Friday, March 5---day 15

Sad day! Today we have to pack up and head home. Another wonderful Kauai vacation coming to an end.

Tim and Faith had to leave early (for a 2:50pm flight). They were flying back from Honolulu. So we didn't do much before they left. Hung around the condo and walked the beach by KBV. Here are some pictures from my walk.

Following in his footsteps.

Another view while walking north.

Eventually I came along the ocean side of the Wailua golf course. Looks like a pretty nice course from what I could see of it.

Looks like golfers were enjoying it.

One of the fairways.

The dirt road between the beach and golf course.

Another view from the dirt road.

Back at the condo, it's time for Tim and Faith to leave. So we walked them out to their Cruiser rental and waved good-bye.

Back up at the room, one last picture of our view from our livingroom.

Then Ken and I headed south for one last day of swimming with the fishies. We ended up at Lawai---a good place to get out of the wind which is still way up. Probably would have been a good day to go north, but we didn't have time.

This time we released the flowers from our leis at Lawai. Even made sure they went towards the shore (a sign that you'll come back). BTW---no strings were thrown into the ocean, just the flowers.

While I was swimming around minding my own business, I turned just in time to see this turtle about to swim under me.

This picture doesn't show it too well, but this guy had a lot of green in him.

Love these saddle butterfly fish.

And a sad good bye to my flip flops for a few more months.

The kids forgot their fish guide from Snorkel Bob's, so I decided to take a picture of it and add it to show a bunch of the fish we see here.

The back side.

After arriving back at the condo, drying everything out, and packing, we headed to Olympic Cafe for dinner.

NOw it's time to sign off and head out.

Mahalo!

Thurs. March 4---day 14

Didn't bother to check the surf reports today. It was suppose to rain everywhere again, so we figured going south would give us the best chance for some sun. Faith was anxious to get some sun bathing in. But first---breakfast was in order. We had never been to Olympic Cafe and decided to give it a try. We were all very impressed. NOt only was the food very good and plentiful, but the ambience was really neat. We did have a brief rain shower while we were eatting, but that resulted in our 2nd rainbow of our trip. Loved sitting in the open 2nd floor cafe overlooking the main street through Kapaa. We even liked the mugs so much that we bought 3 of them. Sorry Kountry Kitchen and Dani's, we found a new favorite breakfast place.

After breakfast Ken and I wandered around 2 Frogs Hugging. I decided if I ever get rich and get to refurnish my house, that's where I'm getting my stuff from. Loved their style!

The kids hadn't been to Lawai yet this trip, so we met them there for the day. Did get rained on a couple of times, but also had lots of sunshine. Snorkeling was great there today, too.

One of the many colorful fish we always see there.

This one reminded me of a rock mover, but it looks to tall. Loved all the polka dots on it.

Hadn't seen one of these guys in a long time and never saw one at Lawai.

Another butterfly fish.

Love these ornate wrasses! They come in lots of different colors.

Most people enjoy sitting in the sun. Not so for dear old hubby!

We finally headed back to the condo about 3 to get ready for Smith's luau. Ken and I have been to it 5 times now and I still love going to it. This was the kids' 3rd time and their idea to go. I love the gardens that it's on and the food is outstanding---not to mention the international performance.

We got a tour of the grounds by trolley first. I was intrigued with this tree. Gotta get me one!

Loved seeing all the peacocks they have in the gardens, too.

Just a picture of the best daughter-in-law anyone could hope for.

They make such a beautiful couple.

About this time it started pouring down rain and everyone went running for the cover of the dining hall. When the rains stopped, I took my waterproof camera and went out for a few more pictures around the garden.

The grounds are very well maintained.

Even had some patriotic drinks.

OK---a rare picture of Ken and me.

A much more photogenic couple. A happy one at that with their plates full of great food.

Then it was on to the performance. I loved the colorful outfits and the commentary about the different nationalities. Even thought the singer and band were fantastic.

We find it refreshing these youngsters want to follow their traditions and really seem to be enjoying what they're doing.

An island of Hawaii dancer.

I forget what they call this with the swinging around of fire balls, but it really looks neat in the dark.

Not a youngster, but someone who also seems to enjoy his "job".

A great way to spend the evening. We got there about 4:45 and it ended about 9.

Our trip is winding down quickly. One more day here, then we catch the red eye out tomorrow night.

Wed., March 3---day 13

Still windy. Forecast actually said it was suppose to be warmer and a little less windy on the north side today. Surf wasn't in the advisory levels north, but were still listed as somewhere around 12 '. Rain was in the forecast for all over the island. Surf on the east side was around 5' again and very windy. South was 1-3' and windy. Seeing as this was really our last chance to go north this trip, we decided to head north anyway. I had already resigned myself to the fact that there wouldn't be any snorkeling, but hoped to get a few pictures. We had planned to meet the "kids" at Hanalei Dolphin at 7. They, too, ended up going north, but left 2 or 3 hours before us. They pretty much ended up heading to the same spots we did, but with totally different results.

