Our Return Trip to Kauai - April 25, 2008

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My wife and I renewed our wedding vows on Kauai's Ke'e beach, November 1st, 2000. It was the first major vacation we had ever taken and we were in awe of the beauty and relaxed atmosphere of the island. Unfortunately, we only had three days to explore Kauai, and there were many things we still wanted to see and do. So we had always hoped we could afford to make a return trip someday. When our daughter graduated high school last year, I found some great airfare rates, so we celebrated with a family vacation to Maui. It wasn't our dream of returning to Kauai, but it was still a chance to see Hawaii again. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed several hours due to mechanical issues, so Hawaiian Airlines gave us $200 vouchers per person to compensate for the long delay. We didn't really have the money to go on another vacation, but it seemed crazy not to use the vouchers before they expired. So, I spent months saving my pennies, monitoring airfares, and researching places to stay until everything finally came together. Our dream of returning to Kauai was finally going to come true.

Day 1: April 25, 2008

For once, time zones worked in our favor. We got up at 5:00am, made it to the airport by 6:30am, parked our car, and took the shuttle to the terminal. Our flight left Portland at 8:45am, right on schedule. A smooth six hour flight, and we landed in Honolulu at 11:35am. We had a 90 minute delay before we could catch our next flight to Kauai, but time seems to pass very quickly at the airport. Another quick 30 minute flight and we arrived at the Lihue airport at 1:40pm. It was hazy and raining when we landed, but the sun was out by the time we left the airport. Getting out of the airport is always a hassle. It takes time to unboard the plane, navigate through an unfamiliar airport, find your luggage, and figure out where the rental cars are. But after an hour or so, we had our rental car and made our way out to the main highway for the hour drive up to Hanalei on Kauai's north shore. We stopped along the way at a Safeway grocery store in the Kapa'a area to stock up on a few basic snacks and beverages. Since we weren't sure about the rest of our afternoon, we grabbed a sandwich and a package of sushi and took them with us to have for dinner at our rental. Once we made it through Hanalei, we started looking for our cottage. Our home for the week was the Jungle River Hideaway (Hale-O-Awapuhi) in the Wainiha area. It's a short distance off the main highway, down a gravel road in the jungle. I wasn't sure what to expect, as we pulled up to the owners house that sits next to the cottage. Cherril, the owner, greeted us when we arrived and showed us to the cottage. She's a very sweet lady and made sure we had everything we needed before leaving us on our own. We brought our luggage up to the cottage, changed into shorts, then ate our sandwich and sushi out on the large covered lanai (what they call a porch in Hawaii). We were finished with dinner by 6:00pm, but despite doing nothing but sitting in planes and cars all day, we were just too tired to go out again. So we just relaxed around the cottage the rest of the evening. We enjoyed cleaning up in the outdoor shower, with the sights and sounds of the jungle around us, before climbing into bed for the evening. As is often the case in unfamilar surroundings, my wife and I both woke up several times during the night. But it wasn't a restless sleep. We would wake up briefly, think to ourselves "Ahh yes... Hawaii", and drift right back to peaceful dreaming. The one rude exception during the night was the alarm on our rental car that went off around 3am. It only chirped a few seconds, just enough to wake everyone up and disturb the peacefulness of the jungle valley, but it was embarassing to say the least. Still, I dismissed it as a cat or something jumping on the car and went back to sleep.

