Hanalei is Hell - iamq on the north shore of Kaua'i and a quickie with MelissaHI and friends in Honolulu.
Aug 14th, 2007, 10:59 AM
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nice report iamq!
I totally agree with how you travel. I do pack in a few hikes over to kokee side. I never go for the amusement ride type excursions. I get my nature fix on hikes away from crowds.
Hanalei is such a dream no? I also like waking up grabbing some coffee and taking it slow.
I totally agree with how you travel. I do pack in a few hikes over to kokee side. I never go for the amusement ride type excursions. I get my nature fix on hikes away from crowds.
Hanalei is such a dream no? I also like waking up grabbing some coffee and taking it slow.
Aug 14th, 2007, 01:13 PM
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Melissa that earthquake was on the big island only, right? Should I be nervous about this hurricane. I bought canned supplies but I keep eating them LOL! Not really nervous about this, will just stay away from loover window side of this house.
Aug 14th, 2007, 02:00 PM
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Jeez Louise you guys! I thought I was good at sexual inuenendo! Can't a guy go to work and get something constructive done without ya'll loosing it? Ack! Did I just say work? School starts on the 23rd this year! Poor me, poor me, poor me!
Donita, it was very funny and I knew you guys would have fun with it. I sort of thought the lifeguard was making an attempt at coming on to me! HA!
JohnD, I saw the non-adult-size- apendage-eating hammerhead around 10am or so. Are they morning folks like me?
Okay...hmmm...where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?
Oh yes...The farmer's markets in Hanalei are held at 2pm on Tuesdays and 9:30am on Saturdays.
We didn't see Charo! That would have been fun. Does she frolic in the water like the rest of us, or did she have some sort of fancy floatation device? There was a large family staying at her place while we were there. Oh Rich? I got real good at giving folks stink eye if they got too close to OUR tree. We only had to share it a few times..and you left a little trash behind...naughty, naughty.
About a week before we left, auntiemaria sent me an e-mail informing me that Hanalei was hosting the Annual State Championship Outrigger Canoe races on August 4th. She said Hanalei was going to be a zoo and she was right! Over 3800 paddlers from clubs all over the state and many thousand more supporters and spectators decseded upon poor little ole Hanalei and took over for the better part of two days. It was an amazing sight. The bay was wall to wall people! The races started at 8am and we were down claiming our spot of beach around 7:30. It was a big party/festival atmosphere and we had a great time. The boats they race are made of koa and are gorgeous! They paddle for half mile, one mile and one and a half mile distances. The boats themselves weigh 400 pounds and then add the rowers and that's a lot kalua pork and huli huli chicken to be rowing around. We sat there all day long and watched the races...and the people...and the rowers. The Kaua'i Police did a great job of keeping things under control, but it took a few days for Hanalei to return to normal.
Another special event that we attended while there was drinks and pupus with auntiemaria and her husband Bob. Maria and Bob live on the north shore and we were lucky enough to GTG with them on our last night! It had been two years since we saw them last and we had a ball catching up and talking trash about kealalani, iceeu2, MelissaHI, and many other lucky fodorites. We met at the Library at the Princeville Hotel at 5:30 and ended up leaving well after the gorgeous sun set. They are trying to getus to come back for a month next time! auntie and Bob are good folks and I look forward to seeing them again soon. The Library is a great spot to watch the sunset. They serve great pupus and sushi too!
more later...
Donita, it was very funny and I knew you guys would have fun with it. I sort of thought the lifeguard was making an attempt at coming on to me! HA!
JohnD, I saw the non-adult-size- apendage-eating hammerhead around 10am or so. Are they morning folks like me?
Okay...hmmm...where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?
Oh yes...The farmer's markets in Hanalei are held at 2pm on Tuesdays and 9:30am on Saturdays.
We didn't see Charo! That would have been fun. Does she frolic in the water like the rest of us, or did she have some sort of fancy floatation device? There was a large family staying at her place while we were there. Oh Rich? I got real good at giving folks stink eye if they got too close to OUR tree. We only had to share it a few times..and you left a little trash behind...naughty, naughty.
About a week before we left, auntiemaria sent me an e-mail informing me that Hanalei was hosting the Annual State Championship Outrigger Canoe races on August 4th. She said Hanalei was going to be a zoo and she was right! Over 3800 paddlers from clubs all over the state and many thousand more supporters and spectators decseded upon poor little ole Hanalei and took over for the better part of two days. It was an amazing sight. The bay was wall to wall people! The races started at 8am and we were down claiming our spot of beach around 7:30. It was a big party/festival atmosphere and we had a great time. The boats they race are made of koa and are gorgeous! They paddle for half mile, one mile and one and a half mile distances. The boats themselves weigh 400 pounds and then add the rowers and that's a lot kalua pork and huli huli chicken to be rowing around. We sat there all day long and watched the races...and the people...and the rowers. The Kaua'i Police did a great job of keeping things under control, but it took a few days for Hanalei to return to normal.
