US

Cacao

Feb 26, 2025

I do not have a sweet tooth; I am not a big dessert fan, and I am not a fan of chocolate.  If you were to put a piece of bread and a Hershey bar in front of me and tell me I could have one, I would choose the piece of bread and not think twice about it.  I went on this tour because, in general, I like learning about food, where it comes from and how it is made.  Although I had been to a Hershey’s and Cadbury’s factory, I don’t think I had ever seen a Cacao farm.

I booked this tour thinking it would be interesting; by the end of the tour, I was blown away.   I left with a whole new appreciation of chocolate.   The tour lasted over three hours, we saw how  Cacao grew along with vanilla beans.  We got to taste chocolate that was produced on the farm side by side with chocolate from different parts of the world. It reminded me of a wine tasting with different chocolates with different nuances and characteristics.

All of it was fascinating and the farm itself is a small tropical paradise!

Lydgate Farms

Vanilla Beans

Inside of the Cacao fruit

Cacao

Susnset from the room

Feb 24, 2025

We were changing our hotel from the Sheraton Kaui resort located in Lihue to the Westin Princeville Resort Villas which is located north of Lihue close to Hana.   Although I have driven all over the Island, this was my first time staying in that area.  I thought it would be nice to spend some time in that part of the Island.

As we drove in Princeville, there was a large fountain with a huge statue of Neptune.  I sarcastically said, “Nothing says Aloha like a statue of Neptune!”.   Later I found myself learning the about the history of Princeville and how a Scottish plantation owner named the area Princeville in honor of King Kamehameha’s son, Prince Albert.  It explained where the name came from but not Neptune.

I finally asked someone at the desk, if the plantation owner was Scottish, why and where did this huge statue that looked like it belonged in Rome was the first thing you saw when entering Princeville.  I got a story about how that back in the 1980s, the owner of the property had it commissioned.  I never took a picture of it!

Our room is very nice, and we look out onto a golf course and the ocean.  We settled in and then decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Staircase leading to the lobby

The villa

Waimea Canyon

Feb 23, 2025

Waimea Canyon is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  Although it is not nearly as big as the Grand Canyon, it is just as impressive.   After stopping at Haole Girl Cafe for coffee and something to eat, we set out.  Although the roads into the state park are narrow with a lot of twists and turns, it is a fairly easy drive with a lot of places to stop and take in the views or go hiking.   We wanted to do the drive relatively early knowing that later in the day, it would probably get busier.   We went hiking at one stop and we stopped at all the lookouts, unfortunately, the road to the last lookout was closed.

Although I have done this drive a few times, it never gets old.  It is one of those experiences that you think you remember it and when you see it again, you realize that alhtough you remember it, you don’t reemember how great the experience was.

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon

Kaulau lookout

Waimea Canyon

Feb 22, 2025

We had breakfast at the Kountry Kitchen, again. I had the 2 eggs with Portuguese sausage while Sophon had the Spam Loco Moco.

We both enjoy trying and learning about new foods, so we headed to the Hanalei farmer’s market which had locally grown produce, baked goods, and arts and crafts.   On a previous trip, we discovered the Ice Cream bean and yes, it tastes like ice cream.   Earlier in the week, we saw a golden fruit shaped like a tear drop.   We learned it was called egg fruit, but its official name was yellow sapote.  We bought a couple along with an ice cream bean and were told to let the egg fruit fully ripen and it would taste like Butterscotch pudding.

There was a local bakery that we had passed and as if we did not have a big enough breakfast, we purchased a couple of pastries and found an area to sit down and eat. I could have sat there all day and taken in the view!

Later in the week, we tried the egg fruit and there was a butterscotch flavor, and the texture was creamy.  Sophon said it was like durian without the stink!

Egg Fruit

Egg Fruit

Loco Moco

Cacao

Haneli

Ice Cream Bean

Hanalei

We continued driving around the island and drove to Hanapepe.  Although we were there in the early afternoon, I wondered if we had hit it at the wrong time, a lot of the shops were closed.  Overall, there wasn’t much to see or do besides the swinging bridge.

Hanapepe

Swinging Bridge

Na Pali Coast

Feb 21, 2025

This has to be the highlight of the trip as well as one of my top travel highlights of all time.  The Na Pali Coast sits on the Northwest side of the Island of Kauai and unless you are a hiker, it can only be access by sea or air.   Over the years, I have booked a lot of sails to the Na Pali coast only to have them cancelled due to unpredictable weather.

The Na Poli Coast has been featured in many films and immediately recognizable.   If you have seen Jurassic Park, Tropic Thunder, King Kong, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean or Six Days, Seven Nights you have seen the Na Pali Coast.   I doubt there are any Hawaii themed calendars without a picture of the Na Pali coast.

