The real icee and I have been counting down for two years for our fifth Kauai vacation. We got Kauaiitis on our very first visit to The Garden Isle and just cannot get enough of this beautiful island and it's wonderful people.

Most of you know that I have been packing and unpacking and repacking for two months prior to our trip. I should have tried some of my shorts on before leaving. Even tho I am still plump and round, I lost a few pounds before our trip and my fat shorts were falling off of me and made me look even fatter than I am. I also realize that I do not need to be wearing anymore sleeveless tops! Ok, enough of the fashion nonsense!.

Since others (gmac, rncheryl, poipulady, ronda, barbara-to name a few) have recently been to Kauai and written such wonderful reports, I will be brief and just touch on a few housekeeping items.

I awoke on our first morning at 4:45 a.m. to the most beautiful music in the world. It was the sweetest male voice I have ever heard. The song he was singing was "Cock-A-Doodle-Doo". You Kauai lovers know just how sweet this sound is on your first wake up on Kauai! Now, this sound becomes less sweet as vacation progresses!!

RENTAL CAR
We rented our Chevy Trailblazer through Alamo using discount codes from Costco and Alamo. Our total for two weeks with all taxes was $530 which also included $55 for a tank of gas. This is one time we might have done the right thing by taking this option since we locked in our price at $2.53/gallon and when we left gas was $2.74/gallon. Our car got sick, the engine light came on after about 4 days and we had to take it back and swap it for another. No problems. Excellent customer service. They swapped it out right away without us having to go back to the counter. It was just an inconvenience since we were in Haena when the light came on and we had an hour's drive back to Lihue. The only problem with Alamo is that they always try to upsell. We just politely kept saying no, no, no.

ACCOMMODATIONS
The first stop was on the east side at Pono Kai. We have stayed at Pono Kai everytime we have been to Kauai, and it just wouldn't be vacation without staying there. Only stayed here for three nights, and we had a nice ocean front 2 br with a loft. It was nice to have a/c even if the bed was hard as a brick!

Our next seven nights were spent on the north shore at Wyndham Bali Hai Villas in Princeville. We also had a 2 br with another hard bed! The unit was beautiful(even tho we were in an older unit that had not been renovated). We did not have a/c, but with the tradewinds blowing, we were never uncomfortable. Plus, they brought us a fan upon our arrival that we didn't even take out of the box. The only complaint we had here was the toddler above us sounded like a little elephant that only had one speed.........run fast, constantly. The gardens and pool area here are beautiful. We enjoyed staying on the north shore, but if we stay again, we will stay where we can overlook the gorgeous blue Pacific.

The last four nights we went south to The Marriott Waiohai. Another 2 br condo, but this time with a great comfortable bed. We enjoyed our first time to stay on the south and would definitely stay there again.

ACTIVITIES
No planned activities this trip, we have done them all before, except for the zipline which I may try to get up my nerve to do next trip! Everyone we talked to loved this adventure!

We did a lot of sight seeing and kicking back on the beach and at the pool. Mainly, we just drove and oohed and ahhed and wondered how much more beauty our eyes could absorb. It's just beautiful everywhere you look.

My favorite place on the island is still The Kiluea Lighthouse. I could just stay there and gaze forever. Our favorite beach is still Anini Beach on the north, however, we both certainly loved Poipu Beach.

EATS
We ate out at least once most every day....some of the places...

Kapaa and Lihue:

Olympic Cafe was ok. Charlie had an ahi sandwich and I had fish tacos.

Verdes was good. We had ahi tacos.

Kauai Pasta in Kapaa was good, but the a/c was broken the night we went and it was extremely uncomfortable. Kinda put a damper on a place we have both loved in the past.

BBQ Inn was very good. We both had fish

Monico's was excellent, tho I think a little pricey.

Hamura's was good. The lilikoi pie was better than the saimen!!!

North Shore:

CJ's Steakhouse in Princeville was very good. I think this is one of the few times we have eaten steak on Kauai!

Bouchon's (formerly Sushi Blues) was ok.

Bubba's cured the hunger pain and was good for the day that I needed a grease fix.

Hanalei Gourmet was excellent.

Kilauea Lighthouse Bakery was excellent.

Tropical Dreams Ice Cream was wonderful!!!! You get good ice cream and entertainment. Trust me, after this ice cream, you will never never ever ever eat Lappert's again. We did try Lapper'ts just for a comparison and there is NO comparison. Tropical Dreams is outstanding.

Hanalei Dolphin was very good. The best thing about this was the company we shared. This was the night we met rnchery and her dh.

