Kauai our way! A Feb 2015 Trip Report

Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 01:03 PM
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Kauai our way! A Feb 2015 Trip Report

Hello! I just returned from a trip to Kauai where I celebrated my birthday with my hubby last week in paradise! Here's another trip report (typically lengthy and detailed) which I will put on my blog (www.asplashofaloha.com) when I have time to write individual posts with pictures.

This trip was very laid back and easy-going. I only booked 2 things for this trip, a dinner at Kauai Ono and Chocolate Farm Tour at Steelgrass farms for my birthday. The rest of the time we just explored the island on our own. We had no real "plan" asI usually have with our other trips to Hawaii, but we kind of just winged it depending on what we felt like doing. It usually worked out for us, but on occasion it didn't as you will find out...

Day 1 Part 1 (leaving JFK for HNL…do we actually leave?)

Our flight from New York's JFK airport was scheduled to leave at 9:30am on a Sunday. The day before, there was a pretty heavy snowstorm and I kept checking the flight status and it still said Scheduled. The morning of our departure it was sort of icy and rainy but the status of our flight still said On Time so we made the long trek from New Jersey to Queens, NY. We checked in on the premier status line (we actually made Pualani Gold last year on Hawaii Airlines!). Pualani Gold gets priority check-in, boarding, free checked baggage, lounge access in Hawaii airports, and selected upgrades to preferred seating, like extra legroom and exit rows. We put our names down for the upgrade list hoping we'd get a shot at the roomier seats.

We spent some time at the Airspace Lounge at Terminal 5 (which is actually a Jetblue terminal that also services the one Hawaiian Airlines flight to HNL). When it came time to board we walked over to the gate and checked the upgrade list. We were #2 and 3 on the list! Unfortunately the person before us took the only other window seat, and she had paid to upgrade her husband. The only other option for us were 2 middle seats and who wants those? So we just kept our original window seats on the right side of the plane. Unfortunately we also noticed many flights were getting delayed or cancelled altogether at this point...hopefully we wouldn't be.

When we boarded the weather still looked icy and wet. After the doors closed our pilot tells us that it’ll be a while before takeoff because of residual delays with other flights. We were the 20th plane in line! Ugh. So we waited and waited…after about an hour the pilot comes on again, this time he said the plane had a maintenance issue. After a few announcements we were told we had to deplane and that the flight would not leave until later that night! So we all got out of the plane. There was a bit of confusion as to what people had to do. Everyone started getting on line at the gate agents because they thought they could get re-booked. That wasn’t the case because everyone was technically a JetBlue agent and didn’t work for Hawaiian Air. They pretty much told us all to go home and come back that night. Our new flight time was 11pm which was almost a 14 hour delay. That included the time the plane had to have a part replaced as well as a mandatory “rest” time for all the crew and pilots since they were not allowed to work beyond a certain number of hours. Sigh...when would we be able to escape the cold?

Since we couldn’t get back to NJ (my dad had dropped us off and went back to NJ already), we luckily had a good friend who we could hang out with nearby, he picked us up and we had a dim sum lunch and hung out for the afternoon before returning to the airport that evening. It was back to the Airspace lounge again to wait for our flight! Luckily they had shower facilities in that lounge which we were very grateful for! We had lost one night in Kauai, but still very excited we get to go on this trip. I felt bad for people who were connecting in JFK and had no place to go. 14 hours is a long time to spend in an airport!

Finally we boarded the same plane (all the same crew and pilots) and we were off to Hawaii! Even though the flight was very delayed the Aloha spirit was evident on board. They tried to make us as comfortable as possible on the 10.5 hour flight. The red eye flight kind of worked in our favor though, since we got to sleep throughout most of the flight…and when we woke up, we were almost at Honolulu!

The first sight of Hawaii is just wonderful…the blue waters and green mountains are breathtaking, not to mention the site of Diamond Head and Waikiki beach as we approached. We finally landed in HNL at 5:15 am Pacific time! Our connecting flight was automatically adjusted to 6:30 am so we headed to the inter-island terminal to the new Hawaiian Airlines Premier Lounge. This lounge just opened a few months ago and it’s a perk of being a Pualani Gold. It’s not a huge lounge and there isn’t a lot of stuff, just some beverages: coffee, soda, an espresso machine, and a few snacks. But it was decorated in a nice modern vibe which is very different from the rest of the airport and the air conditioning was very cold. After 45 minutes in the lounge, we headed to board our flight to Kauai! At last we were going to start our vacation!