Day 2: April 26, 2008

With our bodies still on mainland time, we woke up before the sunrise. The fresh scent of the jungle was drifting through the cottage, wind was rustling through the palm leaves outside, and a symphony of birds were welcoming the new day with their beautiful songs. An amazing way to start the day. After enjoying another outdoor shower, we set off for our first destination, Ke'e beach. This beach has special meaning for us since we renewed our wedding vows there in 2000, and we were eager to see it again. It was a quick ten minute drive from our cottage in Wainiha, and we arrived around 9am. The first thing I noticed was how much busier the beach was. When we first visited back in November 2000, we practically had the beach to ourselves. But now there were dozens of couples and families with children. Still, it's a big beautiful beach and far from crowded. Most visitors gather right in front of the parking area. A short walk up the beach is all it takes to get a little more space, and it also rewards you with a much better view of the Napali coastline. I had heard Ke'e beach was a good place to go snorkeling, so we quickly grabbed our masks and snorkels and jumped in the water. There was a bit of a current running parallel to the beach, but the water was smooth and there were lots of fish to see near the inner reef. We're strictly amateurs, since we don't have any place to snorkel back home, but we had a great time. We left Ke'e beach around 11:30am, and headed back to the Last Chance Store in Wainiha. Our cottage was down a little road right next to the store, so it was a convenient landmark during our vacation. At a little window next to the store, there's a small take-out restaurant called Red Hot Mama's. We picked up some amazing chicken burritos from Mama's, and a couple of beers from the store, and then headed back to our cottage to eat lunch. Inexpensive, very tasty, and quite filling. With a little snorkeling practice out of the way, I was eager to try out Tunnels Beach. I had heard it was one of the best snorkeling destinations on the island when waves are calm. We parked at Haena Beach Park then walked the quarter mile or so up the beach to get to Tunnels. It's not that long of a walk, but the sand on that beach is coarse and seems to take a little extra work for an out of shape guy like myself. But, we threw down our towels, grabbed our gear, and headed into the water. As promised, there were lots of fish to see, but the water was a little too rough to enjoy snorkeling. So we headed back to the beach and just soaked up the sun for a while. When we headed back to Haena Beach Park, we took a short walk across the road to tour the Manini-Holo dry cave carved into the base of the mountain. Then we headed back to our cottage to cleanup. We decided to splurge on a fancy dinner this evening at the Hanalei Dolphin. We first ate at the Dolphin back in 2000 after we renewed our wedding vows, sort of our "first meal" after being remarried. So, there was a bit of nostalgia going there for dinner again. Despite reports of long lines, we got right in and were seated immediately. My wife ordered a shrimp dinner and I ordered scallops. They serve a large family style salad and bread before the meals arrive which was good and refreshing. Of course, we both filled up on salad, so we only ate about half of our meals. We took the rest back to our cottage to enjoy for lunch a later day. I thought I had heard our car alarm go off a few times during the day, but figured I must have been doing something wrong, since we drive older cars without alarms. We didn't give it much thought until we got back to our cottage after dinner and it started going off more frequently. We searched the car for something we may have overlooked, lights on, doors unlocked, brakes off, or something. But we couldn't find anything wrong. It chirped a few minutes after we arrived. Then again a few minutes later, and within the hour it was going on and off constantly. Since we didn't have cell phone service at our cottage, we drove back into Hanalei and called the Budget Rental Car company. I had to work my way through the national level customer support, then the state level, until I finally made it through to the local rental office back at the airport in Lihue. After working through their troubleshooting list, we arranged to meet at a gas station in Kilauea and exchange our car for another one. It was about 9:15pm when we finally got the new car and made the drive back to our cottage. I should have suspected something was wrong when we first picked up the car at the airport. The gal at the front desk told us it was in space 37, but the space was empty when we walked out there. I pushed the panic button on the remote to set off the alarm to find the car parked right in front of the rental office. As it turned out, that was about the last time the remote ever worked. I also have to wonder about the maintenance of the rental cars, as the windows were so dirty inside we could barely see where we were driving at night when we had to exchange the car in the dark. And the PT Cruiser we got as a replacement smelled like an ashtray. But at least the car alarm issue was over. It's one of those things you look back on and laugh about from your vacation, but it didn't seem very funny at the time.