A funny story- at Hanalei Dolphin there is also a fish market behind the restaurant. One afternoon (after lunch and before dinner) we decided we would check to see what the fish market had. There was a kid at the back of the restaurant sitting on a bench rolling a joint. He never even knew we were sitting watching him! He didn't fire it up and offer us a toke, but when we came out of the fish market, I saw him walking out toward the river with another person!! Charlie figures he was just rolling a cigarrette!!!!! Yeah, right!

We had drinks at the Westin Pool Bar with rncheryl and her dh, and with gmac and her dh and ever so cute 3 yo son! They have a $5 drink special every day and the day we went it was a Blue Hawaiian. They also have a beer special which was either $2 or $3. We loved meeting our new/old Fodor's friends. The Westin personnel probably exhibited the least aloha spirit than any place we encountered. That's another story and I will tell it later.

OTHER EATS

Gaylord's was outstanding. We went for their Sunday brunch buffet. If you go there, be sure to try their ahi benedict. Superb. I like a brunch where they prepare your eggs to order instead of having to eat the cold scrambled eggs off a buttet! Their bread pudding was unforgettable also.

Keoki's was excellent. This was probably my favorite meal because of the excellent fish dish we had. We both had opakapaka prepared with a parmasan crusted something or other. I'm not a huge parmasan lover, but this was not overpowering and really complimented the fish which was moist and succulent.

Roy's was also excellent. I wish I hadn't ordered a Hawaiian martini which was $8 or $9 and just tasted like pineapple juice that wasn't even well chilled. I like my martinis cold!! But, the food was excellent and it was a great final dinner.

Jojo's Aneunue Shaved Ice--yes, it says shaved! This is on the side street around the corner from JoJo's clubhouse on the main road. Excellent as always.

OTHER
We did a little bit of shopping.

My package from Aunty Lilikoi just now arrived. The best way to buy her products is to have them ship for you. We bought mustards and jellies.

Kapaia Stitchery is a great sewing shop. I bought some fabric remanants to do some gift wrapping.

The lumber company just down the road from the stitchery place is awesome. They have beautiful Kauai made koa wood items. I sat in a $4000 rocking chair. It rocked and looked like a million dollars. The real icee bought a piece of koa wood to try his hand at some carving.

We visited my friend, Juny, and bought a couple of new pendants and earrings from him. He carves the opihi shell. Amazing work and an amazing person. A store in Hanalei, Evolve Love, sells his jewelry. The merchant commented on my beautiful "Juny Jewelry" as soon as I entered her store.

THE END
This was probably the saddest I have ever been to leave Kauai. The airport provides entertainment and I couldn't hold back the tears when they sang "Beautiful Kauai".

Well, this was longer than I intended, but hopefully you have enjoyed this report and now my friends, hopefully you will enjoy a few of our uncaptioned pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/iceeu22/...eat=directlink

Aloha

i'2

>

OH Icee, my daughter got a necklace from one of the lifeguards at Poipu Beach for her graduation from College when we were there and it is the Opihi Shell also. He makes them also. It is so beautiful! AHHH Kauai - I can't wait 9 more months to go - I am ready NOW

I just blew off everysingledanged word you wrote and cut to the pictures. When I saw you at 'our friendship' brick I got a little Irish tear in the eye. I will always have Kealalani, and you will always have me.

Now off to the wordy funny part!!! I know I will giggle and smile and just feel better.

xo
g

I loved your trip report! My DH & I have been to Kauai twice and also have "Kauaiitis"!! We just can't get enough and just adore Kauai!
We are going back October 3-11 and we are counting down!! 4 months and 2 days!! Can't wait! It's been two years since we have been...too long!!

you lived under a baby elephant! snort!

iceeu2:
How often did you travel to Kauai over the course of five visits?
When would you like to go back?!
Where else have you traveled?

Just curious. I'm obsessed with traveling as I'm sure everyone on this board might be!

It is easy to get around Kauai right now as there are not as many people travelling as usual. Kauai is definitely feeling the decline of the economy and sadly crime is on the rise. There was an article in the newspaper on our last day about crime and what it is doing to the island.

Now, for the reason I didn't think the people at the Westin exhibited the true aloha spirit.