The flight was very short, and we arrived to sunny weather and blue skies in Kauai! DH went to Alamo to pick up our rental car while I went to collect our bags. It looked like our luggage made it to Kauai before us as it was waiting next to the belt when I got there! DH shows up in a red Jeep SUV. He said the agent tried to check to see what the price would be for one day less on our reservation and was quoted over 1000 dollars! No thank you, we’ll stick with our original ressie (about $260 made through Costco.com). We were ready to head to Poipu!

The drive down was very nice, with no real traffic. I absolutely love the "tree tunnel" part of the drive. Arriving at our home for the week, it was a quaint 2 BR cottage near Poipu Beach. It was pretty much exactly how it looked like in the pictures. It was nice to have our own space and not a condo. It was located on a small plot of land shared with the house next door. There were 4 identical houses next to each other in our little corner. It felt like we were in the midst of our own little “world” because everything else around us was condos and town homes.

The house was really cute. It looked like it was renovated recently and had new kitchen cabinets, floors, and bathroom fixtures. However the air-conditioning units were old and loud as hell. I think they should have upgraded those as well! The house had most of what we needed for a fun beach vacay, lots of towels, beach chairs, even boogie boards and sunscreen. However, it wasn’t as well stocked as expected, I think whoever was supposed to stock it between stays didn’t do a good job as there were no trash bags, no dishwasher detergent, and no sponge so we couldn’t do dishes properly. There was also no soap in the bathrooms. We kind of made do though, and didn’t bother to try and re-stock it ourselves. I guess a call to the mgmt. company could have fixed that but we just didn’t bother. I didn’t really cook on this trip, so wasn’t a huge issue and we bought everything else we needed! The front porch was cute and featured 2 sitting areas, and the back yard had a seating area and even banana trees with fruit! We didn’t pick them (we weren’t sure how to) but it sure looked cool.

So we arrived in Kauai a day later than expected, but I see it as only missing out on dinner the day before...we still had breakfast to eat! Stay tuned...
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 01:14 PM
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Reading your report as I watch the snow fall out my window is my own little escape to paradise. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to the rest!
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 03:56 PM
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alas more snow is falling here too! we've clocked over 100 inches since our return. We also left with a 2 1/2 hr rest on the tarmac in Boston for de-icing and clearance, but had better luck with you. Flew into Vegas at night although in other seasons the nonstop from NYC is inviting. I wasn't at all impressed with the Jet Blue/Hawaiian relationship.
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Old Mar 4th, 2015, 04:17 AM
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msteacher - thank you! There is an ice storm here with more snow on the way. To tell you I miss Kauai is an understatement. I went to costco yesterday near our house and I almost hugged the Tommy Bahama beach chairs...they remind me of our trip!

Inakauaiadavidababy - I don't envy you in Boston! So much snow! I went to school there but I don't think I ever saw that much snow. The Hawaiian/Jetblue has never really bothered me because our flights out of JFK has always been on-time with no issues previously, but good to know that they can't really do anything when there is an issue for any upcoming trips.
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Old Mar 4th, 2015, 04:36 AM
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Day 1 Part 2 (No shave ice but we got our ice cream fix!)

After unpacking we headed out to get some breakfast – I really wanted an acai bowl because I love them and I don’t get my fix as often enough on the east coast. We headed to Aloha Aina Juice Bar which is in the back of the Kukuiula market (not to be confused with the Shops at Kukuiula which is a high-end shopping area). I ordered an acai bowl with kale, berries, banana, and honey, and DH got one with mango, berries and banana. The acai bowls there were delicious and huge! They were served in quart-sized containers and had plenty of fruit.

With our craving satisfied, we decided to walk to the beach. With beach bag in tow, we followed the path next to the house to Brenneke Beach. It took about 15 minutes to walk there. Next time we will just drive since we can bring the chairs!

The beach was so wonderful, the waves were softly rolling and the golden sand felt good. There were people but not terribly crowded. Some parts were rocky but the area towards the left and right were sandier (is that a word?) but the rocks provided some good snorkeling closer to shore. We snorkeled and saw some huge fish! Why are the fish on Kauai so big? They were some of the biggest I’ve ever seen snorkeling in Hawaii. Next to Brenneke is beautiful Poipu Beach and we decided to head there the next day.

