Trip Report - May 22-29 (Part One)

Aloha!

My wife, Amy, and I (mid 30’s) recently returned from our most wonderful vacation ever. Just a month in advance, we planned our Kauai trip with much help from this TA forum. Mahalo for the helpful information. I’m sure that it made our trip to Kauai so much better!

Tuesday, 5/22:

We flew United non-stop from San Francisco – arrived early at 11:20am ($650 each/rt) (a full flight)

Picked up our Mustang Convertible from Budget (lots of these all over the island)

(Fastbreak membership helped to speed this along – a smooth process)

What wonderful tropical humid air %26amp; bird calls upon our arrival!

Amy was feeling ill with a head cold – so straight to Longs Drugs for some meds %26amp; snacks. Get our bearings and head north to the Kilauea Point Lighthouse %26amp; Wildlife Refuge ($3/each). Definitely worth it for the views, crazy large birds and we saw a monk seal beached below! Off to Foodland at Princeville for some staples %26amp; wine before 3pm check-in. (get the discount card at checkout)

http://www.aninialoha.com/aninikamaaina/

($1,500/wk – off season rate)

Headed over to Anini Beach (3rd house from end of dirt road). Key in lock box.

Cool 50’s beach cottage %26amp; great location (will write up a separate review soon).

Got into our island wear %26amp; we went for a swim to cool off.

Amy required a nap, so I snorkeled in the shallows for awhile – no fish.

Cleaned up %26amp; drove to Princeville Resort…strolled around the lobby and grounds. (Kind of gaudy, like a Vegas resort but stuffy %26amp; proper)

Cocktails and pupus at Happy Talk Lounge at HBR

(reasonably priced - burger, ahi sandwich, Lava Flow cocktails with live entertainment %26amp; great people watching!)

Sleep at 9pm – a few beach bonfires across the street but little noise %26amp; we were exhausted.

Wednesday, 5/23:

I awoke at 6:30 – missed sunrise but great weather. Amy needed to sleep-in for her cold. She’s determined to beat it quick!

So, I headed across the stream at the end of Anini Road to explore the surf line on Wyllie Beach. Did some lava rock hiking (with reef shoes) until Hanalei Bay was almost in sight. (lots of black crabs %26amp; roosters on the desolate strips of sand below Princeville cliffs).

Hiked the ¼ mile steep path up to Princeville. Very dank jungle, lots of moa with a small stream running alongside – would be horrible, if muddy. Came out on the golf course %26amp; condo construction. Also, took a long stroll up Anini Beach to the park.

Breakfast at cottage, then off to Walmart %26amp; Longs - Lihue for more supplies.

(float noodles, addl. snorkel gear – we had one set, portable BBQ, water, etc…)

Amy was starting to feel much better!

Checked out 2 waterfalls along the way: ‘Opaeka’a Falls (highly recommend the chilled coconut stand $7 – they’ll give you the meat too, once you finish the milk) %26amp; Wailua Falls.

Stopped at the Olympic Café in Kapa’a for lunch – (upstairs, either street or ocean views)

(ahi burrito %26amp; tacos %26amp; cocktails– delicious, leftovers %26amp; reasonably priced)

Home to Anini for snorkeling %26amp; lounging. Too full for dinner, so we walked up Anini Rd to the point to watch the sunset (better viewing around the Princeville cliffs than our cottage beach area). Very cool – someone even had some tunes playing!

Locals were doing some night fishing later – not much noise. Sleep at 9pm again.

Thursday, 5/24:

Awoke before sunrise – strolled the beach again until Amy got up.

Breakfast at home.

Amy finally kicked her cold! Lots of sleep %26amp; light meds did the trick.

Drove out to Ke’e Beach – late morning (parking lots were full %26amp; crazy, so we drove back to the first dirt lot, parked and walked back – no big deal, even with gear)

Beautiful beach…kind of crowded (by Kauai standards!). Lounged and snorkeled until mid-afternoon. (decent snorkeling but current was pretty strong)

Stopped at Wishing Well truck in Hanalei for our first shaved ice (they weren’t surly to us!)

Back to Anini to get ready for Beach House dinner at 6pm.

Nice drive to Po’ipu…except for the damn detour. Drove around a little but wasn’t impressed with the resort areas – not our style. Too many people.

