Wonderful TR & pictures, as usual, iamq! Too bad about the chickens. Here's hoping they'll catch whoever is doing deed.
Now that I've raced about to see the island, I feel I could return & just hang out a bit myself!
Mahalo!

Howdy for Texas Billy Boy....i can run, but i can't hide. I simply have to check in on those Kauai "haters" occasionally. And much to my delightful surprise, I see you have made your pilgrimage. I'm thoroughly enjoying living vicariously through you. My gang is actually going to give the Big Island another chance in March.....but my big, fat heart is loyal to the Big K!!! Question...are the albatrose birds still hanging around the P'Ville? Our last visit was during the monsoon (when the road washed out) I will say the "sleepy" little isle was not so sleepy on our visit. How's the rest of the clan..sistalou? Kal?...Kal's niece...pray for a healthy report if you have one. I digress....glad your home safely, and surely there's a shaved ice on this trip at some point?:) Did you catch Auntie's radio show? I be checking in on for the rest of your report...Your previous "princess"...aka Visormom :)OH..and an actually question: Where did you nite nite in Honolulu...any recommendations?

OSB,
Good idea about returning. Our first time on Kauai, we blew through Hanalei and didn't stop or detour to the bay, the pier or the beach. The next time we spent an afternoon at the beach and had dinner in town, the last two times we stayed there and hardly left at all!

Sharks normally hunt at night, right??

Glad to hear about them chickens. Maybe someone is selling them as jerky?

Alooooohaaaaa Visormom!!!

How appropriate that you would chime in during Hurricane Flossie no less!!!

smooches, lou

WHAT??!! Chickens are missing??? :o
Mauka Bob sent the neighbor in P'ville a dart gun... uh oh... maybe he's been hiding in the bush??

BBQ... excellent pix & reporting, as usual. I needed Kauai today... this summer has been an absolute whirlwind, and this trip was the perfect getaway for me today. Mahalo buddy!

Aloha to all my fine friends I see frequenting this thread... miss y'all! Haven't been round much.

Hugs, rainbows and aloha! :*

Mels, I guess my little toe was safe, eh?

Aloha VM! Auntiemaria was talking about the Albatrosses the other night, so it sounds like they are still hanging around.

Yeah we listened to KKCR all the time on Kaua'i. My favorite show...other than auntie's show of course was a show called the Lilikoi Lounge. The host was a total crack up. Auntiemaria plays the best songs!

We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the Ali'i Tower. Nice room with a nice view. The Hilton's beach is away from the chaos a little further down the beach. It is a big and busy place. It was fine for one night, but it is not the sort of place we normally stay at.

makai! I was hoping this report would flush you out! Nice to "see" you. I thought of you as we walked past the benches on the cliff at Princeville. If memory serves, this where you and you mom and aunt would have your evening cocktails, right? smooch!

Little toe?

...more food...

We ate at Polynesia Cafe in Hanalei. We liked this the last time, so we went again. We really like the fish dishes. They do Ono several ways and it was delicious. Beleive it or not the fish here was much better than at the Dolphin for half the price. It's a great place for a casual meal. Service can be slooooooowwwwwwwww though. A

Saffron is a new place in Princeville at the Pali Ke Kua complex.It is where Sabella's used to be. It is an interesting menu with Spanish, Greek and Italian sections. We ordered small plates and apps from each section. Standouts were the paella and the Spanish potato fritata. An added special treat was having Keli'i Kaneli'i singing in the bar that evening. If you're on the north shore, try to catch him. Amazing voice and a gentle smile. He perfroms at the Tahiti Nui as well. B+

Bar acuda: They serve up small plates. We liked it a lot. We ordered five dishes for the two of us. All were good, but I liked the braised short rib sauce over polenta the best. It's a bit snooty and pretentious for the north shore, but that's okay. A

Postcards is one of our favorites. Their fish preparations are unique and flavorful, if a bit over the top in flavor combinations. We had locally caught Pacific swordfish with a cherry/macadamia nut crust/sauce on top served in a taragon/lilkoi reduction. I could have done without the reduction, but it was an interesting combo. Service has been a weak link here in the past, but this time service was friendly and the meal was well executed. Sit on the deck outside on the side of the building, but put on bug spray. A

Next up...our quickie in Honolulu.

After 11 horrible days on Kaua'i we left to spend one exciting evening with the wild and crazy Honolulu fodorites MelissaHI, lcuy, mari808, kuranosuke and Sarah. We would do dinner and then go to a Bon dance at a Buddhist temple!

We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the Ali'i Tower, which is not the type of place we normally like, but it was fine. It is a very large and busy tourist resort, but it is a very nice place. I liked being on this end of Waikiki as it was a bit removed from the cheek to cheek body crush on the beach further down around the Royal Hawaiian and the Moana Surfrider.