For lunch we headed to Koloa town, about a 3 min drive away, for some ahi tuna poke and plate lunch. We’d heard good things about the Koloa Fish Market so we stopped there. The place is very small (takeout only) but there were a handful of people already in line. We got a tub of shoyu poke and a lau lau plate lunch which we brought back to the condo to eat. The food was very good, and the lau lau was served with chicken long rice which I really like.

I wanted some shave ice and I heard about this place called The Fresh Shave located 15 minutes away in Kalaheo. It’s a food truck that serves shave ice with fresh fruit and seems like a nice twist on a classic Hawaiian treat…unfortunately on the way there I found out that they were closed on Mondays. Oh well. We just decided to go to the Kauai Coffee Plantation which was right around there. We enjoyed samples of the coffee in their outdoor tasting area. I asked about the malasadas they have in their snack shop but they only had cold ones and I wanted fresh hot ones. Next time! The coffee sampling was fun with the Blue Mountain roast being our favorite and we bought some bags to take home and give as gifts. We also got one bag ground for us so we can drink it here. DH also got a cool t-shirt on sale!

We decided then to head to Costco back in Lihue. Yes we should have probably headed here for supplies right after we got out of the airport, but we didn’t really have a plan, remember? LOL. It’s ok, we were going to drive through the tree tunnel again! At Costco we were excited to see the poke guy was there and we bought some spicy poke and limu (seaweed) poke to eat. We also bought some wine and water, basic supplies for the week, ya know? I was tempted to get a case of the Hawaiian papayas I love so much but they weren’t ripe yet and looked like they wouldn’t be for a while so I thought I'd have better luck in a supermarket.

Since we had a tiring 24 hours so far, we decided to have an early dinner at Josselin’s located in the Kukuiula Shopping Center. The area is very pleasant and upmarket and noticeably a lot more crowded than when we were there in 2010. I also noticed that a new restaurant was about to open, 1849 Eating House by Roy Yamaguchi of Roy’s fame! It’s located right above the Dolphin, however throughout our stay it did not open even though a Google search said it was going to open the first week of Feb (I guess the opening had been delayed since we were there the last week of Feb). It is too bad because I love the Hawaii Roy’s and the one in the Poipu Shopping Village was closed (it basically is moving to the new Kukuiula location with a name/dining concept change).

I was looking forward to our dinner at Josselin’s as it is very popular and gets many raves. We enjoyed our dinner but I was not terribly impressed with certain parts of our meal because some of the flavors were not balanced. The food is served tapas-style but I thought the portions were much larger than traditional tapas fare, which is fine with me! To start, I got a virgin lychee sangria which was very good, and DH got a pomegranate sangria which was blech. It tasted like overly strong cough syrup and there was too much alcohol in it so that it wasn’t refreshing, but a rather syrupy drink.

We ordered the salt and pepper octopus in a pineapple salsa; while the octopus was deep fried and crispy, the salsa was overpowering and slightly too sweet. We got the goat cheese naan bread, which while tasty, was more like a calzone and not a naan bread. The pumpkin ravioli in brown butter was good, but the crab-crusted opakapaka (pink snapper) which is one of my favorite fishes, was overcooked. The sauce it came with was good though, and the crab crust was really clever and formed a nice crunch to the fish. Luckily opakapaka is naturally quite moist to begin with but it’s terribly sad to overcook such a nice piece of fish. Maybe the chef was having an off night? This won’t deter me from returning as there are other things I would try on the menu.

We headed back to the house for the night but not before stopping for a pint of Lappert’s ice cream. We got the Kauai pie: Kona coffee ice cream swirled with chocolate fudge, coconut flakes, macadamia nuts and vanilla cake crunch as well as some traditional mac nut ice cream. It was so yummy!

That’s the end of our first day! Although we got delayed we still pretty much had a full day in Kauai and were able to do (and eat) a bunch of things. Thank goodness for the time change!
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Old Mar 4th, 2015, 06:55 AM
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tifa...I checked this morning, anxiously, to see if you posted yet. Lucky me, you did! I did a fist pump and said, "yes" when I saw your post! It is foggy and rainy here in Austin, TX. The perfect day to read your post!

Cannot believe your delay but at least you got there. Loved your first post...can't wait to read more and see pics! I am just bursting at the seams right now waiting for May 30! Your report will help me get through!