Day 3: April 27, 2008

Kauai basically has one road that runs around the island, except for the rugged Napali coastline on the west end that prevents making a full loop. Since this was Sunday, I thought it might be a good day to tour the south and west parts of the island and avoid traffic in the Lihue area. Traffic was light but it took about two hours to drive all the way around and up to see the Waimea Canyon. We attempted to tour the canyon back in 2000, but the cloud cover was so thick we couldn't see beyond the railings. So we were pleased to have relatively clear skies this trip and finally see how beautiful the canyon was. There was a bit of haze from the "vog" (volcanic fog from the volcano erupting on the big island), but the canyon was still an impressive sight. We continued up to the top of the canyon to the Kalalau view point in the Kokee state park. It was an equally impressive view of the Napali coast line from above. On the way back down the canyon, we stopped at the Kokee Lodge for lunch (the ONLY option for food if you don't bring your own). I ordered a pulled pork sandwich which I thought was fairly tasty. My wife ordered some kind of asian dumpling which looked like six little marbles. Not much food, and she said the plum sauce tasted funny like it was moldy or something. She skipped the sauce since it was served on the side. Neither of us got very full on the small portions and chips, so we each ordered a slice of coconut pie. The pie was very enjoyable and quite filling. On the way back around the island, we detoured through Koloa and down into the Poipu area. We didn't get to see this part of the island back in 2000, and from my point of view, we didn't miss much. The south shore seems to be everything I disliked about our trip to Maui. Condo's and resorts sit between the road and the shoreline with lots of manicured landscaping. There are supposed to be several pretty beaches and interesting sights in the area, but we sure couldn't find them among the condo's. I suppose that's many folks idea of paradise, but I wasn't impressed. Koloa looked like a cute old-style Hawaiian town, but we still had a long drive so we looped around and headed back through Lihue. We had spent most of the day driving, so we stopped at Lydgate park on the east shore to do a little swimming and snorkeling. This was where we first learned to snorkel back in 2000, so it was fun to stop in again now that we've had more experience. We saw lots of fish in the rocked in swimming area, but with all the keiki's (kids) jumping off the rocks and playing in the sand, the water was a bit murky. Still, it was a very refreshing dip after sitting in the car all day. On the way back to our cottage, we picked up a few more drinks and snacks from the Safeway near Kapaa, then we stopped at the Kilauea Bakery & Pau Hana Pizza and ordered an "Island Stylin" pizza to take back for dinner. We found it very tasty and devoured the entire 12 inch pizza out on our lanai back at the cottage.

Day 4: April 28, 2008

By now we were addicted to snorkeling, and I had read good things about a beach called Hideaways. We made the short drive to Princeville, then tried to navigate our way through the planned community. Princeville is the kind of destination I try to avoid, Condo's, golf courses, and manicured landscaping. As is usually the case, they make it very difficult for anyone but the residents to visit the beaches in the area. Hideaways was no exception, with only 10 parking spaces next to a tennis court, and an unmarked dirt path squeezed between a condo, swimming pool, and a large parking lot. If you didn't know where to look, you wouldn't even know it was there. As we approached the edge of the bluff, the path took a very steep drop down the side of the cliff. There are stairs on the first half or so, but the railings have broken and fallen down, and most of the steps are in poor shape. When you reach the end of the steps, it's mostly just loose dirt and hazards like pieces of steel rebar sticking up (from old steps I guess). There was a thin rope tied along the trees to help guide you down the rest of the steep path, but it's probably more for looks than something you could rely on. After tempting sure death navigating down the cliffside, we finally came upon Hideaways beach, an absolutely gorgeous little beach only a few hundred feet across tucked between rock outcroppings. The water was calm and beautiful, and we found it to be the best snorkeling we had experienced on the island. My wife is a people person. Our running joke is that I can't take her anywhere that she doesn't know someone. So here we are thousands of miles from home, on one of the less touristy islands in Hawaii, on a tiny little beach, accessable only by scaling a treachorous cliff trail, that is virtually hidden in a planned community. And sure enough, one of the ladies my wife works with is sitting on a towel not 30 feet away. Why am I not surprised... I really need to plan more obscure destinations in the future! :) Anyway, nature was calling so we made the hike back up the cliffside trail. It was a lot harder going up than coming down, and I was racing just to keep up with my wife who scrambled up the cliff like a mountain goat. By the time we reached the top, we were both huffing and puffing, and thinking we were going to die. But wow, what a view from the top. So, we headed back to our cottage, and couldn't resist stopping at Red Hot Mama's and picking up another burrito. We ate lunch out on our lanai, then cleaned up and drove back into Hanalei to act like tourists in the gift shops. We finished our evening at Ke'e beach. We walked a little ways up the beach so we could see all the way down the Napali coast, then went for a swim before relaxing on the beach. We shared a pork Po-Boy sandwich I picked up at the Polynesian Cafe in Hanalei, which wasn't bad but the fries were extremely greasy. My wife and I cuddled on our towels, drank a little wine, and watched the sun set slowly down to the ocean. The waves were rolling in lightly, the bright blue sky was lit up with vivid reds and oranges against the white clouds. It was absolutely beautiful.

