Aloha, Kauai

Trip date: May 2015

The minute I walked out of the airport the scent of tropical flowers and salty ocean greeted me. I couldn't help but breathe deep; my shoulders and neck relaxing.

The word aloha can mean both goodbye and hello. This was never more relevant to me than on this trip. I was saying goodbye to my old life as I knew it and hello to a new one, where sometimes I would travel all by myself. Not just a day or two on business, or as part of a trip while meeting other friends, but for the first time I was taking a complete holiday solo. I'd have much more time on my own from now on.

Since I had been upgraded to first class and had taken advantage of a lot of complimentary drinks, I called a taxi from the courtesy phone upon landing. After waiting about 10 minutes I was on my way to the north part of the island. The taxi was about a 45 minute ride/$90 before tip; I was happy not to drive the 2-lane road in the dark up to Princeville.

At check in at the Westin Resort I was upgraded to a 1-bedroom villa which included a lovely balcony on the 2nd floor and a peak-a-boo view of the mountains and the main pool. Building 5, I'd ask for it.

Jet lag had me up early the next morning and since it had been well past dark when I arrived the night before I took advantage of my awake status and went on a walk all around the property. Lush gardens and ocean views were exactly what I had signed up for and gotten!

After my walk I stopped in for breakfast (the Westin lets you forgo daily housekeeping in lieu of complimentary breakfast if you choose) and by 10am I was napping at the pool. Heaven.

That evening I took the Westin's free shuttle to their sister property, the St Regis, where I had an absolutely outstanding dinner at Jean Georges' restaurant, The Kauai Grill. They very nicely sat me at one of the best tables with a view of the ocean. The octopus, hamachi crudo, and service were all outstanding.

The couple behind me heard me say I would need a taxi back to the Westin (the shuttle stops at 8pm) and sweetly offered me a ride. I deferred as I decided to order dessert ("peanut buster parfait" -my term only). Sweet tooth appeased and $10 later I was home back at the Westin.

After that I started each day with a nice run/walk around the property and neighboring golf course before sitting down to my complimentary breakfast and mimosa. A quick change into my bikini and I was set for the day. The resort had a few pools; one for kids, one for everyone, and one for adults. I could take my pick and change it up from day to day.

One afternoon I took the complimentary shuttle to the Princeville airport (which is used by private planes only as far as I could see) and picked up a rental car. My shuttle driver and I were tight by then and she mentioned she was going to miss me. I assured her that since I don't drink and drive she would keep seeing me each evening as I headed to the tony bar at the St Regis for sunset.

I drove my cheap and cheerful rental to the absolutely beautiful town of Hanalei. My plan was to visit the farmer's market but it was already shutting down by the time I pulled up (noon) so I grabbed some delicious fish tacos at Tropical Taco and then drove to Hanalei Beach for an afternoon of sand, surf, and sun.

As it is known to happen on Kauai, late that afternoon the sky turned really dark. When I saw the clouds rolling in I high-tailed it back to the resort, pulling in just as a big-ass rain storm dumped. I grabbed a Mai-Tai or two and settled in on my covered balcony with my book. Even when it rains in Kauai it is still 80F+.

I drove back to Hanalei another day to pick up some coffee from the Hanalei Coffee Roasters, a great little spot that roasts beans not just from Kauai but from all over. (Upon searching for their website for this post it looks like they might have closed but still sell their coffee at local shops.) Then, taking a cue from my favorite shuttle driver, I stopped at the North Shore General Store (which is also the corner gas station) on the way back to the resort for Hawaiian chili pepper chicken. My take out box probably weighed 3 pounds and was hella spicy. Get it if you are there, share it if you are two.

On my last day I booked a massage at my Westin resort. I had seen the tents set up outside, overlooking the ocean, on my daily walks. WOW! A massage in an open-air tent with ocean breezes, softly playing Hawaiian music, scents of exotic flowers, blue skies, and a view of the Pacific waters. HEAVEN.

I followed up that bit of indulgence with Mai Tai happy hour at my resort, a shuttle to the St Regis for a stunning sunset and cocktail on their patio bar, and an absolutely delicious sushi dinner at their restaurant Makana Terrace.

Before hitting the road for my hour drive to Lihue airport the next morning,  I had the Westin's Sunday brunch buffet, which isn't included in the comp plan but is very much worth the charge!

There was very little traffic, the scenery was pretty, and I even pulled off at a couple of random beaches for some last ocean views as I made my way south.

I needed a place to unwind and destress, that wasn't overrun with too many children, families, or newlyweds, and the North Shore of Kauai was the perfect place for that. And spring is the perfect time!

Aloha!

All Kauai photos here.

And finally by sea...

On our last full day in Kauai we decided to take a 6 1/2 hour Zodiac tour of the Napali Coast to get a bit more up close and personal to the amazing rugged peaks and valleys. We toured with Capt. Andy's and for the most they were very good. The captain and crew were fun, informative and seemed to really want everyone to have a great time and see as much as possible.

