai- Day Seven, Rain Rain Go Away

Aloha Everyone!


       Day Seven was a slow day... it was raining for most of the morning and wet during the rest of the day, so we kept it pretty low key. We decided to check out the Kauai Museum in Lihue around 11am. The museum was obviously a low budget endeavor in a neat old building across from the post office. It was still kind of cool to wander around and learn about the Hawaiian monarchy, and the many wars fought and lost over the conquering of Kauai by King Kamehameha "The Great" who ruled all the islands through the winning of battles, except Kauai. I also learned more about the unlawful takeover of the Hawaiian islands by the US government in 1898. It was educational. They also had an exhibit about the first Hollywood silent film made in Kauai "White Heat". 

Kauai Museum

After the museum excursion, we picked up some flat rate boxes from the post office for mailing souvenirs to people. Then we went to lunch at a restaurant called "Duke's" named for the famous swimmer/surfer/movie star Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. Duke's is a Hawaiian chain of restaurants. The food was very good, though it wasn't cheap. There is a Koi pond in the Lihue branch, so that was cool. After Duke's, we wandered over to the Lihue Mariott Hotel to check out their botanical garden. It exists within their elaborate courtyard. There were swans, and Hawaiian geese, and lots of Koi fish. It was very beautiful. 

That's about it for day seven. Sometimes you need to take a breather on such long trips to regroup your thoughts, and just spend time wandering. 

Until next time!
Mahalo 

Kauai- Day Six, Grand Canyon of Kauai

Aloha!
       Today we finally made it up to Waimea Canyon! The canyon is a spectacular place to take photos of the Hawaiian landscape in all its infamous glory! However, due to surfing my little heart out yesterday, I was plenty sore and tired when I woke up this morning. Even after having some delicious Ahi Poke with tomatoes and scrambled eggs, plus two cups of coffee I was really sluggish. So I decided that the best plan of action was to chill by the pool for a while and let the sun do some damage control on my poor, lazy muscles. We left around noon. The town of Waimea is about an hour and a

Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!

Ok, all sunned up an' ready to go!

half drive from our hotel, so we arrived around 1:30 or so. We decided to have a picnic lunch by the beach. I recommend buying a little cheapo ice chest from the grocery store while you stay in Kauai, because food is often expensive, and you can use it to pack sandwiches around whenever you feel so inclined.
       If you have been reading Happy Journeys  consistently, you'll remember some photos I took of skim borders and surfers in "Kauai- Day Two"- well we had lunch on the very same beach that I took those photos on. The beach is called Kekaha Beach, and it consists of several thousand feet of beautiful sandy beach, bordered by grassy park land equipped with some seating and spigots to rinse salt water from your bod. It seems to be a favorite beach for the local surfers, but when we asked the lifeguard about it, he told us that it was best for intermediate to advanced surfers due to a coral reef that stretches between the break and the beach. Anyway, its one of my favorite places on the island to take surfing photos so far, so I thought I would share some with you folks!

Believe it or not, he made it to shore

guy heading out

female surfer

        I've come to find during my stay in Hawaii, that I really enjoy watching people surf. Especially now that I kind of know what I'm talking about (thanks Tanner). However, all good things must come to an end- in order to make way for more good things. After stopping for lunch, we missed our exit to the canyon (its at the junction for highway 550, by the way) and ended up driving for another 30 minutes through some beautiful countryside that led us to a dirt road with "4 wheel drive required" signs posted around it. Needless to say, our rental car lacked the aforementioned 4 wheel drive, so we turned around. I got some great shots of the area though!

Farmland

Ocean views

                  
       Finally, we made it to our exit and began our accent up the windy mountain road to Waimea Canyon. If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods and decide to check out the canyon, I recommend that you bring a sweater or light jacket- no matter how warm you think it will be. The higher you get, the chillier it is- all the way up to about 4,500 feet. It was about a ten minute uphill drive before we reached our turnoff to the viewpoint. Once we arrived, we hiked up a brief flight of stairs and a paved ramp (yes, Waimea is wheelchair accessible) to check out the vast depth of this tropical crevasse! Let me just say- it was stunning! Looking over the canyon gave me a good idea of how the island of Kauai was formed, as it was one of the giant gashes left in the earth from volcanic activity and erosion. The photos I show here do not do it justice- you need to see it for yourself!