Day 5: April 29, 2008

I think we were getting used to the beach life, but today we decided to do a little hiking. I had a number of possible destinations lined up, but I was already worn out from the climb at Hideaways the day before. And, lets face it, round isn't exactly the shape I wish I was in. So we opted for an easier trail on the east shore called the Kuilau Ridge Trail near Wailua. We stopped at the Safeway in the Kapaa area again to pick up a sandwich and drinks for the hike, then made our way to the trailhead, stopping briefly to view Opaeka'a Falls. The ridge trail itself was fairly gentle, and wide enough for us to walk side-by-side, hold hands, and talk as we hiked. Still, it was a steady climb all the way to the top. The scenery wasn't very exciting when we started out, but it gradually got more impressive as we climbed the mountain. The sign at the trailhead said it was one mile up to some picnic tables, but when we got to the one mile marker there wasn't a table in sight. We decided to press on a little further up the trail to see if we could find a nice place to have lunch, when we found the picnic tables under a little roof sitting on a clearing at the ridge. The view of the jungle valleys all around us was amazing as we sat and enjoyed our lunch, listening to Kauai's wild chickens crowing in the distance. Another couple joined us as we were finishing our lunch, and encouraged us to hike the additional three quarters of a mile to the bridge at the end of the trail. We were both very glad we decided to continue, as the views just got more impressive past the picnic tables. Of course, now that we hiked in we had to hike back out, but it was mostly all downhill back to the car, about four miles round trip. Not bad for an overweight couch potato. :) On the way back to our cottage, we stopped at Anini Beach Park to go for a quick swim. It's a nice big sandy bottom beach, but the water is shallow and the wind was really blowing across the water, so we didn't stay long. But we did have fun watching a guy kite surfing for a while. We hadn't picked up anything for dinner, and didn't really feel like going out again, so we had some wine, cheese, sausage, and crackers for dinner that we had bought the first day as snacks. Very simple, yet filling and satisfying. The Jungle River Hideaway had an outdoor bathtub down below the cottage, so we decided to give it a try. I took down some bug candles down to fend off the mosquito's, and started filling the tub. Unfortunately, I didn't realize there was a strainer in the drain, and the tub had lost all of it's water by the time we hopped in. My wife finally figured out why the drain was leaking, but by then we were out of hot water. So, we dried off and headed in to sleep.