We started out of Port Allen and immediately came upon a pod of Spinner Dolphins! They were so funny to watch, playing around our wake, jumping and racing each other. Then it was about a 30+ minute, somewhat wet and wild ride up to Polihale, which is the last place you can get to by vehicle. Many people camp on the beach here with these dramatic mountains just next to them. All the way up you could spot huge sea turtles bobbing around in the water!

We decided to head up to the north end of the coastline before stopping for lunch. The weather was sunny and warm which was good as the captain pointed our Zodiac directly out into the huge waves crashing on a reef. For about 20 minutes we rode HUGE waves, our small boat seemingly being tossed around but yet still somehow in control. Very fun and adrenaline inducing!

He then moved us closer in to the coast where we explored a few sea caves, pulling right into them. So amazing and beautiful!

At this point we had a bit of a problem, the Zodiac has 2 engines and one of ours died. And it really needed both to get our boat of 10 all the way back to Port Allen which is now at least 1 hour away depending on the currents, waves, etc.

After multiple tries to get it cranking we went on one engine over to Nualolo Beach, accessible only by tour operators who qualify. It was a barren beach made up of rocks and a little open picnic area where the guys served us a really good hot lunch. We snorkled before, snorkeling was ok but nothing spectacular. For lunch there was a pineapple chicken dish, great rice, fruit, salad and dessert. After lunch we went on a walking tour of the ancient Hawaiian fishing village that use to be there.

The village was really interesting. Remains of burial grounds, houses and springs. All around the valley walls you could see the scars of old waterfalls.

We even saw a monk seal lounging on the beach which is incredibly rare as they are on the endangered list. Our guide explained that they are so friendly the locals call them the dogs of the sea. They will just come right up to people and boats and unfortunately this made them easy prey for hunters.

Unfortunately during this whole time the captains were hard at work on our raft but couldn't fix it. They ended up taking a family of 6 off our raft and adding it to the now very crowded second raft, leaving just 4 of us on our handicapped vessel. We were really worried that it would take hours to get back but the captain did a great job and we were back in just under 2 hours. And we had a great time along the way still hitting some huge waves and getting tossed around as if we were riding a mechanical bull!

We were exhausted when we got back to the hotel, and salty and sweaty! A dip in the pool and a tropical cocktail were perfect. We stayed at the hotel that night and had an ok sushi dinner at a small place next door.

The last day we didn't leave until 10pm for our flight home so the Marriott was nice enough to give us keys to the Members Locker Room and we just stored our luggage and hung out at the pool all day. I was very sore from the raft expedition!

We had dinner that night at Roy's before heading to the airport and catching our red-eye home.

A fantastic trip and a great way to spend our 5th year anniversary. Kauai has definitaly become one of my favorite islands!

For the full set of our Kauai photos click here.

p.s. the photos in this segment were taken with our underwater camera which uses film and has a protective cover which gets foggy- that's why they look all dreamy and kind of old fashion. I like it!

from the air, from the land...

In an effort to experience Kauai from every possible angle- after flying overhead and driving up it's steep cliffs- we decided to hike it and paddle it! Following a tip from Fodors Message Boards we found our way to a small ancient Hawaiian village and rented a kayak. We were given some instructions on paddling up the Wailua River and hiking to our destination: Secret Falls!

We made it into the kayak without toppling ourselves and our gear in the river and headed out. After a few wrong turns we finally found the beaching ground. We then asked some people who were leaving as to where the train head started as we couldn't see anything and were pointed to an area on the opposite side of the small arm of the river we were on (big secret hu?). So we waded across and started on the trail, soon taking another wrong turn only to end up at a dead end with no falls in site (Amazing Race contenders for sure!).

Back on the trail in the correct direction we had a really nice hike. The trail was barely marked in most areas and you definitely felt as though you were in a tropical jungle with exotic flowers, vines and birds surrounding you.



Our first glimpse at the falls confirmed our thoughts that the secret was out but soon all the people left and we actually had the falls and it's pond all to ourselves to swim in- very cool.

As the next wave of people came we left and headed back to our kayak. Heading back up river we came to the landing for the Fern Grotto. A short hike in and we were rewarded with an amazing open cave filled with ferns sprouting out and cascading down. Grotto = Cave - cool!

We headed back to the river, passing gorgeous and fragrant flowers and plants. The water felt so good in the heat I could have just jumped in and swam back to the village!
After hitting a bbq place for lunch and a Mai Tai we made our way up to the north coast for some snorkeling. The views all the way up made for such a nice drive!! We arrived at Tunnels Beach late in the afternoon, the water was warm and clear and we finally saw our first turtle! Unfortunately we didn't have the underwater camera with us so you'll have to take my word for it.