Another special event that we attended while there was drinks and pupus with auntiemaria and her husband Bob. Maria and Bob live on the north shore and we were lucky enough to GTG with them on our last night! It had been two years since we saw them last and we had a ball catching up and talking trash about kealalani, iceeu2, MelissaHI, and many other lucky fodorites. We met at the Library at the Princeville Hotel at 5:30 and ended up leaving well after the gorgeous sun set. They are trying to getus to come back for a month next time! auntie and Bob are good folks and I look forward to seeing them again soon. The Library is a great spot to watch the sunset. They serve great pupus and sushi too!
more later...
Aug 14th, 2007, 03:16 PM
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The only real excursion that we took that took us our of Hanalei (other than the trip to Kapa'a to score some Pono Market chicken) was the drive to Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park. I was really looking forward to this as the last time we were there the road up to the Pu'u o Pila Lookout was closed and we didn't walk up there. The road is fixed now so we wanted to visit the lookout and take the Pihea Trail for a couple of miles. We left Hanalei at 8am and got up to the lookout by around 10am and were greeted by clear skies! Yeah! This lookout offers an amazing view of the Kalalau Valley. Unreal. The Pihea Trail leaves from the viewing area and skirts the top edge of the Kalalau Valley, so as we walked we continued to get amazing views of the valley below. At one point we got what appeared to be a full frontal view the the valley unfolding in front of us. Very cool. We continued on the trail to the point where a spur leads to Pihea Peak. We didn't do that as my asthma was kicking up and the clouds had taken over the ridge and you couldn't see a thing anyway. I think the Pihea Trail offers the most bang for your hiking buck. It offers great views and adventure without hiking 10 miles and risking your life. Highly recommended!
We also made a trip to the Kilauea Lighthouse as it is one of my favorite places on Kaua'i. It is a spectacular spot. As part of a fund raising effort to help restore the lighthouse they are selling bricks on which you can have something inscribed and then it gets laid in the ground. There are about 400 of them so far, with another 300 getting put in later this month. I purchased one in honor of some fellow fodorite Kauai haters. Sometime after November, if you look hard enough you will find a brick with a turtle, a nene and the names iceeu2, kealalani and iamq on it. If you look for it and find it, let me know and I 'll send you a package of Kal's rooster jerky.
Speaking of roosters and chickens...we noticed that there aren't as many of the little dickens running around this time. The day after we commented on that there was an article in the Kauai paper saying that the chickens on Kaua'i are dying out in fairly large numbers and no one knows why, but it is suspected that someone may be poisoning them! Save the chickens!
Food next!
We also made a trip to the Kilauea Lighthouse as it is one of my favorite places on Kaua'i. It is a spectacular spot. As part of a fund raising effort to help restore the lighthouse they are selling bricks on which you can have something inscribed and then it gets laid in the ground. There are about 400 of them so far, with another 300 getting put in later this month. I purchased one in honor of some fellow fodorite Kauai haters. Sometime after November, if you look hard enough you will find a brick with a turtle, a nene and the names iceeu2, kealalani and iamq on it. If you look for it and find it, let me know and I 'll send you a package of Kal's rooster jerky.
Speaking of roosters and chickens...we noticed that there aren't as many of the little dickens running around this time. The day after we commented on that there was an article in the Kauai paper saying that the chickens on Kaua'i are dying out in fairly large numbers and no one knows why, but it is suspected that someone may be poisoning them! Save the chickens!
Food next!
Aug 14th, 2007, 03:24 PM
#36
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Oh, yes, I think Charo does have a fancy flotation device!!!!!
Where did you get the goodies for the beach picnic?
What did you say about us????We had a GTG also.....didn't we 'lani?
I hope this thread doesn't go poof, sistah......you're on a roll today!!
Where did you get the goodies for the beach picnic?
What did you say about us????We had a GTG also.....didn't we 'lani?
I hope this thread doesn't go poof, sistah......you're on a roll today!!
Aug 14th, 2007, 04:42 PM
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Hey iamq,
Looked at those pictures again. Does anything rival the northshore of Kauai?
Oh those heady days when I told you the Pitons were amazing and Ladera was an undiscovered gem. Ladera was a fantastic memory but since discovered, never calls me to return like the Pali!!! Even my NReading freind agrees - send the tourists to Ladera for an amazing time, and leave paradise to us!!! LOL!!!!
Looked at those pictures again. Does anything rival the northshore of Kauai?
Oh those heady days when I told you the Pitons were amazing and Ladera was an undiscovered gem. Ladera was a fantastic memory but since discovered, never calls me to return like the Pali!!! Even my NReading freind agrees - send the tourists to Ladera for an amazing time, and leave paradise to us!!! LOL!!!!
Aug 14th, 2007, 05:12 PM
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Bill, Martin look what I found on Shingon Mission. Its on the national registry of historic places.
Its one of only 7 structures of similar architecture in HI. Check out this one page link.