Day 6: April 30, 2008

After a day of hiking, we were eager to get in more snorkeling. Having tried a few different beaches, we agreed Hideaways was our favorite, despite the cliffside trail it took to get there. So we cleaned up and headed off for Princeville. Unfortunately, when we got to the bottom of the trail the surf was really kicking up, so there would be no snorkeling here today. But it was a beautiful day and my wife and I had the little beach all to ourselves. We found a high spot on the beach where the waves wouldn't wash us away, and just relaxed in the sunshine. It was about a half hour before anyone else showed up on the beach. The first couple of folks walked around a bit then decided to leave, but a group of younger and "braver" people came later and jumped immediately into the rough ocean. We watched nervously as the waves crashed around them, and a few even attempted to snorkel. It didn't look very safe or enjoyable, one cut his hand on the rocks, and after 20 minutes they all packed up and left. After an hour or so, a few more people arrived, and the ocean started calming down a bit. It was still too rough to snorkel, but we finally ventured in to splash around in the waves and cool off before we started the climb back up the hill. This time I went in front of my wife, and progressing at a slower pace we were far less tired by the time we reached the top. On the way back to our cottage, we stopped in Hanalei and got some hamburgers from Bubba's Burgers. It took nearly a half hour for our order to be prepared. I've had much better burgers, but it still made a good lunch. Before leaving Hanalei, we stopped at a grocery store in Ching Young Village and picked up a ready-to-cook dinner with pasta and three kinds of meat. My wife cooked it up for dinner that night, the only meal we cooked on our vacation, and it was quite enjoyable. Not bad for a five dollar meal. We made a quick run over to the Hanalei Day Spa to see if we could get a couples massage, but they only had one opening the following day. So we scheduled a massage and headed back to our cottage to relax for the rest of the afternoon. Now that we knew how to keep the water in the tub, we decided to give the outdoor bathtub another try. We lit the candles, filled up the tub, and enjoyed soaking out under the stars and palm trees. Very nice.

Day 7: May 1, 2008

This would be our last day to enjoy Kauai, as we had to leave early for the airport the next morning. So we headed back to Ke'e beach where we started our trip. It was another beautiful day and the water was very calm, so we spent most of the morning snorkeling, swimming, and just enjoying our time together. In the afternoon, we headed over to the Hanalei Day Spa to get our couples massage. We decided to pay the extra 10 dollars to have our massages in the A-frame grass hut out on the bluff. It was amazing. Very relaxing massages, with the sound of the ocean below us, and the fresh breeze blowing through the grass hut. After our massage, we headed back to Ke'e beach and watched the sunset one last time before we had to head home. Our final night on Kauai was a restless one. We were sad our vacation was ending, and we knew we had to get up the next morning. But we had a "visitor" in the middle of the night that kept scurrying back and forth across the metal roof of our cottage. At first I thought it was a cat running across the deck outside, but when it moved to the roof I realized the foot steps were too fast and close together to be a cat. I don't know what kind of rodents are on Kauai, but I guessed it was a mongoose or a rat. Regardless, it would run across the roof, drop something from the tree onto our roof, and then scurry to the other side and do the same thing. This went on for at least an hour before we finally got too tired and fell asleep. Humerous to look back on, but a little unnerving at the time not knowing what kind of jungle beast was on our roof trying to find a way in to eat us alive! :)

Day 8: May 2, 2008

Sadly our time on Kauai had come to an end and it was time to go home. It's amazing how quickly a week goes, and how many things there still are to see. We packed our things, cleaned up the cottage, and made our drive back to the airport in Lihue. Another beautiful morning on Kauai, making it all that much harder to leave. Thanks to road construction, I missed the rental car return at the airport and had to loop around again, but everything proceeded smoothly after that. We made the quick flight over to Honolulu, grabbed a quick lunch, then boarded our plane back home. There was a short 15 minute delay while some mixup over a missing passengers luggage was resolved, but then we were on our way. We had to do a little hunting to find our car in the economy parking lot back in Portland, but soon we were driving back home. The first thing I noticed was how much faster everything moved here, even late in the evening. I was still moving on the relaxed pace of Hawaii, while all the other drivers were rushing to get to their destinations. We got off the interstate as quickly as we could so we could take things a little slower on the backroads home. :) Our sweet daughter greeted us with a bouquet of roses when we got back home.