We snorkeled for a while, layed on the clean sand and admired the views of Bali Hai and then made our way farther north to Ka'a Beach passing really interesting caves and cliffs covered with vines. We got to Ka'a about an hour before sunset and it was very pretty and calm- people either packing up from a day spent at the beach or arriving to take in the sunset.

Waimea Canyon

It was going to be tough to top our anniversary day! The helicopter tour was really a once in a lifetime experience. And we spent a lovely evening at the Grand Hyatt for drinks and dinner. But with only 5 days on Kauai we were determined to see and do as much as possible- and then kick by the pool on our last day :)

So we were up and in the convertible the next morning, on the road to Waimea Canyon. The views are just over the top amazing! We followed the road up and stopped at each lookout point. It was fun to watch the helicopters flying thru, looking just like tiny dots and knowing that was us the other day. As our book and others suggested we kept driving to the very very end- the Napali Lookout. Here you can see where the canyon ends at the Napali coast. The clouds build up in the valley and you have to wait it out, but when they clear...wow!

This was the only time we were rained on, it started soft and then really dumped for 5 minutes. I was driving with the top down and finally we had to stop in the middle of the road and put it up as I couldn't see for all the water in my eyes. And then it cleared up and we were on our way. The drive and the canyon were just awesome.

As we came down we stopped for lunch at the Waimea Brewing Company which had good beer and yummy Kalua pork nachos!

On our way home we stopped at the Spouting Horn and watched the hole throw ocean water high into the sky for a bit but really we were ready to be back by our pool and catch the hula show that they were doing just before sunset.

Another gorgeous day on this beautiful island.

Remember T.C.?

I always thought that Theodore "T.C." Calvin, Magnum's friend and owner of Island Hoppers helicopter tours, had a pretty good life. Sure, he didn't get to live in a 200-acre beachfront home, or drive someone else's Ferrari, but flying over the Hawaiian islands every day seemed like a decent trade-off.
I'd always hoped to be able to have that experience.

We'd realized that we weren't going to be able to get back to French Polynesia, our honeymoon location, for our 5th-year anniversary, even though that had been our original thought. The twin realities of available vacation time and available funding reared their ugly heads and dictated a vacation that was both shorter and closer to home. Fortunately, we got a great deal on accommodations and airfare and were able to schedule a 5-day stay on Kauai.

Our flight landed in Lihue after dark, so when we drove to our nearby hotel, the Kauai Marriott Resort, we really didn't get to see very much, and were somewhat skeptical that our so-called ocean-view room could actually see the ocean. We just had some sushi and late-night drinks at one of the attached restaurants that night, but looked forward to actually seeing the island the following morning.
Fortunately, the next day dawned bright and clear, and we discovered that we did actually have a view of the Pacific, albeit somewhat obstructed. We spent the morning exploring our hotel (including gigantic koi pond), pool (largest on the island, and in fact the largest in which either of us had ever been) and beach.

On the advice of several friends, we'd scheduled our helicopter tour for our first full day so that we could get a feel for the topology of the island. We walked over to the helicopter operator's office, directly across the road from our hotel, received a brief safety lecture and were bused the mile or so to the airport.

The American Eurocopter EC130B4 "ECO-Star" in which we were flying had room for two passengers in the front seat (to the pilot's right) and four in the rear. The tours, from all oeprators, take a clockwise flight pattern around the island, so the front and right of the aircraft are the best viewing seats. Even though we'd requested those locations, weight distribution of passengers meant that we ended up with the left rear, to our initial disappointment.

Neither Wendy nor I had flown in a helicopter before. When it took off, I thought she was going to squeeze my fingers off. I personally thought the flight was extremely smooth, and with the noise-canceling headphones we were wearing, it was much less noisy than a commercial airline flight. It was a bit disconcerting to slide sideways from time to time, or to rotate in place.
Within five minutes, we were flying through a rainstorm somewhere over the south side of the island, next to a mountain range, with zero forward visibility. Very wild! That lasted a grand total of only a few minutes, and then we were in the clear and heading up over a ridge and into Waimea Canyon, which easily compares to, and exceeds, the [distant] views I've had of the Grand Canyon, or my direct experiences in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Raydah Escarpment in Saudi Arabia.

Eventually we headed to the northwest corner of Kauai and began flying along the incomparable Napali Coast. Our pilot was great, and when he took us into individual canyons he was careful about rotating in both directions so that Wendy and I were able to get clear views of all the cliff walls and waterfalls. In particular, the 3000-foot cliffs and falls of the crater in Mt. Waialeale were unforgettable -- we hovered about halfway up the cliff, rotating in place, and it seemed like we were in some prehistoric Land of the Lost.

The tours unfortunately only last about an hour, so all too soon we had to head back to the airport. But it was a fantastic way to start the trip; T.C would be proud!