My DH loves Brennecke's! He loves to boogie board. We always spend a day of our trip on the south but other than that we are north shore "snobs"!

Can't wait to read more!!
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Old Mar 4th, 2015, 08:31 AM
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We were in Poipu the exact same time last year, and I walked to Lappert's every day for a scoop of Kauai pie ice cream. You are making me salivate. The Kauai Pie coffee there is pretty good too. Looking forward to the rest of your report!
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Old Mar 4th, 2015, 01:38 PM
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Curious, tifa, was there a change in how your body clock adjusted arriving on island in am rather then pm? For the first time we left Boston at night, stopped in Vegas and landed in Hon at 6amish. We never really adjusted to island time, which was fine as it meant unlimited sunrises and sunsets. Fantastic report. Great news that Roy has a new place. A few years ago, the last time we ate at Roy's we found it touristy, pedestrian and rushed. Glad he's mixing things up after losing the Tavern.
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Old Mar 4th, 2015, 04:51 PM
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Forgot to mention that while in Kalaheo we also drove futher to Hanapepe and stopped at the Taro Ko store which is just a greasy little shack where they make their own taro, purple sweet potato, and regular potato chips. There is just one guy frying up the chips in a large vat of oil, after which they bag and sell it. Of course I purchased some taro chips and ate them throughout our trip. It was quite yummy as they were thinly cut and freshly made!

louistraveler - I knew you'd be here soon enough! We did make it to your favorite Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo one day...you'll just have to read to find out when!

msteacher - the lapperts is soo delicious I am dreaming about mac nut ice and Kauai pie ice cream now!

inakauaidavidababy - I actually preferred the red eye there but only because it was direct to HNL. It seem to make the trip shorter because i slept more, and when we got there it was bright and sunny so we felt compelled to be active immediately. When we travel from the East coast during the day i can't sleep on the plane so get antsy as all i want to do is get to Hawaii asap! I wish they have a red eye going to Hawaii from the East. It seemed to work for us and I don't have to take a day off to travel. The red eye coming back though is tough...I'm still jetlagged...yawn. Just read that Roy's 1849 Eating House is opening this Saturday...argh we just missed it by a week! http://www.frolichawaii.com/stories/roys-new-throwback/
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Old Mar 5th, 2015, 07:48 PM
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Day 2: Eating our way to Waimea Canyon!

We woke up bright and early and decided to have a nice breakfast at Red Salt, located in the boutique Koa Kea resort down the road. The resort is really pretty. I noticed it our first time to Kauai a few years ago because we stayed next door at the Sheraton. We were one of the few people in the dining room that early in the morning but soon groups of people began to stroll in. The view from their pool area is lovely. You could see a bit of it from the restaurant but it isn't really a “dinner with a view” type place.

I ordered the mac nut pancakes and DH got the eggs benedict. You have the option to add the continental buffet for about 12 dollars more, but we thought that would be too much food, especially since they give you complimentary mini corn muffins as well. I also ordered a side of Portugese sausage to counteract the sweetness of the pancakes. We enjoyed everything and thought it was a really nice restaurant. It’s standard hotel breakfast pricing, while being more expensive for dinner. Note, valet is included and is free for guests dining at the restaurant (not sure it’s free for guests staying at the resort?).

We had packed our beach gear in the car so after breakfast we headed straight to Poipu Beach! We got the chairs out and laid out on the golden sand and had a swell time that morning, laying out in the sun, and playing in the water. We knew we would only have a week of warmth before we had to head back to the cold and we were enjoying every minute of it. The water was a bit choppy but probably not as bad as the day before. I felt Poipu beach was less rocky than the neighboring Brenneke’s beach but both are great beaches.

Around lunch time we headed to the Sueoka Store in Koloa town to pick up some lunch at the Snack shop window they have there. They were out of the chicken long rice which is what I really wanted, so I got a chili over rice and DH got a combo plate of hamburger steak and mahi mahi, served with mac salad and rice. Yummy, satisfying food at great prices! We took a look in the Sueoka Store and bought some fruit – finally some ripe papayas and limes! I even found a Holy’s bakery pie, which is made on the Big Island. They specialize in pies made with a lot of butter so of course I would like it. We got the apple but they do have other flavors as well like peach. I also picked up some kulolo, which is a local dessert made with taro, coconut milk and sugar. I tried this on our last trip and it really grew on me and I absolutely loved it by the time I left. I brought some home with me and now it’s all gone! It’s sad because it’s not something that is readily available frozen or packaged. It’s a highly perishable, homemade item that tastes best when it’s fresh! It’s gonna be my new food find in Hawaii, and I’m going to look for it on every trip to the islands now!