The Jungle River Hideaway

When I was first planning our trip, I had hoped to stay at the Jungle Cabana where we first stayed back in 2000, but it was already booked for the dates we had available. So after a bit of searching, I found the Jungle River Hideaway in the Wainiha area (Their web site). After emailing Cherril, the owner, I discovered it was in the same basic area on the north shore. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reviews or other information about the hideaway before I reserved it, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's always difficult to judge a place by the pictures and text you read on a web page. But my wife and I were both very happy with the cottage, and it would be our first choice now if we ever make it back to Kauai. Cherril told us it was their own home for many years until they built their new house. The cottage is small, probably less than 400sq feet, but it is very clean and comfortable, and the large lanai makes it feel much larger. Cherril and Jim have provided everything you could need during your stay. A comfortable bed, linens, towels, soaps and shower gels, a full kitchenette, grill, beach toys, CD player and CD's, and even a washer/dryer. We loved the outdoor shower, and though the outdoor tub is a short walk down below the cottage we enjoyed that as well. We didn't venture far from the cottage, but Cherril and Jim encourage guests to explore the property and the adjoining river. Ironically, the corner of the lanai is probably only ten feet from the corner of the owners house, and the bathroom and outdoor shower are probably only ten feet from the gravel road that runs behind the cottage. It sounds like it would be very exposed, but the strategic screening and jungle vegetation around the cottage make it feel very private. We thought it was very romantic and secluded, even showering outdoors as cars and people went by on the road. It's hard to describe, but you really feel like you have your own little cottage in the middle of the jungle. We're kind of fanatics about locking everything up tight back home, but we never even closed a door or window during our entire week stay. The only negative I can think of are the mosquito's, but that's to be expected when surrounded by jungle next to a river. Still, it's a very minor problem, and Cherril provides a wide variety of mosquito repellents. My wife seemed to be a mosquito magnet, but I rarely ever got bit. It certainly didn't stop us from sitting outside or eating all of our meals out on the lanai. I'd take the mosquitos over a sterile condo any day! If you are looking for a small, romantic hideaway to share with your honey, I highly recommend the Jungle River Hideaway.

Final Thoughts

Kauai was certainly everything we remembered it to be and more. It did seem there were more people visiting the island this trip, but I don't know if that's due to increased popularity or just a different time of year. I suppose a certain "wonder" was missing, as our first trip was the first time we had ever seen palm trees, tropical beaches, or tried our hand at snorkeling. But this trip was every bit as relaxed and romantic as our first visit. Kauai truly is paradise. Our dining experiences were rather simple this trip. While the Hanalei Dolphin was our one fancy meal, I can't say it was necessarily good enough to warrant the cost. At the opposite extreme, the burritos from Red Hot Mama's were inexpensive and so good we ate there twice. We also found the Island Stylin Pizza from the Kilauea bakery to be exceptional, and the Safeway in the Kapaa area made some very tasty sandwiches in their deli. The Jungle River Hideaway was a great little cottage for our stay. Unlike many vacations where we pay for a rental and never spend time there, we enjoyed a lot of peaceful relaxation at the Hideaway. A place where my wife and I could be alone together and reconnect. That is, afterall, one of the main reasons to take a vacation. The outdoor shower was addictive, we probably showered three or four times each day, before and after swimming. No matter how you look at it, vacations are expensive. So we have to plan our getaways wisely. With so many other places in the world we want to see, I don't know if we will make another trip back to Kauai again. But it will always rank as one of our favorite destinations, and I wouldn't hesitate to return if circumstances allow. Aloha

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Video Details

Equipment:
Canon ZR500 (Handheld).

Music:
"Islands in my mind" by Justin

Editor:
Adobe Premiere 6.0

Other:
All footage processed with VirtualDub Deshaker plug-in to reduce image shake before editing.

The second segment of the video is underwater footage we shot using the "movie mode" of our waterproof digital camera. It was difficult to get steady shots while bobbing in the ocean waves, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. After stabilizing with Deshaker, I scaled to best match the footage from the ZR500.

Equipment:
Pentax W30 waterproof digital camera

Music:
"Beautiful Ladies" by Opihi Pickers

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A Few Photos From Our Trip