Back from Kaua'i
Just got back from my honeymoon from the beautiful island of Kauai. Still a bit tired, probably because of the red-eye flight back but also probably because we may have squeezed in a bit too much.
Anyway, just a quick download of things we did.
Monday evening. Landed at LIH and headed straight for Hamura Saimin in Lihue. It was good, but not being a ramen/instant noodle/saimin connoisseur, I can't tell you if it was awesome as many reviews claim. I also got my Chinese Pretzel fix as they were selling those as well. Then checked into the Waipouli Beach Resort and Spa (only 3 years old and very nice facilities for relatively cheap if you go the VRBO route)
Tuesday...Felicia was slowly approaching...but we ventured out anyway to see the sights on the East side. Wailua Falls and Opaeka'a Falls were the main hits this day. Tried to go to the Farmer's Market near Opaeka'a but there was none to be found. For dinner we went to Korean Bar B Q. The Kalbi was pretty good.
Wednesday...the no doors helicopter ride by Inter Island Helicopter was on tap. However, Felicia finally landed, and 2/3 of the way to the launching pad on the West Side, we got the cancellation call. Stuck on the west side, with rain and clouds, Waimea Canyon wasn't going to be too good either. At 9AM, not much was open, so we first hit the Kauai Coffee Plantation and toured the grounds. Bought a malasada...big mistake. Not very good. After that, it was still early. What to do...well, even though it was raining, it was still nearly 80 degrees. Why not go golfing! Kukuiolono Golf Course, where the 9 hole greens fee is $9. Jaime played too. It was so empty, only one other couple dared brave the rains. Fortunately, we were wearing our fast wicking shirts and swimsuits underneath, so while we were drenched, we quickly dried when the sun came out over hole 4. And from then on it was one scenic view after another. After golf, we headed for the South part of Kaua'i. We hit Sueoka's Snack Shop in Koloa for lunch. Tasty plate lunch. Teri beef for me, and Island Fish of some sort for Jaime. We grabbed dessert at Lappert's Ice Cream. Jaime liked her Kona Java Lava, but my Guava Sorbet or Sherbert wasn't that great. After that the Spouting Horn (which wasn't spouting that magnificently...I figure it was low tide). And then after that, a trip to Po'ipu Beach (winner of the 2001 Best Beach award). While in the south side, we stopped in at the Grand Hyatt to see what pampered living would have been like. It's a pretty grand entrance if you've ever walked up to the lobby. For dinner, we ate at Kintaro's teppenyaki bar. Ordered the Surf and Turf, but next time, need to remember to pass on the lobster.
Thursday. Felicia still there. Rescheduled 4PM heli tour...canceled. We decided to take a look at the beach in front of the resort. Imagine our good fortune when we saw the beach roped off. There was a Hawaiian Monk Seal that had decided to beach itself and rest for the day. The monk seal is extremely endangered and is not to be disturbed, thus the roping. Spent about 30-45 minutes watching it do nothing except for the occasional back scratch and tail wag. This is about the only time we got sun burned as we didn't expect to be out for more than 15 minutes. Anyway, we then we went to the Fish Express in Lihue and got some yummy fish plates as well as some good Ahi Poke. After lunch with the heli tour canceled, we decided to go out hiking, since it was actually looking nice on the East side (nice = some blue among the many clouds). We headed to the Kuilau Ridge Trail. Spent about 2 hours on it seeing some nice views/vistas. All told a 3.5 mile round trip hike. Got some nice red dirt on our sneakers as well.
Dinner. Wahooo Bar and Grill. That wasn't so good, regardless of the Ono that Kauai Revealed gave. Medium rare filet mignon was more like medium well steak.