I booked my trip with Captain Andy’s. They had a lot of great online reviews, and I wasn’t disappointed.  Traffic on the Island can be unpredictable.  We arrived in Port Allen a bit early.   We checked in and hung out until it was time to board the double catamaran.

We set out and although there was a fair number of people on the boat, it didn’t feel crowded or is if we were jockeying for good picture taking positions. The captain commented that this was whale migration season and we should see a lot of marine life.   He also said that we were lucky, in the winter, waves can reach 30-40 feet, we had almost perfect weather conditions.

Along the way, we saw a pod of dolphins and a couple of whales.   Refreshments were served followed by appetizers.   We arrived as the sun began to set.  I was in awe and kept thinking, the pictures are never going to do it justice.

As we headed back, we went down below to eat dinner; it was difficult trying to stand and hold on while taking pictures – there was no way I was going to try to eat while standing up on a boat.

It was dark when we arrived at Port Allen and as we walked to the car, I thought that I would this again on my next trip!

Na Pali Coast

Na Pali Coast

Na Pali Coast

Captain Andy’s

Na Pali Coast

Na Pali Coast

Na Pali Coast

Spouting Horn

Feb 20, 2025

We continued driving around the Island and headed through the tree tunnel and to Spouting Horn, a blowhole.  As we headed to it, the narrator on the guide along app told the story about how the coastline was guarded by a giant lizard who would eat anyone who tried to fish or swim in the area.  A young boy outwitted the lizard by jumping into the sea and then swimming under the lava rocks escaping through the hole. The giant lizard followed and got stuck in it. The roar and water is from the lizard.

It is something to hear as well as see.  It was almost comical that when I pulled the camera out, the spouts didn’t seem to be nearly as dramatic and when I put the camera away, there would suddenly be a huge one.  It was as if it knew that it was being photographed and wasn’t cooperating!

Spouting Horn Park

Wailua Falls

Feb 20, 2025

We had breakfast at the Kountry Kitchen which we had discovered on a previous trip.  It has become our favorite breakfast place on Kauai.  It is a popular spot, we got there as it opened, so we were seated right away but as we left, I noticed there was a waitlist.

We headed out on our first driving tour.   When we were in Banf, we tried an app called “Guide Along” which acts as a private guide.   I was surprised at how well it worked and bought the Kauai tour.   It detects your location, gives you driving instructions while giving you a tour.  You cannot ask any questions, but you are on your own schedule instead of being back on the bus at a specific time.

We started by going driving to Opaekaa Falls in the Wailua State Park.  We then headed to Wailua Falls which were made famous by the 1970s show “Fantasy Island”.  The opening sequence featured the falls right before the plane would fly by and Tattoo announcing it.

We then headed to Lihue and stopped for Saimin which was very good before heading to Poipu to see the Spouting Horn.

Wailua State Park

Opaeka’a Falls

Saimin

Spouting Horn Park

Spouting Horn

Sheraton Kauai Resort

Feb 19, 2025

We were up at 4:30 AM to get ready for our 8:40 AM flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Maui (OGG) on United and then continue on Hawaiian Airlines to Lihue (LIH) in Kauai.  As much as I like avoiding the traffic into LAX, I find that when I get up that early, I spend most of the day feeling exhausted and I have been able to sleep well on an airplane.

As we boarded our flight, the flight attendants were all wearing fake leis and flowers.  It reminded me of my first flight to Hawaii, at least they aren’t wearing polyester muumuus like they used to.   Early in my career, I was assigned a six-week project in Hawaii and every week, I went from Kaui to Maui and then back to Kaui again. I felt very fortunate to have been put on that project, I could have just as easily been assigned a project in Chicago during the middle of winter.

When my parents retired, I cashed in my miles to get them tickets to Hawaii, and I went along with them.  We stopped in Oahu and then headed to Kauai.  It was a special trip, and Kauai will always be my favorite Island and now that I am older, I don’t mind that everything closes at 8:00 PM and there isn’t much night life.  I was looking forward to driving around the island and appreciating the beauty.

When we arrived in Maui, my first thought was that the airport looked the same as it did the first time I flew to Maui and when we landed in Kauai, I had the same thought.   As we drove up to the hotel, I realized that we had stayed at this Sheraton hotel about five years before.  As we checked in, I asked and they said that they were a Marriott Courtyard and a few years back, they rebranded the hotel as a Sheraton resort.   I am not sure I would call it a resort, but it was located in Lihue where I wanted to spend a few days before going on to Princeville.