The two nice people paying for this adventure!

       As you can see, it was worth the drive! I would NOT want to fall down there, that's for sure. Anyway, after we had had our fill of the canyon, we headed back down to the little town of Waimea to seek out a shrimp shack that my parents had visited on a previous trip to the island. We found it on the main drag through town. It's called "The Shrimp Station" and its a tiny little yellow building with outdoor seating. The had some of the best coconut shrimp I've ever had, and the shrimp tacos were also very delicious. My dad had the beer battered shrimp with fries and they were tasty too- though I'm a die hard coconut shrimp fan myself.

Some guy named Alan took this picture

photo credit to Gerry Bauer (urbanspoon)

After stuffing ourselves with shrimp, we headed off to Poipu Beach again. My dad lost his glasses the first time we visited, and he wanted to go a-searching for them. Who am I to complain? Its a tropical beach! We were surprised to find a group of amateur ukulele players putting on an informal concert. They were actually very good and we had a fun time watching them preform traditional Hawaiian songs. Apparently the group meets every other Sunday to play ukulele together, just for the fun of it. It was a pretty good day.

Everybody now! A-one, two, three, four!

He seemed to be the head haunch-o of the group

Mahalo for reading!

Kauai- Day Five, Surf's Up!

Aloha!


I know what you may be thinking- "What happened to Day Four?" but don't worry, it's coming soon. I just need to get my pictures in order first.
As for today? It was a very good day. I think it was the best day on the island so far, because today my friends... I went surfing!
       We scheduled my surf lesson with Hawaiian Surfing Adventures in Hanalei Bay for 10am this morning. We had asked our hotel concierge where the best place to learn surfing is, and she smiled as she handed us the brochure. Now, Hanalei Bay is about an hour drive from our hotel (if you recall, we went there on day three after the lighthouse visit) but it was worth the drive. The bay is one of the most beautiful surf spots in all of Kauai! It has a sandy bottom (no rocks) and gorgeous sweeping mountain views- due to its location on the island's North Shore. You can even see the mountain and waterfalls surrounding the Waialeale crater, which is known as the wettest place on earth. You can spot it from sitting on a surf board, because there is a constant downpour coming from the clouds up there.


       We arrived at Hawaiian Surfing Adventures, which is just a little encampment of surfboards and picnic tables by the beach, around 9:45. I checked in and signed some liability waivers, and they equipped me with a bright red rash-guard shirt. It was incredibly dorky, but as I found out later, incredibly necessary. Then I met my instructor for the day, the super dreamy Tanner. That's right, I said he's dreamy.

That's me there, concentrating

Carrying the boards to the beach

        Tanner gave me some "dry land lessons" for about 20 minutes. He taught me how to lay, stand, paddle, and stand up properly, and how to turn the board in the water. He was really nice, and very patient in correcting my form, and giving me examples of what to/not to do. I've heard that most, if not all, of the instructors at H.S.A. are very helpful and generous in their instruction, so I would highly recommend them if you want to surf in Kauai. My lesson was supposed to be a group lesson, but due to inclement weather, it turned out to be a private lesson at the cost of a group (by the way, in Hawaii, inclement weather usually means 70deg. and overcast). After the dry land lesson we headed down to the beach- FYI, surfboards are heavier than they appear.

Attaching the "leash" to my ankle

Heading out into the surf

If you are attempting surfing for the first time, you should be aware that getting salt water in your mouth, and sand in your shorts is inevitable. Just accept it- move on. Also, I am told that being able to stand up on your second try is unusual. It normally takes 5-10 tries. But I wouldn't know, because it only took me two tries!

Attempt number 1

Attempt number 2!!!