Friday. Off to the North side. Banana Jo's fruit stand was the first stop. Pineapple Frosty was tasty. Then we stopped at the Kilauea Lighthouse (well, just the lookout as the actual lighthouse would have cost us money to check out, heh). After which we headed over to the 2009 Best Beach, Hanalei Bay (Waioli Beach Park to be specific). It was pretty beautiful and serene. Also with only about 1 person for every 20 yards or so, it was wide open. Drove into Princeville to see some of the stores and grab lunch. Grabbed a teri beef plate lunch from Village Snack Shop and Bakery...not good. Beef was thin and tasted old. Somehow this place got an Ono from Kauai Revealed...probably for the baked goods. After lunch, we drove all the way out to Ke'e Beach. Having just been to Hanalei Bay, Ke'e Beach was sort of a let down. Crowded. Darker sands. And darker skies. Didn't spend much time here so didn't get a chance to see any part of the famed Kalalau Trail. Did see the Wet Caves and Dry Caves on the way back. That was pretty neat. Just before we got back to the resort, we hit Hawaiian Blizzard Shave Ice in front of a Big Save in Kapa'a. The guy was real nice and suggested which flavors would be best with the snow caps (I think those are just condensed milk solutions). The ice was very fine, and it was quite good especially with the snow caps. For dinner we had a reservation for the dinner and Luau show at Smith's Tropical Paradise. The food was pretty good (better than your average buffet) and the show, though not authentic, was also pretty good. The grounds themselves was a garden which was pretty nice as well.
Saturday. Out of the resort by 5:30AM to catch a Na Pali Coast raft tour with Kauai Sea Tours. $140 or so got you a 7 hour tour (I think the captain stretched it out from 6 hours) from Port Allen around the western side of the island almost to Ke'e Beach on a 16 person hard rubber raft. Saw dolphins, caves, Na Pali coast, waterfalls, did some snorkeling, and even had a beach landing. Other than the choppy waters which made the return trip a bit longer than it was on the way out, it was definitely worth it. After that, we stopped in at the Kauai Chocolate Co to get some chocolates and ice cream. Then we headed up the Waimea Canyon. Hit a number of lookouts. Waimea Canyon Lookout, Puu Hina Hina Lookout and Ni'ihau (alas the clouds rolled in and blocked the view of anything useful here), Kalalau Lookout, and Pu'u o Kila Lookout. It was especially neat to see the Na Pali Coast from two angles (one from sea and one from land) on the same day. On the way back to the east side, we stopped in at Jo Jo's Shave Ice Stand and had some delicious shave ice with Macadamia Nuts on the bottom. We made our third trip to Jamba Juice and got another Gotta Guava. And then for dinner we went to Lihue Barbecue Inn, where you get good tasting good portioned food.
Sunday, we set out for lunch at Duane's Ono Char Burger. Small little stand on the side of the road in Anahola. Our Teri Burger orders took 30-40 minutes to make, and that's apparently par for the course. We bided our time with a game of Race for the Galaxy. =) The burgers were pretty yummy, but more for the sauce and toppings (I got pineapple, Jaime got mushroom), than for the meat itself which could have been bought at Costco. We ate our lunch at Kealia Beach, a few miles south. Looked like there was some good waves there for surfing. After that we stopped at the Kauai Products Fair in Kapa'a. They have some Mango Wood stuff that looked nice. Also some Red Dirt Shirts for cheaper than the most other places. Then we headed over to Coconut Marketplace also in Kapa'a. Didn't get anything except for another Kona Java Lava at Lappert's. Then we stopped by The Koa Store on the way to the airport, where Jaime found a nice flower stem stand. We also stopped into Hilo Hattie to see if there was anything interesting, but not so much.
At some points during our trip, we also hit the resort pull. A saline snaking pool that has waterfalls and a waterslide. Quite nice. We also downed over a gallon of POG (Passionfruit orange guava) as well as made 3 trips to Jamba Juice.
Oh yeah, can't forget to mention that we actually got to the airport so early that they put us on an earlier flight to Honolulu (since we were connecting to Northwest in Honolulu). So we had nearly 3 hours to kill in Honolulu. (or 1.5 if we factor in potential security lines). Fortunately my brother was free to pick us up at the airport and take us to the nearby Jamba Juice where we got one more Guava smoothie for the road. We also hit local favorite Byron's Drive In. Seems like a shady place, but the food isn't bad. Not awesome, but not bad.
