Aloha HAWAII Mahalo!

This is the heiau at the corner, Holoholoku Heiau, the sacred space and we don’t go inside. The Birthing Stone is just out of view.

The fabulous Japanese Cemetery up the hill from the heiau with stairs to lead you there. It’s extremely old…

…and then there are new markers too…

…and extremely unexpected bits of memorabilia.

I had heard about this trail walking distance from the house that will take you under the big traffic bridges that span the section where the river meets the sea.

Imagine my excitement, a sunflower forest! There was a dense hedge of these and I don’t know whether all those buds are flowers that are finished or flowers yet to come. I do hope to check it out in coming weeks.

…right through to the beach.

April 7

We’re at Duke’s enjoying an early lunch so we got the best table and here’s the view looking out onto the gorgeous Kalapaki Beach and the Kuki’i Point Lighthouse.

The Marriott is behind us and has always seemed to me a most excellent hotel for families because of peaceful waters of Kalapaki where there’s just enough small rolling water for stand-up paddlers and kids learning to ride a wave.

Right now there’s only a very small section of the river open and it’s possible to walk…

There were families gathered in various spots and this is also where the canoe club stores their gear and kicks off their training sessions.

It was interesting how they had covered the ground with thick tarps to both protect the roots of the trees and to help keep you from falling over them.

That group with the colored umbrellas were having a pretty big family gathering…

…and one of the cousins made this arrangement just because she wanted to and was happy to offer a photo. I don’t know why the red came out so flat. These are some of the Heliconia that grow wild.

A rope swing waiting for a kid.

Last time I used yellow Plumeria and here’s the pink. Still more to come!

At the mouth of the river there’s a public park and launching site for kayaks, canoes, and small boats and that’s where all this is, including this garden that was just open in the park. Nice looking veg I would say.

April 6

Here at the house there’s the spacious screened lanai along the river where we mostly hang out. It’s glorious and ever since the remodel with the screens I have not come home with a single mosquito bite.

There’s also the back garden fitted out with several holes of a miniature golf lawn and wonderful landscaping.

That’s the gate where the front and back meet.

Outside the kitchen door others enjoy this garden but I tend to stick to the screened area because behind that greenery is a slow-running channel from the river, home to the local mosquito farm.

An orchid. Orchids grow freely outside in Hawaii, on trees, in the ground, along the side of the road, in pots, they just grow.

The water lily pot that you find for sale in many markets here. This is out in the back garden too and you might think uh-oh mosquitoes, but there are a dozen little fish living in the pot.

Camas took me for this walk on the Moalepe Trail and it was beautiful! I’m just the right amount of sore this morning.

The weather was perfect for this, not so hot or sunny which is good for me!

Hilahila in Hawaiian, it’s the one where the leaves curl up when you touch them, it’s shy. That’s the leaves for sure, they are the same as all the pictures, but I can’t find another picture where Hilahila has those yellow flowers. Maybe the flowers are coming from another plant?

A Marsh Pea I think.

We slowly and easily wound our way up up.

Here’s The Turn Around Tree where we turn around. We could have continued and eventually we’d run into another road but I’m glad we turned around right here, at the exact right moment.

I forgot a picture of us (forgetting…) so here’s a picture of Camas and Curt instead.

cc.

April 5

We’re off, first stop Spouting Horn, with a row of tchotchke shops, tons of Jungle Fowl, and this.

I wanted to stop off at Prince Kuhio Park. Prince Kuhio Day is at the end of March and here’s his memorial still covered in leis.

One of the parrots at the Grand Hyatt preening himself for his fans.

Beautiful hedges of Peace Lilies live outside in Hawaii where they can survive because it’s year-round hot and humid. Which says something about Hawaii, right.

Great timing for lunch at Brennecke’s – 15 minutes before they opened for a cooling beverage and then a window seat for lunch.

My new pixel 3xl took this picture on auto better than my new camera took it on auto, but the camera still does better for most situations.

Cup of Gold, a huge vine or pruned into a tree, it makes you look every time.

The Grand Hyatt in full bloom. Those hedged and cascading bougainvillea are completely awesome this visit.

We walked along the fantastic path that runs for seven to eight miles along the East Side coast. It’s called The Kauai Coastal path and also called Ke Ala Hele Makalae. The Hawaiian name means The Path That Goes By The Coast and we love it.

This is the Pineapple Dump.

There is an old structure here, the Pineapple Dump. I like to come here so I can say Pineapple Dump. That’s me with my hair sticking straight out.