 One might think that the only fun part about surfing is catching a wave, but they would be mistaken. Catching a wave is very gratifying, but the whole experience is just completely exhilarating! Even wiping out and getting sand in your shorts, or salt water in your mouth! Its all part of the experience! By the time we were done I had sand in places I never knew existed, my mouth tasted like I had just dumped salt in it, a had a giant- very not sexy looking- wedgie, my shoulders were aching like hell, and my knees and toes had welts and blisters on them that stung like the dickens, but I've never had more fun in the ocean. I'm sure I was grinning like an idiot. This has easily been my best day in Hawaii thus far.

All in all- a successful day. Hang loose!

Kauai- Day Three, Visiting the Lighthouse

Aloha!
Well, I really truly wished that I had invested in an underwater camera today.


The day began in the usual way, we sat and talked about where to go and what to do. We decided to drive to the northernmost point of Kauai (and all of Hawaii, I believe) to the Kilauea Wildlife Reserve and Lighthouse! The reserve is a place where native plants and animals are protected by the wildlife service of Hawaii. We saw Albatross, Wedge-Tailed Shearwaters, and Hawaii's state bird- the Nēnē, a Hawaiian goose. So... basically we saw a LOT of birds that were not chickens.

Nēnē

The lighthouse

The sea cliffs

 It was hot up there, but for the most part we had lots of fun! There was a nice breeze, and it was an educational trip.
       Next we decided to start driving west to see what we could see. We went from Kilauea Point to a little beach called Anini Beach. This is where my regret about the camera began. We wanted to go snorkeling, because we spoke with a man and his daughter about how they had seen sea turtles in the water. Well, sea turtles we found! Not only sea turtles, but coral reefs that were shaped like giant tires with lots and lots of beautiful colorful fish swimming about them. If you want to try snorkeling in Kauai- this is the best place we've found yet! Also, it would be a good place to bring children, as the water is calmer than other places due to the concave shape of the shore. Unfortunately, this is where my camera battery died. However, the only things we did other than snorkeling was driving around and checking out little towns. Princeville was a bland condo town with a shopping center that had no chickens wandering the premises, and since chickens are practically everywhere on Kauai, it makes me wonder what happened to them. The next town, Hanalei, was kind of cute, but small. We had fun wandering around and searching for souvenirs for loved ones.
 Sorry I don't have more to report, the loss of my camera + lots of travel time made it a slow day. I should have some more tidbits tomorrow!
Mahalo for reading!

Kauai- Day Two, Chickens

 Aloha Again!
       It is I, your faithful Kauai guide! I am still having a blast on the island- and I have so much more to share with you from yesterday (I would have updated then, but I was exhausted)! First of all, I've been waking up every morning these last three days at 7am to document the sunrise (@7:18) outside our bad ass hotel room, and I thought it was high time I share one of these photos with you! 

Breathtaking, no?I think so, which is why I've been dragging my sorry butt out of bed to see it every day. Those of you who know me, will know that being awake is not one of my strong suits.
       Every day, after we watch the sunrise, my parents and I sit and chat about what we're going to do for that day. Yesterday, we decided to play it by ear. We thought we might check out a near by waterfall that a guy selling coconuts at the farmer's market told us about, and maybe go to the beach or do some driving around. So, off we went in our rental car (highly recommended, by the way. Kauai is small, but there isn't any great public trans.) to Opaekaa Falls! We drove up a winding mountain road to a scenic viewing point, and what did we find?

Flock of hens

       Well... chickens. Lots of brightly colored chickens, and roosters. Now, I had heard that Kauai has wild chickens milling about all over the place, but we had yet to encounter any until yesterday. Since then, we've seen at least 50 different chickens wandering around. Apparently, years and years ago, domestic chickens were brought to Kauai, and their cages were destroyed during a big storm. The chickens set out into the wilderness, and with no natural predators, 12 months of summer, and bountiful food they multiplied and bred with native birds to create what I like to call "Rainbow Super Chickens"! And boy were they noisy!     

