Aloha! and Congratulations! to Camas and Curt on their upcoming nuptials, which is why we’re here in June instead of the usual March or April.
June 23-24
Two days of bopping around. A mynah bird and a couple of dudes.
I’m taking a short break from Proust to read again Sarah Vowell’s Unfamiliar Fishes, her history of Hawaii. This is my third time through and the names with all their syllables made entirely of vowels, and the complex genealogies are falling into place more easily. But will I be able to repeat the story? Still no way.
The light at the end of the tunnel of trees on the way to Koloa and then onward to Poipu.
June 26
Na Pali! This is a promo-photo from the company we went with, Capt’n Andy’s. There are many companies with different featured boats and trips. This was the biggest boat we could find.
Heading out to our snorkel spot.
A little before this we had seen a great collection of spinner dolphins really doing their thing but it was so wet and salty out and full of rock ‘n roll that I had my camera put away then.
What I ended up doing .. I took all these pictures with my phone.
The gear was great – flippers that fit and masks with corrective lenses so we nearsighted folk can see.
The water was warm and beautiful and there were a ton of sea turtles about, which was a big highlight for everyone…
sp.
This is a collection of Na Pali pictures I copied off the internet from people who had taken the helicopter tours.
It seems like you can’t feel the soaring heights from this angle but wow, those babies are Tall.
In the shadow of the upper middle-right is that view spot from Waimea Canyon that we always go to and where it is 50-50 that you’ll be able to see the coast because of the clouds.
Yes, more.
The only way to visit the Na Pali coast is to take a treacherous but maintained trail which brings you halfway in, or come by boat. The most common way to get onto these beaches is by kayak which is only possible when the seas are quiet.
Fun in the sun. We wanted the biggest boat because it would be more stable and because there were a couple of places to find shade.
They actually did cut the engines heading back and we took a slow smooth sail for about an hour while we ate lunch which was a delightful and welcome surprise.
June 28
Ahh, a walk along the new east side path that now stretches for many more miles than we walked on it.
We were deciding which of the garden tours to return to and because we wanted to go to Hanalei again anyway we decided to choose the Limahuli Garden, the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Ha’ena (that first a has a long mark over it), Halele’a, Kaua’i.
It’s a wonderful place and so very very…
There were so many interesting configurations in this garden and as well as being a great place they have a great booklet that you get with your $15 admission including tons of information about the history of the plants and the myths surrounding them.
June 29
We made our annual pilgrimage to Hanapepe today, the one stop town that recovered from the passing of the nearby sugar mills by remaking itself into an artists’ colony.
In most of the stores around Kauai you see these tiles, plates and cups, and etc etc, and the proprietor will tell you that ‘an artist in Hanapepe makes these for us’.
Well, behind the window in the top picture that artist of which there are many are indeed right here in Hanapepe making the glazeware for you too as they have a very large mail-order business. They are definitely very handmade with a lot of leeway for the artists as each one even with the same pattern are all different in detail and coloring.
The blooms this trip have been staggering.
We stopped off at the Kauai Coffee Museum where you can get a little taste, took a roll by the now nothing-but-mud Hanapepe salt flats, and enjoyed a scenic ride home.
June 29
We enjoyed another delicious dinner with Kathy and Kenny. Kenny has a magic touch, he has The Gift for cooking fish. It really is a notable talent from which we all benefit.
Their dog Coco, almost fully recovered from Kenny having run her over with the truck.
July 1
I took a bunch of pictures of Kathy and Kenny’s rental cottage for their craigslist ads. Here are only three, promise.
1 of 3
On the hill above the heiau is this Japanese cemetery. It was the Bon festival recently and many of the graves were decorated for the occasion.
From the cemetery you can look out over the ruins of the Coco Palms hotel and out to the ocean.
It’s our last day and tomorrow we make our way to Honolulu for a few days. Aloha Kauai, Mahalo Sharon, Until next time!