After we showered and changed we headed out back to the west side of the island to head up to Waimea Canyon. It seemed like a beautiful clear day so the view from the top would be promising. Our last trip we went here it was cloudy and misty (although still incredible) and we always planned on returning.

Along the way we made a few stops! Kauai Kookie for some yummy cookies. There is a storefront with cafe or the factory store, we went to the factory store. We were able to sample almost every cookie they had there. The chocolate chip mac nut samples they give you are heated in a toaster oven so you get a hot sample when you walk in. So good. Something unusual they have there are their bonzai cookies made with furikake (Japanese seaweed seasoning) and sake! It actually had a really good flavor and had an interesting salty/sweet taste. I got a few boxes of those as well as their more traditional offerings. They also have this hurricane cookie with peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chips, delicious. Interestingly enough, I preferred the mac nut tea cookies over their regular shortbread. It just tasted like those mac nut snowballs I got from Patticakes bakery in Maui one year. If you like your sweet treats, Kauai Kookie is a must stop!

Next door to Kauai Kookie is the Salty Wahine storefront, which is a company that sells locally made salts and seasonings, kind of like Aloha Spice Company but a little smaller and less pricey. It’s pretty neat to smell the different salts and seasonings. I got some different salts and rubs, and since I bought 4 seasonings I got a free packet of lillkoi sugar!

Speaking of lillikoi, I don’t think we can pass through Waimea without a stop at Aunty Lillikoi’s factory store. We really adored their dressings and jams we bought one year so now we’re back for more! I got a few bottles of their Wasabi Lillokoi dressing, some lillkoi mango chutney, and a bunch of their different sample sizes to give as gifts. I had it all shipped back to us in New Jersey since they were rather heavy and I didn’t want to have to deal with packing the glass bottles carefully. They arrived back home before we did, LOL!

Along the way we stopped at Jojo’s for some shave ice. I veered from my usual “triple L” and this time got lychee, li hing mui, and green tea with mac nut ice cream on the bottom. I thought it was decent. The ice was not packed enough and melted too quickly and there was too much syrup. I’ve now been to both Jojo’s in Waimea and think they were both not as good as people say they are, but I’m having a shave ice in Hawaii…so there is little to complain about.

We sat outside Jojo’s eating the shave ice and looking at the statue of Captain cook. All the while, this one old man was ranting at the statue saying how he killed Hawaiians and now there’s a statue of him on every island…hmm, the things you see on vacation…

On to Waimea canyon we go! We made the windy drive up to the first lookout…it was a lot more windy that I remembered it to me! The last time we only made it to the first lookout, so this time we kept driving and made it to three others including one of the ones at the very ends. The views were magnificent that day! It was bright and sunny…almost too bright that it was actually hard to take pictures because it would get blown out. I tried my best though. We saw waterfalls on the side of a canyon wall, oh, and we even saw Ni’ihau too! It was just a faint outline but we definitely saw it. We realized how far up we were when I could see clouds BELOW us. That is a feeling you don’t get very often on land. Waimea Canyon was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Right before sunset we headed back down so we wouldn’t have to drive down in the dark. Even the views driving down were so breathtaking. By the time we made it to Hanapepe, it had gotten dark so we decided to stop for dinner. I had read some good reviews on MCS Grill so that’s where we stopped. It’s a local place designed to serve “healthier” options of traditional favorites such as a tofu loco moco, and green salads and brown rice instead of mac salad and white rice. I dunno how we managed to do it but we ordered the most unhealthy things on the menu. They were really good though! DH got the kalua pork nachos which were made with freshly fried flour tortilla chips…mmm so tasty with the kalua pork and melting cheese. I got a combo plate with deep fried chilli pepper chicken, fried saimin, brown rice, and salad. At least I got brown rice and salad! The food was really good and prepared very well. The chicken was crunchy and had a nice kick. The fried saimin was delicious! I will definitely think about going back there again maybe just to get a large fried saimin…it was that good.