When we got to Anini, the water and winds were really quite calm. When the kids got there a couple hours earlier, it was pretty windy and the current was running pretty strong. When we got there (about noon), conditions were totally different. We thought about snorkeling there, but thought maybe it would be as mild at Tunnels.

By the time we got to Tunnels, the sun was shining, the surf was calm and there was very little wind. The kids had been there a couple hours earlier and their pictures of the place were drastically different. I was surprised just a couple hours could make such a difference! Here's what it looked like when we were there.

Of course I quickly got in the water before conditions could change. There were "no swimming" signs up, but the lifeguard said if we stayed to the right and not in front of the signs we would be ok. I noticed as I got closer to the signs, the current picked up. But to the right was really calm and easy snorkeling. The water wasn't as clear today as usual, but it wasn't bad.

This particular fish was my swim buddy. He followed me all around.

Just another view of how calm it had gotten in the afternoon. I think we got there right about low tide.

Here's a picture near the drop off. With visibility being poor, I really tried to avoid the drop off.

AFter an hour or so, the skies clouded over and it started to rain. We packed up our stuff and moved up under the trees. Ken was ready to go and I was happy to have had the chance to snorkel Tunnels, so we left. First had to get one last picture of the Bali Hai mountains for this trip.

The kids called as we got to the car. They were heading to our resort pool and jacuzzi. So we headed back to the condo and joined them for a couple hours in the resort pool area. Got rained on again, but since this was the first rain we've seen in 13 days, I'm not complaining.

We still went to Hanalei Dolphin for dinner. Not a cheap place, but service was very good. My fish dinner was very good, but more spendy then I remembered. Faith had sushi which she said was only so so; the guys had fish and chips which they seemed to enjoy, but they didn't seem to think it was anything special considering the price. But the company was great! In fact, they treated us tonight. At about $40/person, that was quite a treat!

When we got back to the condo, we finished off the lilikoi pie. Another end to another great day. They're going much too quickly!

Tues., March 2 --- day 12

Wind, wind, and more wind! The wind advisory is here for awhile more. With gusts up around 40 m/h, it sounds really wicked at times. The windward and east side were also mostly cloudy most of the day. Surf was still up on the north side; 3-5 feet on the east, but with the east wind it was too rough for snorkeling; 1-3 on the south shore. So----south we go again. Tim and FAith actually got up and left early for a day down by Salt Pond and Waimea.

Ken and I had our regular eggs and bacon in the condo breakfast, then headed to Lawai. Much to my surprise, it was very pleasant there! We must have hit it at low tide and were able to pretty easily snorkel all over the bay there--at least for the first couple of hours. The sun was also out in force with temps in the upper 70's or low 80's. Surf was low. Wind was blowing but didn't really seem bad here. Perhaps it's because when we're out of the water we were at the top of the shallow beach and weren't sand blasted. Plus the beach is sloped so the wind was blocked more. It probably also helped having the bushes above us.

Lots and lots of fish there! I had commented on an earlier post about there not being as many fish this trip, but since then my opinion has changed. This was just one of the many colorful fish here, and at many of the other beaches.

Here's the humuhumunukunukuapua'a---the state fish of Hawaii.

A rather scarey looking fish is the needle fish. Especially when they get as large as this guy! This one was waiting it's turn as a cleaning station.

Just another colorful fish here.

Here's another type of butterfly fish--a saddle butterfly fish.

Had to include this guy. It is a black triggerfish, a cousin of the humuhumunukunukuapua'a which is also a triggerfish. I've only seen these guys here at Lawai. There use to be quite a few of them. This trip I've only seen 3.

AFter snorkeling, I like to rinse off my snorkel gear and myself at the outdoor shower across the street. Next to it is this beautiful little koi pond.

The kids called about 3:30 and arranged to meet us at Brick Oven Pizza at 7. So Ken and I drove up to Koloa town. I love all the Monkey Pod trees in this little town. A few years ago we were here when a bunch of them were going to be cut down for expansion. There were protests and it was taken to court. Not sure what's going on with the proceedings now. There's still a large barackaded area with several monkey pod trees in it here in town. At least these ones aren't in that danger.

We've never really walked around the little town until today. There is a nifty little museum in the block. I found this old picture of Koloa Landing really interesting. A placque said it was the 3rd largest port in Hawaii back in about the early 1900's. Knowing how small that landing is, I find that really surprising.

Here's a view of Koloa Landing today from up by where the train tracks are going in the above picture.

Sunset is at about 6:40 this time of year, so we had time to find a place to see it before going to meet the kids. We ended up down by Port Allen this time. The cloud cover wasn't too condusive for too great of a sunset yet again.

But our dinner at Brick Oven was fantastic again. As was dessert once we got back to the condo. The kids had gone by Hamura Saimin earlier in the day and had picked up a lilikoi chiffon pie. Gotta be one of the best pies in the world! Great way to end another great day.