And with that, we concluded our Hawaii portion of our honeymoon. Definitely a fun, perhaps not completely relaxing, trip. We definitely wouldn't mind going back again. =)
Anyway, just a quick download of things we did.
Monday evening. Landed at LIH and headed straight for Hamura Saimin in Lihue. It was good, but not being a ramen/instant noodle/saimin connoisseur, I can't tell you if it was awesome as many reviews claim. I also got my Chinese Pretzel fix as they were selling those as well. Then checked into the Waipouli Beach Resort and Spa (only 3 years old and very nice facilities for relatively cheap if you go the VRBO route)
Tuesday...Felicia was slowly approaching...but we ventured out anyway to see the sights on the East side. Wailua Falls and Opaeka'a Falls were the main hits this day. Tried to go to the Farmer's Market near Opaeka'a but there was none to be found. For dinner we went to Korean Bar B Q. The Kalbi was pretty good.
Wednesday...the no doors helicopter ride by Inter Island Helicopter was on tap. However, Felicia finally landed, and 2/3 of the way to the launching pad on the West Side, we got the cancellation call. Stuck on the west side, with rain and clouds, Waimea Canyon wasn't going to be too good either. At 9AM, not much was open, so we first hit the Kauai Coffee Plantation and toured the grounds. Bought a malasada...big mistake. Not very good. After that, it was still early. What to do...well, even though it was raining, it was still nearly 80 degrees. Why not go golfing! Kukuiolono Golf Course, where the 9 hole greens fee is $9. Jaime played too. It was so empty, only one other couple dared brave the rains. Fortunately, we were wearing our fast wicking shirts and swimsuits underneath, so while we were drenched, we quickly dried when the sun came out over hole 4. And from then on it was one scenic view after another. After golf, we headed for the South part of Kaua'i. We hit Sueoka's Snack Shop in Koloa for lunch. Tasty plate lunch. Teri beef for me, and Island Fish of some sort for Jaime. We grabbed dessert at Lappert's Ice Cream. Jaime liked her Kona Java Lava, but my Guava Sorbet or Sherbert wasn't that great. After that the Spouting Horn (which wasn't spouting that magnificently...I figure it was low tide). And then after that, a trip to Po'ipu Beach (winner of the 2001 Best Beach award). While in the south side, we stopped in at the Grand Hyatt to see what pampered living would have been like. It's a pretty grand entrance if you've ever walked up to the lobby. For dinner, we ate at Kintaro's teppenyaki bar. Ordered the Surf and Turf, but next time, need to remember to pass on the lobster.
Thursday. Felicia still there. Rescheduled 4PM heli tour...canceled. We decided to take a look at the beach in front of the resort. Imagine our good fortune when we saw the beach roped off. There was a Hawaiian Monk Seal that had decided to beach itself and rest for the day. The monk seal is extremely endangered and is not to be disturbed, thus the roping. Spent about 30-45 minutes watching it do nothing except for the occasional back scratch and tail wag. This is about the only time we got sun burned as we didn't expect to be out for more than 15 minutes. Anyway, we then we went to the Fish Express in Lihue and got some yummy fish plates as well as some good Ahi Poke. After lunch with the heli tour canceled, we decided to go out hiking, since it was actually looking nice on the East side (nice = some blue among the many clouds). We headed to the Kuilau Ridge Trail. Spent about 2 hours on it seeing some nice views/vistas. All told a 3.5 mile round trip hike. Got some nice red dirt on our sneakers as well.
Dinner. Wahooo Bar and Grill. That wasn't so good, regardless of the Ono that Kauai Revealed gave. Medium rare filet mignon was more like medium well steak.