The Pono Pineapple Company of Kapaa built that wooden ramp-like thing so that the detritus from the pineapple processing plant could be easily dumped into the ocean.

I copied this from the Kauai Surf Company:

“During Kauai’s agricultural heyday in the early to mid 1900s, a concrete pier was built by the Pono Pineapple Company of Kapaa to dump unusable portions of pineapples (crowns and skins) into the ocean. … Occasionally, unfavorable winds and currents pushed the floating debris back to Kapaa, creating a “terrible mess and foul stench” as it washed up on town beaches.”

April 4

From right outside the front door, “Anthurium, a genus of about 1000 species of flowering plants, the largest genus of the arum family, Araceae. General common names include anthurium, tailflower, flamingo flower, and laceleaf.”

Another challenge. Google thought it was milkweed but none of the other milkweed plants looked like this one.

So so many kinds of Hibiscus. This one is Hibiscus Enormicus because Sharon’s formidable hand could not reach across.

The Olympic Café.

April 3

Aloha KAUAI! The Splendid Red Jungle Fowl welcomes one and all to the Garden Isle.

This year Sharon and I decided on Flowers for our focus, and here’s the iconic Hawaiian lei flower, the Plumeria. It comes in many colors which I feel confident will be represented throughout the month.

The Spider Lily often used for hedges.

First day and we do our first day tradition of a Lydgate walk and lunch at the Olympic Café.

We have been amazed by all the people here this year so I grabbed a quick photo as a so far rare moment of a contemplative walk by the shore.

One of those weeds by the side of the road…gotta find its name…probably won’t find it though.

Opaeka’a, our neighborhood waterfall, not too full right now so it’s nice to see the layers.

April 30

We enjoyed a tasty and generous brunch with Camas and Curt before a last stop at some stores and then home to pack up for home-sweet-home, thanks to Sharon, and ALOHA to The Garden Isle!

April 29

“Namahana Farmers Market in Kilauea by Banana Joe’s. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Strictly local produce as well as a few food artisans.”

…and our goat farm! The place that used to do tours and let you snuggle the baby goats, but they don’t anymore which is too bad because those baby goats are so adorable.

This was a very nice one too…

This was our first time out to the North Shore since the first week because of the storms, and the road past Hanalei was still closed.

Check out those waterfalls.

A view in Hanalei town.

“Hanalei Farmers Market. Market hours are 9:30 a.m. to noon. Produce, food artisans, and handmade crafts.”

You can buy a bag of salad.

Also, MUD. It looks like grass but you have to be very careful, test every step, or you’ll be ankle deep in that fine red mud.

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April 27-28

On our first day back we did chores and lolled around the house until meeting Kenny-Kathy-Sharon-Bob for dinner at the newest hot spot around town.

On our second day back we returned to our usual swing of going out in the morning. As we approached the car all the neighbor’s ducks took a mad dash from hanging out in the driveway.

YAY, Puka Dog for Breakfast! We got there around 10:30 and there was no line yet, almost unimaginable but true so I quickly got myself a delicious. YUM!

Twenty minutes later all the picnic tables were full and there was a line.

Koloa Town has developed a food truck park.

A monument in honor of the nationalities who came to Hawaii to work in the sugar cane fields.

Back home a small family of chicks were pecking about.

April 22-25

We spent these nights at the Moana Surfrider and you can see the story by clicking here: Honolulu!

April 20

We were watching a cooking show on tv last night and we both simultaneously Had to have pancakes for breakfast so we came to Daddy O’s for one order of pancakes, one order of waffles, a side of bacon, and a side of fruit. It was so very satisfying.

At our stop for gas this truck rolled up with this dog riding happily in the back.

He was so happy and so friendly my arms and my face turned into the delicious smell of dog slobber, but it was fun to have that snuggle anyway.

Look! Blue SKY!!

Then I took Camas for an introduction to gyrotonic. There are actually two gyrotonic set-ups on the island of Kauai and here is one of them in this woman’s converted garage.

The next door neighbor feeding ducks in her yard which explains why they are all there. I’m not going to imagine what the lawn is like after a flock of ducks have settled in.

I guess early in the month we didn’t see any baby chicks because they weren’t born yet. There are certainly plenty of chicks in the pipeline now. We won’t be having a shortage of Splendid Red Jungle Fowl for next year.

April 19

There’s a fine park and golf course in Anahola with some crazy chicken action.

More of the park.

Then we drove into Hanapepe for lunch at the Japanese Grandma’s Café followed by a visit to…