We headed back after dinner…we had a long day but it was so much fun to revisit all these places and discover new ones as well. I absolutely love exploring all the Hawaiian islands! Back in the condo I baked the Holy Bakerys pie. It was crusty, flakey, and buttery, definitely very rich! Eaten with Lappert’s ice cream, there is nothing more decadent. There is so much butter in the pie that it spilled over in the oven and I almost set off the smoke alarm! Luckily for us, it didn’t go off and we got a peaceful sleep.
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Old Mar 6th, 2015, 07:28 PM
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I've updated my blog with the first part of our trip report - you can visit that post here: http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1287
Hope you enjoy!
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Old Mar 8th, 2015, 10:05 AM
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I have the 2nd part of day 1 now up on the blog with pictures! http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=1304
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Old Mar 9th, 2015, 09:04 AM
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Why was I looking at all of your pix with a BIG SMILE? While my blood pressure drops!

I guess it's like seeing a pic of an old friend.
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Old Mar 10th, 2015, 05:55 AM
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tifa, the suspense is killing me! Off to a good start but I need more!
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Old Mar 10th, 2015, 07:50 PM
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Thanks Kal!!!

louistraveler...ok here you go!

Day 3: A leisurely day in the south, a farm to table in the north.

That morning we woke up and decided to check out the Spouting Horn park. We had been here before but since it’s pretty close to where we were staying we wanted to take a drive there. It was really early so the sun wasn't fully out yet but there were already a number of people at the park taking pictures. I thought the spouting horns had a lot more water than when we saw them 4 years ago. It was good fun, but hard to capture a good picture of! Also I notice an exceptional number of roosters here, more so than on any other part of the island.

We couldn't get enough of the acai bowls we had on our first day in Kauai so back to Aloha Aina we go! I got the BIA bowl again while I think DH got one with a lot of berries. They are really very good, I wish I had some right now.

I didn’t really make plans for today other than our dinner at Kauai Ono that evening which was up north in Princeville. I guess we could have gone up north to the beaches then but we were feeling lazy, and so to Shipwreck beach it was! We drove over to the Hyatt grounds and parked in the lot. It was a little cloudy that morning but it cleared up later and was bright and sunny. I loved the view at Shipwrecks…it’s such a pretty beach. We saw a couple of cliff jumpers, and it looked really scary but probably not as scary as jumping of Ka le (south point) on the Big Island – but maybe I am wrong because we weren’t jumping!

Shipwreck beach was wonderful…the entry to the water is less rocky but the wave were higher. Even though I didn’t go into the water that much it was still a perfect place to sit and enjoy the view, the sand, the beach, the waves...being in KAUAI in general! DH tried to snorkel a bit but he said it was a little too rough.

That afternoon we went to check out one of the pools on property at the Poipu Kai resort which our cottage is part of (so the use of facilities is included). There are 4 pools to choose from and while they were rather small, it was nice practically having a whole pool to ourselves! We stayed there for a bit before getting hungry…we drove to the Shops at Kukuila to get some take out lunch…a poke bowl and sushi roll from The Dolphin, and a plate of spicy shrimp from Savage Shrimp. We brought them back to the condo to eat…and our meal was delicious! The poke bowls was great because they let me put all three types of poke they had that day, plus they garnish with eel sauce and spicy mayo. It’s fancier take on your typical poke bowl. DH also thinks this was the cheapest poke he’d seen so far. The shrimp were good, with a nice spicy kick and lots of garlic. Served with 2 scoops of rice, it was the perfect thing to soak up the sauce…

After some mac nut ice cream we just decided to take it easy for the rest of the day before our drive up North for dinner. I slept, did a bit of reading, and so did DH, although he did go for a walk/jog through some of the streets in the Poipu Kai area. This is where A/C is important, at least for us, because the house got really warm in the afternoons!

After we woke up we got ready to head out for dinner, but first we wanted to stop and check out the culinary/farmers market over at the Shops at Kukuiula again. This was when the shops get really crowded so be prepared to look for some parking. DH drops me off while I browse the different offerings. Lots of fresh produce was sold. I may or may not have bought a 4 dollar avocado…but it was huge, and I love them! The lady told me it was a butter avocado and it had really great flavor so I caved. I am a sucker for a large beautiful avocado…

I sampled some of the Merriman’s brand of Monkeypod jams and jellies….the lillikoi curd is delicious!! Imagine making a pie with that…that would be divine. I amnot much of a baker so I didn’t get one (although I am kind of regretting it now.) I also bought some haupia mixes for a nice vendor who gave me a deal on a few bags. DH joins me then and we walk around and look at all the vendors together. I also stopped by the Malie store which sells beautiful franked body products, candles, and scents. They even had clothes in this one! Malie is the brand of the toiletries they have at the Andaz on Maui. You can see my review of that resort from a previous trip report to Maui…it should be under trip reviews in my profile. I got some room fragrance oils (the ones you put the sticks in) – they smelled so good and reminded me of our trip to Maui! I think the Wed culinary night is a great idea especially for those who like local fruits and vegetables and locally sourced items.