I love Waikiki and even though it is chaotic and crowded, it will always be special to me. My first three trips to Hawaii as a teenager were here and I have fond memories of doing things like getting juiced up on maitais and dancing the hustle at the Foxy Lady at the Hawaiian Regent Hotel and shopping for monkey pod bowls, X rated postcards and puka shell necklaces at the International Market Place. Good times.

We walked around for a couple of hours, had lunch at Duke's, then headed back to our hotel for a rest and fresh, a dip in the pool and a snooze.

MeliisaHI motored in to pick us up looking fine in her bright red, shiny Mini Cooper! Nice car! MeliisaHI is a gracious host and along with the other Honolulu fodorites, showed us a great time.

MelissaHI wrote about the gory details of the evening's events in her blog. I'll include the links here so you can read all about it. We had a great time.
Dinner at Sorabol
http://blogs.myadvertiser.com/index....;tb=1&pb=1

Bon dance time
http://blogs.myadvertiser.com/index....;tb=1&pb=1

We left the next day to go home feeling both sad and happy.

A few thoughts about this trip:

Never again will I go to Kaua'i.......for less than two weeks! I could have easily stayed another week. I was just getting to know the gals at the Village Snack Shop.

Connecting with fodorites while traveling is a true joy. I feel very lucky to be part of this community. I am making friends with well-traveled people all over the world. How cool is that!?!

That's it for now. Questions? Comments? Fire away!

Bill

OMG! The Hawaiian Regent....that's where I was a banquet waitress! The guy that I was talking to at the bon dance used to wait tables with me.

I'm so glad you had a good time; you really need to spend more time on Oahu so you can take in the other cool stuff, like Iolani Palace, Byodo In Temple, the north shore....so much to enjoy!

Next time....more malasadas and andagi. The world is your buffet!

Mels,

Next trip: July 2009

Bill's 50th birthday trip. All are invited! One week on Oahu followed by three weeks in hell! Yippee!

By then you will be 50 and 4 months! There will not be cause for a celebration, unless you are celebrating it all year!!!!!!

Now, here's a better idea.....how about we all go in March, 2008, and we can celebrate your XLIX and someone else's double nickels???????????

Great trip report, btw...thanks for making it so much fun to read.

((r))((r))((r))i'2

What? You've never milked a birthday for all it was worth?

Can't go in March...I have to work.

The real icee will be retired by then and you can take time off anytime...why can't you come in July? Don't say it's too hot, please don't say that! Hmmmmmm......?

Glad we're making ya smile!

Well someone better get there before 2009 to make sure they got the spelling right on that beautiful brick, but who? hmmmmmmmm........

Another fanfabulicous report from hell and back!!!
Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo!!!!

thanks bill for another fine report and photos of your trip to hell and back!!! also glad to hear of your quickie oahu visit and meeting other fodorites

it's good to see all the old chaotic k-9 banter again...been jonesing for some kauai rapport here for a while...doesn't seem like i've missed much for the past nine months since my workplace has blocks on message boards like fodor's.

i'm headed back to the same hell hole next month so your report was very timely. mahalo!!!

Looks like you had a blast as usual. Thanks for sharing your photos!

Cajun Storm, I noticed you changed your photos over to flickr. I have to do that soon too. Why did you choose flickr? When's your next trip to the islands?

bluefan, still copying me, eh? We're going to Fiji next June, when are you going? :-d

does seem like i've been trekking right behind you these last few years :?...which isn't bad at all 8-)

fiji (wow...i'm envious :&)...it'll be south island new zealand, which is somewhat close, instead for me in nov

btw, i also read your very fun roma trip report a while back and never got around to complimenting you on that

Well darling iamq, you certainly are the belle of the ball on your trip report!

So wonderful that k'9s and their fodorite ohana came out to play. You certainly know how to throw a trip report!

Aloha one and all, what a lovely reunions of haters of the hellhole, may it endur the changes of time!

Malama Pono one and all!
Sistahgyppiesledge

bluefan, how our dear iamq loves all the kudos(deservingly so).....if my old memory is serving me correctly, he has been to Maui, Rome, Seattle & Kauai already this year and we still have 4 more months before the year is over!!! Those rich California kids....wish he liked those of my persuasion, I would dig my poor claws right into his rich, young tush!!

Little toe.....that still tickles me and makes me laugh!!

Thanks for the great report Bill, and for saving the best for last (or almost last) - namely FOOD.

Sorry to hear your experience at Hanalei Dolphin was not that good. We usually only get up to North Shore for lunch since we stay on East Coast in Lihue and was planning on giving that a try since Zelos is closed and the new place does not seem to get much if anything in the way of good reviews. Maybe we'll try Hanalei Gourmet instead.

Thanks again for taking the time.

iamq, Yeah, we like going to different places, too, but the K isle keeps calling thanks to fab trip reports like yours. Gotta love, love, love the north shore. I'll be interested to read if Fiji compares favorably. Welcome back to your second home....

