a week (and a bit) in Kauai
Dec. 12th, 2012 01:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lauralhThe hotel where the Jurassic Park film crew stayed was ruined by a typhoon towards the end of filming, so it's a nasty looking death trap full of rats now. We drove by it every time we went up the east coast of the island, but I didn't feel like trespassing without sneakers. And you don't wear sneakers if you can avoid it. "Why the hell did I bring all these long-sleeved shirts?" asked Reg. (So no pictures of a nasty rotting hotel.)
We got in on 12/1 before 2pm, but I frankly didn't want to do anything but go to bed early after we settled in just before sunset. We stayed in Poi'pu, which is sort of the southeast corner/just past the eastern part on the southern coast. Day 2 wasn't bad, went up the eastern road back past Lihue and Kapaa. The timeshare we stayed at for a week wasn't available any more than 6 days, so on the last day we had to go to Kapaa and stay there. Anyway it's a small small island, you can drive around the main roads that (almost) circle the island in probably two hours. And it only takes that long because of the sloooow drivers. I got some rays, a swimsuit and a pineapple, and then we went to to a Mediterranean-themed restaurant for dinner back in Poi'pu.
The one problem with this time of year is the sunset is like 6:15pm or something silly like that, and sunrise is 7am or so. This wouldn't normally be a problem I guess, except that there's no nightlife to speak of on Kauai. So we'd go to bed relatively early (1am) and get up at 9am. Day 3 wasn't very nice in Poi'pu, so Reg and I drove west along the southern shore, and stopped at the Russian fort in Waimea and hung out on the rocky shoreline there. (The fort is now just a few walls of rock that are almost 200 years old.) It got a bit crappy again when we returned, which made grilling steak a pain.
Day 4 had lots of pictures, as we drove on Waimea Canyon Drive through Waimea Canyon State Park. The weather was the worst yet, about 70F and windy and cloudy as we got higher and higher up. At the very end of the road is an overlook to the northern coast, which really has terrible weather (over 400inches of rain a year), but as a result is quite lush. It's known as the Na'pali coastline, and this is the bit of the island where the roads don't circle. You have to see it by boat or air.
We went back (well, all of us but John and Katie, who were determined to hike) to Waimea town, bought some cookies and shirts and another pineapple. The weather was finally getting to rain, so we didn't stick around that long. We stopped in Hanapepe and hit the swinging bridge that's just like most suspension bridges on WA Forest hikes. Reg wanted to check out the bookstore, which had lots of crazy old books for reasonable prices, including a First Edition set of Churchill's history of WWII. All six books for $40. Reg was psyched indeed. Unfortunately at this point the rain was really coming down, so we went back to the hotel and thought about dinner. Reg's dad had been raving about the Puka Dogs, so we figured that would be fine, since Katie and John were still hiking. Reg and I put on TCM because The Sting was on. (We have cable right now but are not in the habit of watching it.) We also watched the 4 hours of lightning strikes, dang.
On Day 5, we decided to go to Hanalei. Although there was a miscommunication, and Katie and John (who had their own car) took us to Ke'e Beach instead. Well, it was pretty nice there, too, but it's where the northwest road ends, right near the Napali coastline, so it was really far, and not super warm. After about an hour, we drove back south, to Anini beach. There's a park area where people can camp, but the end of the road has a nicer area for wading. But the sun was going to set fast, and we wanted to go to the lighthouse. The lighthouse costs money to get in, so we didn't actually go to it, but stayed at the viewpoint where you can see about 6 kinds of birds flying and nesting. Then, dinner at the Bistro nearby. Decent prices for really good food.
I'd wanted to try surfing the previous day, but there was no opportunity. So Day 6 we called up one of the Poi'pu surf schools and got a spot for a noon surfing lesson. I also picked up some shorts (I'd gotten a shirt the day before) and changed into them. So, if you've never surfed, you first have to learn how to stand up. We practiced that on the ground for about half an hour, then carried our boards using our heads (ow, ow) to an area on the beach. Then we paddled out a little bit to wait for appropriate waves. Paddle two lengths then stand up. Easier said than done. Then, paddle back out, against the current again, and listen to the instructor remind you of what you're supposed to do. Chest up, hips up, right foot forward first, then left foot. Much easier on the ground than on a wave, of course. Anyway, repeat that for about an hour, or till you think you're going to die. I did finally manage to stand up all the way to the beach twice, and two other times on my knees. I also fell into rocks. Ow. Reg and his parents were snorkeling and swimming with a sea turtle in the meantime.