Arrived ½ hour early, checked in, then cocktails before dinner. Great people watching on the lawn area. “Window seat”, excellent meal %26amp; great service (crab cakes, asparagus salad, mac nut crusted ahi %26amp; kauai duet: ono w/ crab meat %26amp; lemongrass scallops over risotto – no dessert). Sunset wasn’t that great but we enjoyed watching the photo scene on the lawn – it got mobbed!

Almost hit a large dog on Maluhia Rd (before the tunnel of trees) on the night drive home! Slammed the brakes and swerved right – missed by inches (would have felt horrible because we have 3 spoiled pups – not to mention the rental insurance headache!)

Then hit heavy rain at Kapa’a with the top down – a very exciting trip home. Asleep by 9:30pm.

Friday, 5/25:

Heavy rains overnight but stopped by sunrise. Woke early %26amp; quick breakfast (with a Bonine supplement for Amy).

Headed out for our NaPali Catamaran Tour (Hanalei) at 7am and got a call on my cell just after leaving the house. Apparently we were supposed to be there already but they would hold the boat! – No one had told me about the 6:45 check-in for the 7:30 tour. I had figured 15 minutes early would be fine! Luckily everyone wasn’t upset with us. Everyone can be so pleasant in paradise, huh?

Awesome experience, we highly recommend! Amy didn’t get seasick, truly amazing scenery and exceptional snorkeling. We saw at least 8 sea turtles %26amp; tons of fish! The crew (Flo and Sam) and boat were great – only 16 people/trip on this 4 hour tour. Unfortunately it was too rough for entering the sea caves but we did get some excitement by getting involved in a kayak rescue off Ke’e Beach on our return!

Ocean rescue were on jet skis circling off shore and emergency vehicles were in the lot, as we rounded the point. Our captain got on the radio to see if he could help. Garbled info, “something about a kayak rescue.” So, we started circling too, with everyone spotting. When we first saw a dark baseball cap, there was a collective gasp because we thought it was someone’s head! Then we spotted a paddle…then eventually, an upturned kayak inside a sea cave, getting slammed around with every set of waves. We reported our info and the rescue crew flew by us. Luckily those people had been pulled out just before we appeared on the scene but they weren’t sure if more were in trouble!

Headed back to Anini to recover…a shady beach nap and swimming.

Late afternoon - Back to Hanalei for food at the Polynesian Café (pretty good – would repeat), then over to Tahiti Nui for cocktails %26amp; more people watching!

Stopped at:

Dolphin Fish Market for Ono fillets for Sat. BBQ.

Foodland for supplies %26amp; Lapperts for very good ice cream.

Lounged at home %26amp; bed by 10pm

Trip Report - May 22-29 (Part One)

Mahalo mycal...if we could just turn up the thermostat along our own coast it would be paradise too!

Trip Report - May 22-29 (Part One)

Great report. I%26#39;m closing in on the one week mark for our trip.

How was Tahiti Nui? I%26#39;ve heard mixed reviews, but it sound kind of fun to me.

Bjbert, I agree, where is this cold air coming from? I%26#39;m trying to work on my base tan!

Thanks for writing this terrific trip report. I%26#39;ll be looking forward to reading part 2.

%26#39;A%26#39;ole pilikia!

bjbert...I agree, what%26#39; s up with this weather? We live in the East Bay and should be sweltering by now! We consoled ourselves when leaving Kauai by reminding each other that we%26#39;re returning to NorCal...not the mid-west, LOL. (no offense Bips, BTW I grew up in NJ, so let the jokes begin!)

scincali...Tahiti Nui seemed to be a Hanalei locals bar. Everyone who walked in, was greeted warmly by name (except us, LOL). We were looking for exotic frozen cocktails but just the basics here. They were setting up for live Hawaiian music but we split after one drink, before they started. It was early but we were tired. Very friendly and low key environment...we were digging the historical photos scattered about. Not sure about the history of the place but most seemed include one matronly woman, perhaps the original proprietor? We would visit again...Enjoy your visit!

Bips...Thanks! Yikes, Part 2 is even longer. It was fun to recall everything. Hope it%26#39;s not too tedious but I enjoyed reading everyone else%26#39;s before our visit.

Best regards,

Mycal