We were greeted by the official mascot of the island at the car rental agency. I was amazed by the amount of healthy, glossy, roosters and hens on Kauai, but I have one question... where do they hide all the eggs???
The Marriott resort pool area was gorgeous, and complete with elephant statues,
blooming hibiscus,
Chinese dogs,
and a beautiful pool.
Wailua Falls, site of the opening scene for Fantasy Island, was only viewable from the road... pretty, but not very exciting.
The grounds of The Smith Family Farm were much better. Here's Ariel doing a little cleanup...
We rode a tram around the grounds, then wandered around before heading back for a luau and show.
The next day, we drove South, and after lunch at Poipu Tropical Burgers, we spent over an hour looking for the marker commemorating Captain James Cook landing on the island. Turns out, the "Kauaians" retook the shore, removed the marker from the rock, and started a Canoe Club.
Waimea Canyon was referred to as the Grand Canyon of Kauai. It actually was impressively deep...
and with my extreme acrophobia, everyone should be impressed that I was this close to the edge! (I also wanted to show off my tan legs)
Next stop: Kilauea Coast/Bird Sanctuary
and Kilauea Lighthouse
It was beautiful, but I like my neighborhood Makapuu Lighthouse :) We did spy some whales and dolphins way off the shore though, so that was fun.
The skies cleared up enough for us to attempt the Na Pali Coast hike. It was steep!
and rocky!
and muddy!
but the view was remarkable
I'm smiling, but secretly thinking "Why does everything involve sweat & heights?"
I had to take a picture of this sign... 82 killed by unseen currents so far!
Down on Hanakapia beach... so gorgeous. This is the first real stop on the trail to the falls. Since we left later in the day, we only made it this far (the hike to the beach takes over 2 hours!) I'm glad we hiked in January, because I was a hot, sweaty mess by the time we landed. I learned that a port-a-potty in the wilderness is disgusting... I couldn't even walk in, and decided it was safer to wait until we were back in civilization. Blech
I fed the beach kitties some jerky while we soaked our tired dogs in the stream.
No human being would stack rocks like this!!!
Back to the trail again...
Ke'e beach was at the base of the trail... another beautiful scene
and another handsome rooster
and a cute couple.
Kamokila Village, by the Wailua River, recreates an ancient Hawaiian village... complete with roosters :)
the birthing stones look relaxing and enjoyable
but Ariel preferred the warriors' hut
I know this is dumb, but I spent most of the time trying to photograph the peacocks. Maybe I saw too many hens, but I thought one peacock had a little chicken in his gene pool.
Taro fields are so wet they remind me of rice paddies, and most of them are next to the Wailua River
Wailua Falls were even harder to see... they obviously keep humans away because we are an untrustworthy bunch
The skies cleared up enough for us to attempt the Na Pali Coast hike. It was steep!
and muddy!