I'2,

How the hell do I respond to a remark like that? How about LMFAO? >:-)

I am glad that all of you folks are coming out of the wood work...now would you stick around and give kealalani, icee and me some support?

Mahalo!

Right back atcha, bbq!!!! Finally, I made you laugh!! Just the way you always put a smile on my old face. :-D

Bill & Martin,
The pictures are really nice. I enjoyed reading your report and it takes me to Kauai for a short moment.

We rented a house in Hanalei several years ago and I like the idea of walking into town for grocery.

Thanks for the info about Hanalei market on Tuesdays. I thought the only one in Hanalei is Saturday morning. Is it in th e same ball field as the Saturday one?

Bill / Martin,
I see you guys had about the same experience with the Dolphin as we did. Fair at best and grumpy people.

Hope they improve big time by next year or they will have lost me.

Actually......had 2 great meals at CJ's and of course Postcard's, but that is pretty much a given.

See ya

you know I don't understand how there is not more of a restaurant scene on the North Shore of Kauai. Middle range places in Hanalei with a bit more flair I guess is what I am thinking.

Guess the seasonal business does not sustain real competition. This is how I think places like the dolphin and Zelos stay open.

Hanalei, can I have your fodors name please? HaHa.

The Tuesday market is about a mile west of town at Hapia Farms.

Any plans to return to Kaua'i?

Rich, How was your trip? Was it tough staying for only two weeks this time?

Regarding north shore Kaua`i lunch ideas...

CJs Steakhouse has a good lunch menu -- sandwiches, burgers, salads (no salad bar at lunch) -- and daily "specials". My personal menu favorite is their Beefeater Sandwich (slab of prime rib, melted cheese, smothered onions, on a large french roll with choice of fries or salad). And their Thursday "special" -- baked potato stuffed with crab and cheese, with side salad. Not a good place for dieters. :))

And another place to grab lunch to-go (shhhh, don't tell), the Princeville Chevron Station. Don't laugh! They've added a full kitchen -- open B/L/D 7 days a week. Breakfast burritos (almost too big for one person), and li'dat. Burgers (their "BBQ" is burger, BBQ sauce, and onion rings loaded on to a huge burger bun), pizza, salads, and daily specials. All their beef is from Princeville Ranch -- hormone-free. No place to dine there...but the beach is mere minutes away. 8-)

Bill,
We don't know where the farm is but will ask for direction. We are returning next June. Would love to go in July to meet you, but work schedule won't allow.

Rich,
We are in escrow for the loft unit at the Cliffs. Yeah!!! I got next year's confirmation already (reserved by seller).

Hanalei, take the highway out of town towards Lumahai for about a mile, look for Hapia Farms on the left as the road starts to straighten out a bit. You won't be able to miss all the cars parked in the adjacent field. The mangos this year were excellent, as were the pineapples. When we were there in 2005, the vendors had only the white pineapples. This year they had only the yellow ones. The white ones are sweeter, but the yellow ones taste more "pineappley". Congrats on your purchase!

iamq - I randomly chose Flickr actually. I really wanted to open new photo albums on web shots but never got a response when I sent them an email asking if they could move my yahoo photos (even for a fee).

Actually, our first trip back to the islands (post-baby) will be April 2008. It's long overdue for us. I have island withdrawals.

I am so jealous of your upcoming Fiji trip! Take LOTS of photos and post for us.

Sorry, iamq, but I just have to ask CajunStorm a question please....

Is the baby already here? Or is it on the way? A hearty congratulations to you and Mr. CajunStorm!!!!

Bill,
Two weeks just flew by this year. But we had a great time. We are going to Palm Springs for another week this year in October and doing Pebble Beach and San Francisco in March

We had my wife'sbrother and his wife along, so by leading them around we got to see some places we haven't seen in some time. We went up the canyon for the first time in years and had beautiful, clear sunny views.

Went to the lighthouse and really enjoyed what they have done there. The last time I was there it was free, but not much to see.

Got some great coffee from the coffee plantation.

Did a few different restaurants, since Hanalei Dolphin bummed us out. Kauai Pasta was excellent and cheap. As good as I can get in NYC.

We will be back in July 2008, and hope to get back in 2009. When are you guys gonne be there in 09, maybe we can hook up for a birthday blast.

See ya. Have a great year at school. Georgia is golfing three times a week. Loves retirement. 3 years for me.

Sounds great. Let me know if you'd like to get together for drinks/dinner while you guys are in our neck of the woods in March. Aloha.

Re: Tuesday Hanalei Farmers Market

Sorry, but I've gotta correct iamq just a wee bit...

As you head out of Hanalei, look for WAIPA FARM on your left.

Thank you, Auntie.

((8))Hapia, Waipa...Let's call the whole thing off...((8))

Thanks auntie :-d

I know Weke is pronounced Veke, so how say you Vaheepaa?