Neither one of us had a desire to stand atop an erupting volcano on the Big Island, nor to lay out on the beaches of Maui all day, so Kauai it was – and what a great choice it turned out to be. Known as the “Garden Island”, the scenery, flowers, coastal cliffs, blue beaches along the Coconut coast, mountains, rain forests, and canyons showed the diversity of the island’s topography. Even the weather was varied. As the locals told us, “if it is raining up north, all you need to do is head south”.
Our home base was the town of Kapaa, on the east coast. From there we could travel to any spot on the island in 30-60 minutes. We watched the weather reports to decide where our travels would take us each day. Of course, we planned our days around Happy Hour at our hotel from 3-6pm where we ate $3 beef and fish tacos along with our drinks. Nothing better than hanging out at the beach bar, looking at the pretty blue water, eating and drinking our favorites :)
Our first day adventures took us to the southern coast, the sunniest part of the island. Koloa was the beginning of the sugar industry in the Hawaiian Islands. It was cool entering the town through the Tunnel of Trees, a natural arch of eucalyptus trees lining the road. Along the coast, embedded in the black lava rocks was the “Old Faithful” of Kauai, Spouting Horn. The ocean surges force seawater up through the lava tubes in the rock, causing a geyser of foaming spray to shoot up, with cool sounds as well.
The highlight of our vacation was a day trip to Honolulu, Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor. We took the first flight out and the last flight back. Twenty minute flight. Up and down. Until you visit Pearl Harbor, you can never feel the impact of what happened on Dec 7, 1941. Watching videos of veterans that survived the attack were sobering. Before boarding the boat taking us out to the USS Arizona Memorial, we watched a documentary of the attack. When it was over, you could have heard a pin drop as people were exiting the theatre. Silence. Complete silence. It is important to remember the USS Arizona is a National Cemetery as it is the final resting place of 1,102 sailors killed in the attack. We were not permitted to walk on to the Memorial as it is currently no longer structurally sound as the pilings sitting on the ship are sinking, most likely due to a crack forming on the USS Arizona. Standing on the USS Missouri (“Mighty Mo”) was very symbolic the two ships represent the start of WW2 and the end of WW2. Their bows face each other, signifying the Missouri watches over the Arizona so that the sailors may rest in peace.
You would never expect to see canyons on a tropical island, but Kauai has them. Waimea Canyon is the largest canyon in the Pacific, measuring more than 3,500 feet deep. The day we visited the canyon, the winds shifted and there was vog (volcanic smog) in the air due to the volcano eruption on the Big Island. It is extremely rare for the vog to travel that far north, lucky us…. The views into the canyon from the lookout points were not as spectacular as they would have been. Had to make a quick stop at the Kauai Coffee company on our way back to Happy Hour, to sample some Coconut Caramel Crunch coffee. Sorry, Dunks still our favorite coffee! Walking on the path along the coffee plants, reminded us of a Trivia question we got wrong. What color are coffee beans when they are picked from the plant? Anyone?
Our last day in Kauai we took a catamaran sunset dinner cruise along the NaPali coast. THIS.CRUISE.WAS.NO.JOKE - The views were absolutely beautiful, the water color was beyond description, and you could never take pictures that would do justice to the scenery. Some of the cliffs were twice the height of the Empire State Building. Unfortunately, the sea was just the opposite, people were puking everywhere. We had bets as to either of us getting sea sick, amazingly we were able to escape that horrible fate.
Having only a few hours left to explore on our travel day home, we visited Wailua Falls located just north of Lihue. Another trivia question, what made them famous? Hint, hint... "De Plane boss de plane!”
Mahalo for looking!