I was pretty much dead to the world by the time we had lunch, I have to say. Not only was I exhausted from using muscles I don't normally use, I was starving and wanted an entire pork sandwich to myself. And a pineapple daiquiri. We went back briefly then hung out on the beach till almost sunset, when it was getting a bit chilly. I mean, I personally don't think that 75F is an appropriate temperature to sit in surf at. I really prefer 85F for swimming, and it was a really really nice day for surfing.
Next day was the day we had reservations on a catamaran to see the Napali coastline. Unfortunately I got seasick and couldn't really look anywhere but the horizon without wanting to hurl. So I don't really have many pictures. But I did see dolphins. And also whales. Oh, and while everyone was having dinner, I saw a shark fin, too. Reg got some stitched panos though. We also saw a nude beach, and a few waterfalls (not many b/c of the drought, haha), and a beach full of sea turtles.
On day 8 we moved to our new hotel and went back to Hanalei. Pretty much hit every single shop that we hadn't hit before, had lunch in the second story seafood joint with a nice view, and I made an appointment to get a tattoo on our last full day out. We also went back to Anini Beach for a while; Reg and I found some homemade swings in a tree down the way. Had sushi for dinner, at a place where they had cameras set up over the sushi chef guy, and showed it on the big screen TVs. Kind of nifty.
Day 9 John and Katie were leaving, so we had breakfast together and caught some rays behind the hotel. (This one was right smack on the beach; the other one was fairly close to some big rocks.) It was a lot windier than I'd expected so I had to make sure I didn't lose my hat. Finally they took off, and then Reg fell asleep for a while. The weather turned by 2pm and Reg was still asleep by 3pm, so I got to drive in the rain back up to Hanalei. My tattoo was 4pm and we got there about 10 minutes early; it's about 35miles but people were actually driving at a reasonable pace. So there you go. I got a turtle with a wave in it. The tattoo guy was recommended by one of the galley slaves on the catamaran - she was originally from Seattle so we took her advice. He was kind of a crazy libertarian type, really anti-government except that he thought Arabs should be put in camps. "For their own safety." I managed to get him and Reg talking about WWII so that was a little more comfortable. Anyway, small tattoo so it wasn't too long.
And then the next day, it was time to go back. I took a bunch of pictures before checkout, and a few at Lydgate Beach. We weren't sure were to eat lunch, so I looked up on Yelp and found a hole in the wall - literally - near the rental car place. So we got burgers and then returned the car. And then the airport. I think I got pulled aside for a random search, but after seven minutes or so no one had searched me, so I just went to the gate. Probably shouldn't have pink hair if I keep flying.
We got in on 12/1 before 2pm, but I frankly didn't want to do anything but go to bed early after we settled in just before sunset. We stayed in Poi'pu, which is sort of the southeast corner/just past the eastern part on the southern coast. Day 2 wasn't bad, went up the eastern road back past Lihue and Kapaa. The timeshare we stayed at for a week wasn't available any more than 6 days, so on the last day we had to go to Kapaa and stay there. Anyway it's a small small island, you can drive around the main roads that (almost) circle the island in probably two hours. And it only takes that long because of the sloooow drivers. I got some rays, a swimsuit and a pineapple, and then we went to to a Mediterranean-themed restaurant for dinner back in Poi'pu.
The one problem with this time of year is the sunset is like 6:15pm or something silly like that, and sunrise is 7am or so. This wouldn't normally be a problem I guess, except that there's no nightlife to speak of on Kauai. So we'd go to bed relatively early (1am) and get up at 9am. Day 3 wasn't very nice in Poi'pu, so Reg and I drove west along the southern shore, and stopped at the Russian fort in Waimea and hung out on the rocky shoreline there. (The fort is now just a few walls of rock that are almost 200 years old.) It got a bit crappy again when we returned, which made grilling steak a pain.
Day 4 had lots of pictures, as we drove on Waimea Canyon Drive through Waimea Canyon State Park. The weather was the worst yet, about 70F and windy and cloudy as we got higher and higher up. At the very end of the road is an overlook to the northern coast, which really has terrible weather (over 400inches of rain a year), but as a result is quite lush. It's known as the Na'pali coastline, and this is the bit of the island where the roads don't circle. You have to see it by boat or air.
We went back (well, all of us but John and Katie, who were determined to hike) to Waimea town, bought some cookies and shirts and another pineapple. The weather was finally getting to rain, so we didn't stick around that long. We stopped in Hanapepe and hit the swinging bridge that's just like most suspension bridges on WA Forest hikes. Reg wanted to check out the bookstore, which had lots of crazy old books for reasonable prices, including a First Edition set of Churchill's history of WWII. All six books for $40. Reg was psyched indeed. Unfortunately at this point the rain was really coming down, so we went back to the hotel and thought about dinner. Reg's dad had been raving about the Puka Dogs, so we figured that would be fine, since Katie and John were still hiking. Reg and I put on TCM because The Sting was on. (We have cable right now but are not in the habit of watching it.) We also watched the 4 hours of lightning strikes, dang.