                                                                    
       Ever since our first encounter with the Chickens, my dad keeps muttering about how he's going to hide in the bushes with a burlap sack, so he can catch and eat chickens whenever he feels like it. My mom and I keep trying to remind him, that he would probably get chicken worms in addition to being arrested.
       Oh yeah! We also saw the waterfall! It was pretty far away from where we stopped the car, but we were told that trying to hike down to it could be dangerous because there are no trails. I'm sure there's a way, but we didn't stick around to discover it. Fortunately I have quite a mighty camera lens with me.

Close up of the falls

The falls cascades into the Wailua River- which used to be reserved for Hawaiian royalty. In modern times it is a popular kayaking River... hmmm perhaps this is where we will have our kayaking adventure?
       After stopping at Opaekaa Falls we decided to take a drive further up the road. It took us through some beautiful forest scenery and into several residential neighborhoods where chickens wandered freely, and people were growing bananas and coconuts in their yards. The road ended in a pretty little grassy park. We turned around around to find a beach, as it was getting particularly hot. Earlier in the day, we had rented scuba equipment from Snorkel Bob's (a small chain of snorkel rental stores in Hawaii) but since then I've discovered that you can get a better deal on renting from Nukumoi Surf Company (http://www.nukumoisurf.com). We took our gear to the infamous Poipu Beach on the South shore of the island to test it out.

Poipu is split into two lagoons

      Poipu is certainly the epitome of the typical tropical beach. White sand, swaying palms, gorgeous ocean views, etc. However, it was slightly crowded. It was also an obvious tourist destination. Now- we are tourists here in Hawaii, but if you're looking for something a bit more genuine to what the native people experience- perhaps Poipu is not for you.
       We went snorkeling on the right side of the beach (on your right when you face the ocean) and there were swarms of beautifully colored fish! I wish I had a waterproof camera to show you, but I just can't bring myself to take icky grainy photos with a cheap disposable. The coral was less spectacular than the fish- the underwater landscape was a bit gray with little splashes of pink and white here and there, but the experience of snorkeling is always fun.
       When I resurfaced I found that the local lifeguard had roped off an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal! These are the largest native Hawaiian mammal, and its rare to see them! Hawaii is very proactive in maintaining and trying to preserve their unique environment, so whenever a seal is spotted on the beach, it is roped off so people won't disturb it. The seals look a lot like the black volcanic rocks littering the shores of Kauai's beaches.

Close up of seal (also in photo above)

 
When we'd had our fill of the beach, we did some shopping for souvenirs at the Kukui ula Village shopping center, and headed out to explore more of the coastal countryside. We drove through a cute little town called Waimea where we had dinner (nowhere worth mentioning). Then, on our was back we stopped at several scenic spots to take photos and enjoy the scenery! We also found a local beach where people were surfing and enjoying themselves in the sunset!

