Kauai

October 30th, 2017

The day of the helicopter we decided to watch the sunrise.  I noticed that we weren’t on the side of the Island to get good sunsets so we decided to watch the sunrise.   We weren’t the only ones. I think most of the hotel was up and there was even a  Hawaiian Ceremony going on where they blew the conch shell to welcome the day.   There was no need for a conch shell, there are a lot of wild roosters and chickens on the Island, they made sure daybreak was announced early in the morning every day.

Beside the helicopter tour the rest of the day was spent hanging around, taking pictures and of course eating.   We stopped at a bakery and got macadamia nut sticky buns and lilikoi (passion fruit) shortcake cookies.  We visited Opaekaa falls while revisiting a couple of places we had stopped before hoping to get a better pictures with better light.  It rained a lot on this visit but overall, pretty fortunate. Continue reading →

October 30th, 2017

I did a helicopter tour when I went to Kauai with my parents.  My mother refused to go on the helicopter,  I thought it was one of the best things I have every done.   Most of the Island is Inaccessible by car and this was a great way to see it.  When I decided to come back to Kauai, the top thing on the “things I want to do” list was a helicopter tour.  Having taken Helicopters tours in NYC and Hawaii, I didn’t want to get stuck in a middle seat making it difficult to see things much less getting good pictures.   I found Mauna Loa Helicopter tours that offered private tours in smaller helicopters.    They also offered a “doors off” option but I couldn’t convince Sophon.

Kauai is the most filmed Island.  “Raiders of the last Ark”, Jurassic Park”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”,  “Avatar”, “King Kong”, and of course there were all the old Elvis movies and “South Pacific”.  Of all the Hawaiian Islands, I think it is the prettiest.  I loved every minute of the tour – waterfalls, valleys and that Na Pali Shore.

I will probably be revising this page, I have video and a lot of pictures which will take me a lot of time to sort through. I decided that I should set something out there while moving on the Hawaiian Food and Wine Festival in Waikiki.  Here are a handful of pictures.

Waimea Canyon

October 29th, 2017

We arrived at Waimea Canyon late afternoon.   Although it is said that Mark Twain named it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, Mark Twain never set foot on Kauai.  It is not nearly as deep or long as the real Grand Canyon, but it is just as impressive to see.  Of all the things I thought I might see and find in Hawaii, this was never on the list.   We tried stopping at Kalalau lookout and I was disappointed, the fog made it impossible to see more than five feet.  I pulled out my cell phone and showed Sophon a picture of what we could not see.  Overall, we lucked out with the weather, there was only one thing we didn’t get to see.   On the way back, we stopped to admire the red dirt.   I wonder if Mars looks like this.

October 29th, 2017

After Fern Grotto, it was a drive through the tree tunnel as we headed to Poipu.  I was glad to see that the tunnel was still there.  This densely green corridor is fun to drive through and pictures do not do it justice.   We stopped at Spouting horn for a few pictures, ate lunch and then headed on to our next stop – The Kauai Coffee Company.  Located on the coffee plantation, the Kauai Coffee Company offers tastings along with tours of the plantations. It was a fun stop

The tree tunnel

Spouting Horn

Kauai Coffee Company

Coffee Plants

Coffee Beans

October 29, 2017

Had breakfast at the Kountry Style Kitchen in Kapaa and loved it.   Sophon got the Loco Moco which is traditional Hawaiian breakfast with eggs, rice, a beef patty topped with gravy.  I had eggs Benedict.   Not exactly a healthy way to start the day but it was good.  It was a great breakfast place and I loved it when they delivered the check in a SPAM can.

I had pulled up the weather on the Internet and had watched the morning news and everything said rain.  I was so glad that the weatherman were wrong, we headed out to see Fern Grotto.  We first stopped at a Wailua overlook and then Opeaka falls before heading to catch our tour to the Fern Grotto.

As I drove around,  I found myself thinking about memory and how strange it can be, there are things I remember in great detail and then there are gaps.  I remember being here with my parents decades ago, I remember waiting at the front of the line to board our boat, I remember my mom commenting on how the concept of queuing in line is not universals and varies across the different cultures.   She also commented on how some cultures are pushier than others.  I remember that level of detail yet I could not remember what the boat looked like or if there were entertainers on the boat like there was this morning.  I guess that is one reason I tend to write about my trips. Continue reading →