Return from Paradise

Our Kauai Week in Review

by John and Donna Mollan

 

A cuppa java?

View from our condo

Beauty in the Jungle



Waiting for the Rainbow

1. favorite place – Our condo at the Lae Nani in Kapa’a had wonderful gardens, great views and wonderful apartments.  The grounds, pool and beach were also very nice.
2. favorite event – Smith’s Luau in Wialua.  The tour, meal and program gave you four hours and the program was unforgettable.
3. best service – Alaska Airlines direct service from Seattle to Lihue.  (Of course, we did travel first class!)
4. best scenery/ scenic drive – The drive from Kapa’a to Hanalei and beyond has some spectacular vistas and is only a bit over 20 miles.
5. biggest disappointment – Wialua Falls.  This is the waterfall shown in all the pictures and touted in all the tour brochures.  Those of us from the Pacific Northwest were underwhelmed.
6. best out-of-the-way place – The stream and drive to the end of the road about 8 miles past Wialua Falls brings you to a jungle-like park where you can hike or take a dip in a beautiful stream.
7. best meal – The buffet meal served at Smith’s Luau was very authentic, complete and tasty and included unlimited drinks.
8. best tourist attraction – The beaches near Hanalei, including Tunnel Beach and its tunnels, have waters with a range fit for water babies or super surfers.
9. best museum – The Kauai Coffee plantations, near Wiamea, had a tasting room with free samples of coffee and aromas to die for.  The tasting room and the adjoining groves of coffee trees would be a wonderful place to spend the rest of our lives.
10. best free show – The 5:00 pm show at the Coconut Marketplace in Kapa’a offered us live music along with the hula.  Nothing was tacky.
11. worst service – Hertz Gold Service – Much ado about nothing.  Our “reserved” car wasn’t even ready for us.
12. biggest surprises – Wildlife! We saw two large Hawaiian green sea turtles attempting to come ashore when we were swimming at Poipu Beach.  A few days later, an endangered Hawaiian monk seal came ashore at the beach in front of our condo
13. biggest overdevelopment – Princeville, on the North Shore.  The uber-golf resorts in this area could have been transported, intact from any other similar area of the world that has palm trees.
14. unexpected bonus.  Although the gas prices were about 15% higher than home, the short distances on Kauai meant that we could drive all week on only a bit more than $33 worth of gas.
15. The experience we enjoyed the most:  The climate! We spent day and night with our windows open and needed neither a blanket nor air conditioning.  The gentle breezes from our ceiling fans made for comfortable living.
16. addendum: Hawaii has hundreds of beaches, but none officially top-free or clothing optional.  Perhaps this is an area for improvement.

Stay tuned for our further adventures and Aloha!


 J & D