Friday. Off to the North side. Banana Jo's fruit stand was the first stop. Pineapple Frosty was tasty. Then we stopped at the Kilauea Lighthouse (well, just the lookout as the actual lighthouse would have cost us money to check out, heh). After which we headed over to the 2009 Best Beach, Hanalei Bay (Waioli Beach Park to be specific). It was pretty beautiful and serene. Also with only about 1 person for every 20 yards or so, it was wide open. Drove into Princeville to see some of the stores and grab lunch. Grabbed a teri beef plate lunch from Village Snack Shop and Bakery...not good. Beef was thin and tasted old. Somehow this place got an Ono from Kauai Revealed...probably for the baked goods. After lunch, we drove all the way out to Ke'e Beach. Having just been to Hanalei Bay, Ke'e Beach was sort of a let down. Crowded. Darker sands. And darker skies. Didn't spend much time here so didn't get a chance to see any part of the famed Kalalau Trail. Did see the Wet Caves and Dry Caves on the way back. That was pretty neat. Just before we got back to the resort, we hit Hawaiian Blizzard Shave Ice in front of a Big Save in Kapa'a. The guy was real nice and suggested which flavors would be best with the snow caps (I think those are just condensed milk solutions). The ice was very fine, and it was quite good especially with the snow caps. For dinner we had a reservation for the dinner and Luau show at Smith's Tropical Paradise. The food was pretty good (better than your average buffet) and the show, though not authentic, was also pretty good. The grounds themselves was a garden which was pretty nice as well.
Saturday. Out of the resort by 5:30AM to catch a Na Pali Coast raft tour with Kauai Sea Tours. $140 or so got you a 7 hour tour (I think the captain stretched it out from 6 hours) from Port Allen around the western side of the island almost to Ke'e Beach on a 16 person hard rubber raft. Saw dolphins, caves, Na Pali coast, waterfalls, did some snorkeling, and even had a beach landing. Other than the choppy waters which made the return trip a bit longer than it was on the way out, it was definitely worth it. After that, we stopped in at the Kauai Chocolate Co to get some chocolates and ice cream. Then we headed up the Waimea Canyon. Hit a number of lookouts. Waimea Canyon Lookout, Puu Hina Hina Lookout and Ni'ihau (alas the clouds rolled in and blocked the view of anything useful here), Kalalau Lookout, and Pu'u o Kila Lookout. It was especially neat to see the Na Pali Coast from two angles (one from sea and one from land) on the same day. On the way back to the east side, we stopped in at Jo Jo's Shave Ice Stand and had some delicious shave ice with Macadamia Nuts on the bottom. We made our third trip to Jamba Juice and got another Gotta Guava. And then for dinner we went to Lihue Barbecue Inn, where you get good tasting good portioned food.
Sunday, we set out for lunch at Duane's Ono Char Burger. Small little stand on the side of the road in Anahola. Our Teri Burger orders took 30-40 minutes to make, and that's apparently par for the course. We bided our time with a game of Race for the Galaxy. =) The burgers were pretty yummy, but more for the sauce and toppings (I got pineapple, Jaime got mushroom), than for the meat itself which could have been bought at Costco. We ate our lunch at Kealia Beach, a few miles south. Looked like there was some good waves there for surfing. After that we stopped at the Kauai Products Fair in Kapa'a. They have some Mango Wood stuff that looked nice. Also some Red Dirt Shirts for cheaper than the most other places. Then we headed over to Coconut Marketplace also in Kapa'a. Didn't get anything except for another Kona Java Lava at Lappert's. Then we stopped by The Koa Store on the way to the airport, where Jaime found a nice flower stem stand. We also stopped into Hilo Hattie to see if there was anything interesting, but not so much.
At some points during our trip, we also hit the resort pull. A saline snaking pool that has waterfalls and a waterslide. Quite nice. We also downed over a gallon of POG (Passionfruit orange guava) as well as made 3 trips to Jamba Juice.
Oh yeah, can't forget to mention that we actually got to the airport so early that they put us on an earlier flight to Honolulu (since we were connecting to Northwest in Honolulu). So we had nearly 3 hours to kill in Honolulu. (or 1.5 if we factor in potential security lines). Fortunately my brother was free to pick us up at the airport and take us to the nearby Jamba Juice where we got one more Guava smoothie for the road. We also hit local favorite Byron's Drive In. Seems like a shady place, but the food isn't bad. Not awesome, but not bad.
And with that, we concluded our Hawaii portion of our honeymoon. Definitely a fun, perhaps not completely relaxing, trip. We definitely wouldn't mind going back again. =)
posted by JD at 9:24 PM
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