First, I just want to thank everyone here on the boards for being so helpful. It was my first time to Kauai but I felt really familiar with it when we got there as I had been reading these boards for months!
Sorry if this is too long!
5/21 - Arrived in Lihue around 9:00 p.m.
Took the shuttle to Alamo to get our SUV. We booked the rental through Costco and got a great deal. Full size SUV for $29 a day. That included the tax and other misc. charges. One thing to note on the rental. If you rent a Trailblazer, don%26#39;t grab a gold one. There are a MILLION gold Trailblazers on the island and I can%26#39;t tell you how many times I walked up to the wrong vehicle. When we got there, we had the option of a gold or a burgundy. Didn%26#39;t see another burgundy one the entire trip!
Went to Foodland in Kapaa to grab some drinks and snacks. Makai card was super quick and easy to get. Definitely saves you some money. Grabbed some McDonalds on our way out and then headed to the Waipouli Beach Resort.
Check in was fast and easy. We had booked through an owner, Isabelle Javier, on VRBO. She is fabulous. Her units (she has 11) are managed through Outrigger so you can still charge things to the room and get daily cleaning, etc. The unit was gorgeous. We had booked C304, which had an ocean AND pool view. 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 lanai%26#39;s. All the nicest appliances, electronics, furnishings, etc. It was incredible. I%26#39;ll leave a review for them soon.
5/22 - Got up and went for a jog with my fiance and then hit the pool. Really liked the pool. It%26#39;s a ';lazy river'; and just kind of winds around. Wasn%26#39;t crowded.
Headed to Costco to grab food and drinks. Prices were exactly the same as the Costco here in Vegas. We grabbed some camel packs and snorkel gear there too. The snorkel gear purchase was stupid in my opinion but my fiance was dead set on it. It didn%26#39;t fit very well and who knows when we will ever use it again. Not a whole lot of snorkeling in Vegas :-) Camel packs were great to have!
Had dinner at Kintaro. Sat at the Teppan Grill which is always fun. Food was really good. I had the Chicken Teriyaki and my fiance had the Filet. Price wasn%26#39;t terrible. 3 Beers, 3 glasses of wine, sake, and food was $80.
Decided to hop in the hot tub back at the WBR. Nice sand bottomed spas. Struck up conversation with a couple of the security guys, Ronny and Bobby. Really, really nice guys.
5/23 - Drove out to Hanalei to go on our Napali Coast excursion. Booked through Napali Catamaran. No frills operation. Boat fits about 16. They are super concerned about safety which is nice. It was too rough to go in the caves but they normally do that. We saw LOTS of dolphins and turtles. Snorkeling was okay. It was really murky and couldn%26#39;t see much. Did have lots of turtles swimming with us though which was pretty neat. One of the guides played guitar while we were snorkeling. That was nice. The guides were nice local guys. One was just a kid (19???). He kind of got on a rant about how Americans are rude and destroying the world and that Hawaiians aren%26#39;t really Americans, etc. I thought it might get ugly, 2 things you don%26#39;t talk about, Religion and Politics, and this kid wants to talk politics.....with strangers.....on a small boat....in the middle of the ocean.....luckily no one really went one way or the other with it and the topic got changed. It was pretty funny.
Had lunch at Niedes (???might have butchered the name) in Hanalei. Brazilian and Mexican food. Food was excellent but the service was terribly slow. We found it was best to order 2 drinks at a time.
After that it was more pool time at the condo for me. Fiance went to Kauai Cyle and rented a bike for the week. He went for a couple hour ride while I lounged. Had dinner at the condo and then came the BLACK OUT! Here is a BIG tip because according to some of the locals, it happens every once in awhile...it is an island. Bring a flashlight. My fiance had brought some and it was a big help as the power was out for about 45 minutes and it gets DARK. There was also this really creepy noise (later found out that it was toads). I just sat on the lanai while my fiance patroled the property with the security guards (he%26#39;s a police captain). They just ran around and made sure no one was stuck in elevators and that ';non guests'; stayed off the property. It was nice that the hotel had a plan for this. They had someone in the front checking cars as they came in, and various other staff walking the parking lot, beach, and grounds.
Sorry for the novel! Will write on the rest of the trip a little later.
Trip Report May 21- May 28 (Part one)
Mahalo Ms. Bing...can%26#39;t believe you are back already...seems like just yesterday you were asking about a sweater! Glad you enjoyed your stay at WBR and in paradise. Always a smart move to avoid discussions of politics and religion wherever you travel in the world...especially with an idealistic youth on a boat in the middle of the ocean.
Trip Report May 21- May 28 (Part one)
Wonder if that young guide is still working for them?!
That crossed my mind as well!
A naive youth I might add!
Looking forward to the rest of your report. Love the Black out story, I always have an LED light packed.
Aloha from Kaua%26#39;i!
What a doofus that guide was! I doubt he is still working for that company -- just what you want when you are taking visitors out on a lovely boat trip -- a rant about the U.S. and Hawaiian Sovereignty!
Some of the guides on those boats are very young and inexperienced -- I know that there was one who would tell people to leave ';offerings'; on a heiau -- a ti-leaf wrapped around a rock! This is not only culturally offensive, it is basically like throwing your garbage on top of a religious shrine.
They%26#39;d also make up ';their own version'; of the Pele and Lohi%26#39;au story or some other Hawaiian legend.
I%26#39;m sure many of them are well trained on Hawaiian lore and culture, but obviously some of them are just goofs!
Malama Pono,
Janet
Thanks for the great report!
LOL, the young guide on NaPali Catamaran is Sam. We rode with them 2 days later. He was definitely a trip!
No political discussions, but I asked him how often he works...';6 days a week and 1 day for church'; - BTW, he clarified that his ';church'; is surfing! It was confirmed, when we ran into him with his board at Tunnels Beach on Sunday.
We were also talking about music for awhile. Sam is in a rap/reggae band and was really excited about going to see Matisyahu (an orthodox jewish reggae singer) at the Kauai Community College on June 15th. (we saw many fliers around the island). I have his one hit album too. He kept loudly insisting to everyone that he was going to be the next Bob Marley, LOL! I wasn%26#39;t going to argue with him but Matisyahu was a novelty whose stardom faded on the mainland quite awhile ago.
We really enjoyed talking with Sam and the older captain Flo! I highly recommend their 4 hour tour.
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