On Day 5, we decided to go to Hanalei. Although there was a miscommunication, and Katie and John (who had their own car) took us to Ke'e Beach instead. Well, it was pretty nice there, too, but it's where the northwest road ends, right near the Napali coastline, so it was really far, and not super warm. After about an hour, we drove back south, to Anini beach. There's a park area where people can camp, but the end of the road has a nicer area for wading. But the sun was going to set fast, and we wanted to go to the lighthouse. The lighthouse costs money to get in, so we didn't actually go to it, but stayed at the viewpoint where you can see about 6 kinds of birds flying and nesting. Then, dinner at the Bistro nearby. Decent prices for really good food.
I'd wanted to try surfing the previous day, but there was no opportunity. So Day 6 we called up one of the Poi'pu surf schools and got a spot for a noon surfing lesson. I also picked up some shorts (I'd gotten a shirt the day before) and changed into them. So, if you've never surfed, you first have to learn how to stand up. We practiced that on the ground for about half an hour, then carried our boards using our heads (ow, ow) to an area on the beach. Then we paddled out a little bit to wait for appropriate waves. Paddle two lengths then stand up. Easier said than done. Then, paddle back out, against the current again, and listen to the instructor remind you of what you're supposed to do. Chest up, hips up, right foot forward first, then left foot. Much easier on the ground than on a wave, of course. Anyway, repeat that for about an hour, or till you think you're going to die. I did finally manage to stand up all the way to the beach twice, and two other times on my knees. I also fell into rocks. Ow. Reg and his parents were snorkeling and swimming with a sea turtle in the meantime.
I was pretty much dead to the world by the time we had lunch, I have to say. Not only was I exhausted from using muscles I don't normally use, I was starving and wanted an entire pork sandwich to myself. And a pineapple daiquiri. We went back briefly then hung out on the beach till almost sunset, when it was getting a bit chilly. I mean, I personally don't think that 75F is an appropriate temperature to sit in surf at. I really prefer 85F for swimming, and it was a really really nice day for surfing.
Next day was the day we had reservations on a catamaran to see the Napali coastline. Unfortunately I got seasick and couldn't really look anywhere but the horizon without wanting to hurl. So I don't really have many pictures. But I did see dolphins. And also whales. Oh, and while everyone was having dinner, I saw a shark fin, too. Reg got some stitched panos though. We also saw a nude beach, and a few waterfalls (not many b/c of the drought, haha), and a beach full of sea turtles.
On day 8 we moved to our new hotel and went back to Hanalei. Pretty much hit every single shop that we hadn't hit before, had lunch in the second story seafood joint with a nice view, and I made an appointment to get a tattoo on our last full day out. We also went back to Anini Beach for a while; Reg and I found some homemade swings in a tree down the way. Had sushi for dinner, at a place where they had cameras set up over the sushi chef guy, and showed it on the big screen TVs. Kind of nifty.
Day 9 John and Katie were leaving, so we had breakfast together and caught some rays behind the hotel. (This one was right smack on the beach; the other one was fairly close to some big rocks.) It was a lot windier than I'd expected so I had to make sure I didn't lose my hat. Finally they took off, and then Reg fell asleep for a while. The weather turned by 2pm and Reg was still asleep by 3pm, so I got to drive in the rain back up to Hanalei. My tattoo was 4pm and we got there about 10 minutes early; it's about 35miles but people were actually driving at a reasonable pace. So there you go. I got a turtle with a wave in it. The tattoo guy was recommended by one of the galley slaves on the catamaran - she was originally from Seattle so we took her advice. He was kind of a crazy libertarian type, really anti-government except that he thought Arabs should be put in camps. "For their own safety." I managed to get him and Reg talking about WWII so that was a little more comfortable. Anyway, small tattoo so it wasn't too long.
And then the next day, it was time to go back. I took a bunch of pictures before checkout, and a few at Lydgate Beach. We weren't sure were to eat lunch, so I looked up on Yelp and found a hole in the wall - literally - near the rental car place. So we got burgers and then returned the car. And then the airport. I think I got pulled aside for a random search, but after seven minutes or so no one had searched me, so I just went to the gate. Probably shouldn't have pink hair if I keep flying.