Pretty soon we had to head up to the Princeville. I allotted ourselves 1.5 hours which I thought would be plenty, but I guess I forgot how bad traffic can get near Kapaa, that we just barely made it in time. The drive was lovely though as this was where we got to visit other parts of the island. We noticed how much more crowded Kapaa got…and it also looked like they were fixing the one road that goes north to south…so expect traffic delays!

Kauai Ono recently changed their locations – the new one was in the Princeville Ranch Adventure Center on the grassy lawn near the parking lot. What’s good about this they now provide toilets and such which they share with the adventure center. There was a big white tent with diner sitting on benches on picnic type tables which had an elegant rustic vibe – ball jars, mason jars, twine, etc were all used to give the vibe of their fine-dining from a food truck concept.

We checked in and sat down, pretty much free seating. We introduced ourselves to our neighbors and we got chatting, mostly about Kauai and how we came to know about Kauai Ono (a kind fodorite gave me the inspiration!)

It was pitch black by the time they started to serve food and the bugs were out in full force. Luckily the provide bug spray for the guests to us so we would be safe! I did use it but also noticed something bit my foot that evening…oh well.

The food was great, DH really enjoyed it. We started with an appetizer of warm roasted taro roots with a creamy coconut sauce. The dish was savory though, not sweet. Next was a grilled butterfish that was just delicious…served over some wilted kale, then a salad of fresh picked mesclun with a slice of tangelo (like an orange), then our final savory course was a kalua pork served with a sweet potato, Dinner was a Mexican hot chocolate with a butter mochi slice. It was really good and very rich! All the food was good and we were happy we discovered this. It was fun to talk to people like us (2 other couples with no children sat next to us) and two of us had birthdays! This was a fun experience and I’m glad I did it…not so glad about the long drive home but that’s ok. Oh and it’s BYOB too which is great! They will provide ice buckets to chill your wine if you wish.

That’s the end of Day 3…what’s on Day 4? More North shore exploring of course! Stay tuned…
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Old Mar 11th, 2015, 07:21 AM
  #16  
 
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Thanks tifa! You've got to help me through these 79 days!! I'm getting closer...I can feel the breeze and smell the salt!

Your report is wonderful...can't wait to hear more about your adventures on, my favorite, the north shore!

By the way, DH & I are also a 'couple with no kids'. Nice to know someone else in the "club"!
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Old Mar 12th, 2015, 07:20 AM
  #17  
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Louistraveler - 79 days! That's awesome. When you get back you will have to help me until who knows when we'll be going back...but I am thinking that I want to go to Kauai again for my bday next year. It will be a milestone for me as I turn 40. Yup the big 4-0. It's either Kauai or Maui, as I want to use some hotel points to stay at either the Andaz on Maui again or the Grand Hyatt Kauai.

I will hopefully post my report on Day 4 tonight!
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Old Mar 12th, 2015, 08:58 AM
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I definitely will be writing another trip report to help you get through!

My brother came along in 2013 & 2014 so it's been 3 years since we've had the island to ourselves! No tale of two siblings part III this time...just DH & I.

No Hawaii for you this November? Any other travel plans for this year?

Hawaii for your big birthday, or any bday, sounds wonderful!
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Old Mar 12th, 2015, 11:07 AM
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I am debating Hawaii again this November - DH turns 40 this December and since we usually get time off in Nov. we wanted to celebrate then. I am trying to find a cheap flight from the east coast and there don't seem to be any...if I use miles I only have enough to get us to Oahu. Which is not a bad thing but I kinda wanted to go to Big Island... =)

Other than a Disney cruise to the Bahamas with DH's family, I don't have anything else planned!
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Old Mar 12th, 2015, 01:26 PM
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I'd say try coming over for New Year's and we'd help him celebrate but trying to find a cheap flight from anywhere is difficult that time of year.
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