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/featur...03/shingon.htm
Its one of only 7 structures of similar architecture in HI. Check out this one page link.
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/featur...03/shingon.htm
Aug 14th, 2007, 05:19 PM
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icee, the two of you have the kiss of death today, so don't muck around on MY thread, ya hear?
Food!
Food is always the most important part of our trips and since Kaua'i is renowned for its lousy eateries, we usually have to lower our high standards. (I can feel the eyebrows raising...I'm only joking...).
One of the great finds on this trip was the Hanalei Snack Shop in the Ching Young Center. It is a little restaurant and bakery that serves breaksfast and lunch. I would pop in for a post morning walk stop there every morning to pick up goodies to have with our fresh pineapple and mango for breakfast. Much to my tastebud's satisfaction they make their own malasadas! They also have delicious cinnamon rolls, fruit pastries, corn bread and the most amazing cheddar cheese bread ever! We used the cheedar cheese bread rolls to make sandwiches with to bring to the beach. By the end of the trip they started to recognize me and chat me up. We also bought one of the coconut cream pies that was very good. A+
I mentioned earlier that we ate at the Canoe Races. The best food we had there was the kalua pork from the Hanalei Canoe Club's booth. Very good! We also got some roasted pork in gravy and huli huli chicken from another booth that was almost as good. We bought some more later and had a picnic at Waikoko Beach. B+
Hamura's was fantastic as usual. A++++
Pono Market was great as usual too. We always get the fried chicken nuggets. This time we got some spicy shrmp sushi that was pretty good. I sure wish these guys would open a shop in Hanalei. A
Olympic Cafe: We had dinner here one night. Service was awful with main courses coming before our shrimp appetizer. I think our server was either blissed out or stoned. She had this "no one's home" look in her eyes. She took our mains back and broght the appetizer and then no more than two minutes later they brought the mains back with no apology or any concession made. We went along to get along and didn't push, but it was disappointing. Martin had an ahi sandwich that he said was okay. I had fish tacos that were actually pretty good. C+
Hanalei Dolphin: Martin had ono and I had fish and chips. Portions were surprisingly small and Martin's fish was bland. For a place that specializes in fish, the food was mediocre. Last time we ate there we the lobster for two and we both wished we had done that again this time. B-
Good thing our food we had at the Hanalei Dolphin fish market was better than what we had in the restaurant. We put together a little picnic dinner that we ate at Waikoko Beach. We ordered one soft shell crab roll, one snow crab roll, one ahi roll, 3/4 lb of poke and a pint of potato salad. The sushi was excellent and the poke was perfect. If you like sushi, this is your place. Not fancy, but fresher than fresh. A
more food later...
Food!
Food is always the most important part of our trips and since Kaua'i is renowned for its lousy eateries, we usually have to lower our high standards. (I can feel the eyebrows raising...I'm only joking...).
One of the great finds on this trip was the Hanalei Snack Shop in the Ching Young Center. It is a little restaurant and bakery that serves breaksfast and lunch. I would pop in for a post morning walk stop there every morning to pick up goodies to have with our fresh pineapple and mango for breakfast. Much to my tastebud's satisfaction they make their own malasadas! They also have delicious cinnamon rolls, fruit pastries, corn bread and the most amazing cheddar cheese bread ever! We used the cheedar cheese bread rolls to make sandwiches with to bring to the beach. By the end of the trip they started to recognize me and chat me up. We also bought one of the coconut cream pies that was very good. A+
I mentioned earlier that we ate at the Canoe Races. The best food we had there was the kalua pork from the Hanalei Canoe Club's booth. Very good! We also got some roasted pork in gravy and huli huli chicken from another booth that was almost as good. We bought some more later and had a picnic at Waikoko Beach. B+
Hamura's was fantastic as usual. A++++
Pono Market was great as usual too. We always get the fried chicken nuggets. This time we got some spicy shrmp sushi that was pretty good. I sure wish these guys would open a shop in Hanalei. A
Olympic Cafe: We had dinner here one night. Service was awful with main courses coming before our shrimp appetizer. I think our server was either blissed out or stoned. She had this "no one's home" look in her eyes. She took our mains back and broght the appetizer and then no more than two minutes later they brought the mains back with no apology or any concession made. We went along to get along and didn't push, but it was disappointing. Martin had an ahi sandwich that he said was okay. I had fish tacos that were actually pretty good. C+
Hanalei Dolphin: Martin had ono and I had fish and chips. Portions were surprisingly small and Martin's fish was bland. For a place that specializes in fish, the food was mediocre. Last time we ate there we the lobster for two and we both wished we had done that again this time. B-
Good thing our food we had at the Hanalei Dolphin fish market was better than what we had in the restaurant. We put together a little picnic dinner that we ate at Waikoko Beach. We ordered one soft shell crab roll, one snow crab roll, one ahi roll, 3/4 lb of poke and a pint of potato salad. The sushi was excellent and the poke was perfect. If you like sushi, this is your place. Not fancy, but fresher than fresh. A
more food later...