Local girl skim boarding

Local guy holding skim board

Surfer emerging from the waves

Kauai- Day One, Loco Moco Farmer's Market

Aloha!
       We finally made it to Hawaii, and it is beautiful! I'm writing from the end of our first day here, so let me catch you up on our journey and what we've been doing so far. Our flight left from Seattle at 4pm on Monday. However, my mother had some work to do from her laptop, and since she's the person who payed for our flight and hotel, we showed up four- yes four hours early for our flight. I'm not the most patient person (especially when it comes to waiting for something exciting) so I proceeded to get increasingly intoxicated on expensive airport liquor. This, I do not recommend. I'm fairly sure I spent a good hour and a half staring confoundedly at the magazines before drunkenly and halfheartedly choosing one that had about two dozen pictures of smoothies on it.
       Usually, depending on the season and airport, you should allow yourself about an hour or two for security and bag check. Unless, of course, you're traveling for Christmas, then ah... well good luck. We finally boarded our plane on time (by this point I had sobered up a bit) and began our six hour flight to the Lihue (pronounced Līhuʻe) airport. I sat in the middle... yay. We flew Alaska Airlines, and they charged us a $15 bag check fee (grrr.) If you can, I would suggest flying with Southwest Airlines, as they allow each person TWO free checked bags, which is nice. There is no wifi for about 5 1/2 hours of the flight (because the plane is over open ocean). They gave us free mai tais toward the end of the flight, which is a nice gesture, but made me sick to my stomach later. The trip was boring and long and cramped, but no worries- we didn't come to Hawaii for the plane trip.
       The first thing I noticed when we landed and disembarked the plane (around 8pm local time), was that the airport was hot and humid and lacking air conditioning, but most places in Hawaii are. Also- everything was open air- which is very different from buildings in the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, instead of listing things in English followed by Spanish, signs will first show English followed by Japanese! But moving on to less mundane topics...
       We got our rental car and headed off to our hotel- the Kapa'a Shores Resort Condominiums. My parents are part of a "resort share" program that is similar to timeshare, and each unit across the country that they've stayed at has a full kitchen. This is very cool, because it allows you to make your own meals from local foods. I highly recommend seeking out lodgings with kitchen space if your budget allows. We arrived and checked the place out- it is a one bedroom unit, full kitchen, Murphy bed in the living room (guess who gets to sleep here?), with a lanai (Hawaiian for patio?) that looks across a beautiful ocean view with a little rocky beach... incredible. It was too dark to really see when we arrived, but I woke up with the sun this morning to get some pictures!

The sun rising over the Pacific

The little beach outside our hotel (not a swimming beach)

 














Not too shabby, eh? The sand on our beach is an orangey-red hue because the soil on Kauai is red. They even make shirts that are called "red dirt shirts" that they dye using the pigments in the soil. I definitely plan on getting one for the ol' boyfriend who is currently freezing his rear off in Seattle.
       My mom joined me to watch the sunrise, and to see the little 
crabs scuttling madly around on the sand, and then we went inside and made breakfast (Kitchen! Woo hoo!). However, we found our breakfast severely lacking in the tropical fruit department, so we got dressed and went in search of a farmer's market. My dad chose today to lay around in the sun and read, so he was left behind. We hopped in our rental car and were only driving about 5 minutes  when we came across a local farmer's market in the parking lot of the Coconut Market shopping center. It had the same feel of a farmer's market back home, but the goods for sale were much more unique! Imagine getting a bouquet of tropical flowers for six bucks! How about three starfruit for one dollar? Check it out-

The market

Our market spoils!

            

                    Needless to say we were totally thrilled with our discovery! After we came back an unloaded our purchases, we located a K Mart so I could get some sandals and a swimming suit. Then we went to the grocery store to stock up on some basic food stuffs that we couldn't find at the market (just FYI, Hawaiian grocery stores run out of things periodically that they can't replace super quickly because a lot of things need to be imported... like milk). Then we checked out the local liquor store to stock up on out pina colada fixings. After this is when we stumbled upon another amazing food discovery- Waipouli Restaurant, Home Cooking. This little hole in the wall restaurant has some of the most amazing food. Its a little Hawaiian style diner that serves up some of the best local cuisine on the island (or so a tour guide sitting near by told us) and after trying my Ono (Hawaiian fish), rice, and pork tofu- I must say that I am inclined to believe him. Hawaiian food is interesting, because it contains a blend of Asian, American, and Polynesian ingredients. One of the dishes on the menu that caught my eye was called the "loco moco". Since there were no descriptions of the food under the names of the plates, I asked our server about it. She told me that the loco moco consists of two scoops of rice, topped with a hamburger patty, one over easy fried egg, and a hefty piling of gravy. This is Hawaiian food in a nutshell.
       This place, its culture, and the environment here are absolutely enchanting and enticing! Just breathing the air here refreshes your soul. After we got back from our escapades, I floated around in the pool and stared at the clouds and palms- just mediating on how fortunate I am to be here in this beautiful place! I hope tomorrow brings as much, or more excitement and surprise as today did! I can't wait to see what's next! Until then!
 Mahalo!