I had walked over to the Westin one afternoon because we wanted to find a nice place for our gtg with Cheryl and Gayle. I talked to a lady who told me about a Mixology Class at the bar adjacent to the restaurant. Anyway, the class was $10 per person. The bartender teaches you to mix the first drink and she mixes the next drink, making your drinks $5/drink. On this particular day, they were planning to make mai tais. Ok, the short version is....the class was supposed to start at 5 p.m. At about 5:15 p.m. I was talking to the bartender and asking questions about the class. She told me we could could sit down and she would do it, and that she usually did the class until 6 p.m...giving people time to relax and enjoy their cocktails. Anyway, I asked her if we could wait until 5:30 because that's when my friends would be there. Her answer was NO, probably not. The restaurant opens at 5:30 and I will be busy. I was the only person even pretending to want a drink at her bar and no one was roaming around the restaurant area. Seems to me you would want to maximize your revenues in these tough time. She just threw a for sure $60 bill out the window, never mind a nice tip!

Not the aloha spirit, example #2 is.......my friend gmac and her husband were looking at the activities sheet at the Westin. There was a thing called "Parents' Night Out" where they keep your little one for a couple of hours and pay them $30. gmac and her dh wanted to do this and have dinner in the restaurant at The Westin. Because they weren't staying there, the conceirge said NO! Another example of losing $30 for the baby sitter, plus losing a $100 dinner tab.

I guess $200(both instances) isn't an important piece of change for the Westin, but you would think in this economy, you would want to maximize your revenues to the fullest.

Oh well, we had their $5 drinks instead and we all only had one each.

gyppielou, Another reason that my trip report was not very comical was because I got sick for six days at the beginning of the trip and then the real icee just had to copy me and had to be sick also!! He had a sebaceous cyst that had to be lanced, and then felt puny from the sulpher, sulpha sic drugs. This very same thing happened to him six years ago on Kauai. Looks like we would learn!!

we stayed at westin last year and trust me, even if you are staying there, they (espcially at that bar) don't have much aloha spirit!
we are not staying there again for this year's trip!

You think your report was too LONG?? I say...too SHORT!!
I am glad to know that I am not the only person who moves from place to place on-island. Much better than long day trips. Loved your photos. The scenics are nice, but my favorites are those smiling faces of people enjoying the beauty of Kauai, and the joy of friendship.

Thanks, Barbara. This is my favorite photo of the whole trip. From the looks on our faces, it appears we are long time friends instead of those just meeting for the first time, doesn't it?

http://picasaweb.google.com/iceeu22/...34920312462802

We may have not been long time friends before the picture, but hopefully we are now

Great report..I'll have get a necklace the next time!

Aloha Iceeu2!
Great report..sorry to hear that the Westin didn't have that Aloha spirit..I would call Westin customer service and let them know..that is something they need to get squared away, asap.
So crime is on the rise..yikes..hopefully you all are ok.

Great pictures too..we'll be there in September..still waiting for flights prices to come down.

Well, that does it! I'm going! Loved your photos! Loved the brick! You know, I have never seen it, so thanks sooooooooooo much for taking a picture of it. I'm gonna use it on my profile page. Who's the hot wahine in the hot tub with the nice flotation device?

How did she find that loverly brick amongst so many. She is one fun wahine. I'd say that since she keeps sleeping on beds that feel like a brick, we should hereforth name thee
BrickHouse ---oh mighty mighty

kealalani, sistahlou, gyppielou.......the real icee started helping me look for the brick. He started at one end so I went to the center and wala........our brick was front and center! How cool is that?? You should have heard me! "Here it is! Here it is! Bring the camera!" There was this one guy that was looking and looking and looking for his brick. And, it was hot out there. He still hadn't found it when we walked back down.

billyboy, I think the three of us should use that brick on our profile pages! The hot wahine is gmac from Cleveland, OH. She's a great person and that cool little dude is her son. The other cool hot dude is her dh!

Since Charlie had an old folks pass for the National Parks, we didn't have to pay to go to the lighthouse. You should have Marteen get one. I don't remember if the age is 60 or 62. We bought it when we went to Yellowstone and I believe he can take 3 additional people with him.

And, since none of you have defended me and said I am not so horribly fat and obese, I am going to make a photo tomorrow in my new shorts that fit and don't look like men's underwear!!!

Alohai'2

I called you a 'brick house" Now if that's not a compliment! you look and are fantastic. I especially loved that picture of you at. . .

I told you that I liked your flotation device! What more do you want me to say!? That island is the best damn hell-hole there is. Thanks for posting.

she does have a mighty fine rack! and I would know!!!

Oh...and what's wrong with men's underwear?

http://www.andrewchristianshop.com/A...9196-9119.aspx

sheeeeesh, and you have a mighty fine package iamq, and again, I would know!!!