KAUAI - November 2021

Tuesday November 16, 2021

A long day of travel, but by 9 pm we were settling into our “rustic cabin” in Kokee State Park.

Jeff, Ryan and I left Madison on the 5:50am flight to Minneapolis, where we had a 2-hour layover (breakfast in the Delta Sky Club). From there, we flew to Seattle, where we had a three-hour layover (lunch in the Delta Sky Club). And then our flight to Lihue on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, arriving just after 6:30pm (which was 10:30pm at home but it’s not helpful for me to think like that!).

Last March I was feeling stir crazy from lack of travel and the desire to go somewhere warm! I started researching flights and travel to Kauai, and ordered several travel books including two about hiking on Kauai. However, Hawaii had pretty severe travel restrictions, even for those that were already fully vaccinated. We would have had to have a negative COVID test the day before we travelled, and then get tested again upon arrival, and quarantine in a specific hotel until we got our negative test result back, and then we’d be free to move about the island! This summer they relaxed that a bit, and now you can apply for an exemption to quarantine by uploading a vaccination record or a negative test result. We’d all diligently completed that, and in the Seattle airport they had a “Travel Hawaii” desk where we showed our exemption QR code and received a wrist band. When we got to Lihue, we were able to breeze through their checkpoint, and that all went quite smoothly.

Since our trip was a special occasion, I’d arranged for lei delivery for our group upon our arrival. We left security and there was a man standing there with three leis and a sign that said “Tews.” I thought it was fun, but I’m uncertain about how the guys felt about it! Jeff said he expected the guy was there to give us a ride.

Our checked bags arrived without incident and we began the mad dash to the rental car counter. I always feel like I’m on Amazing Race during this portion of our travels - grab the bags and try to be the first one off the shuttle bus, and get to the head of the line.

Rental cars are in short supply and expensive since COVID, so I had been a little stressed about our rental car pick up. I used all of our credit card points to pay for a small SUV through Budget (Enterprise is generally my go to, but didn’t come up as an option). All went well with the pickup. We got an underpowered KIA, but it will serve its purpose and had room for our bags and supplies that we set out to acquire.

I’d reserved a “rustic cabin” at Koke’e State Park, so we made a stop at Safeway to procure groceries for our cabin. I’d learned that it could be 20 degrees cooler up on the mountain, and that the cabin had a wood stove heater, but we had to bring wood from Lihue as there is none for sale at the park. We bought a box of wood at the store, along with our groceries, wine and beer. Ryan had the good thought that drinking water might be questionable at a “rustic cabin,” so we grabbed a few large bottles of water (good thing, as it was a little questionable!).

Our next challenge was finding the cabin rental agency to pick up our key and linens. Since we were arriving “after hours,” Carol texted me a photo of the rental agency office in Waimea, which was helpful in finding the place. There we signed the forms she’d left on the porch, and grabbed our key and three large bags of sheets, pillows and towels.

From Waimea, Koke’e State Park is 13 miles up a twisting canyon road. It was a little frightening in the dark - we encountered a wild pig, a dog, and several parked cars along the way. It was so dark we’d really struggle to even read the signs. Once we entered the park, we came upon a road leading to the first two cabins, then found ours at the next road. Once we were inside, I realized I had a detailed map I’d received with the key, but we figured it out without that.

We unloaded the car and Jeff set out to get a fire started in the wood stove as it was chilly (about 55 degrees and very humid). At the airport and as we drove to Waimea, the car thermometer said it was 74 degrees, which felt wonderful to us!!

We had some wine and cheese and crackers as we got settled. I had an amazing feeling of relief that all of our logistics worked out so well. Whew!!

Wednesday November 17, 2021

Our cabin doesn’t have many electrical outlets, so I was out of sync not having my Apple Watch plugged in next to my bed so I could roll over and check the time! I had my iPad, but it was still on airplane mode and I was unsure if it was showing me Pacific or Central time, and I was unable to do any kind of math to approximate the time! I knew it was still dark out, so tried to go back to sleep. I started hearing roosters crowing, long before the sun came up. The grounds (and woods) are overrun with roosters - tonight I’ll sleep with my ear plugs!

In my research, it looked like there is a cafe up here that serves breakfast and lunch, so after we were all up, we headed out to walk up the road and check it out, shortly after 8am. We were delighted to find there IS a cafe, it just didn’t open until 9:30am (most of the traffic up here is day tourists). Besides that, none of the three of us thought of bringing a mask so we wouldn’t have been able to get in. Funny how it’s so normal to mask up at work, in meetings, at church, all day in the airport yesterday, at Safeway last night, but none of us thought about it today (feels like a normal vacation!).

We poked around the outside of the museum, looking at trail maps and descriptions. Although we woke up chilly inside the cabin, outside in the sun it was warming up nicely! We chatted with a couple from Idaho that have been here for a week, took photos of some roosters, and headed back down to our cabin where we made breakfast of oatmeal and peanut butter toast.

Over breakfast, we discussed trail options, and decided to start out on the Nu’alolo Trail, with the option to make a ten-mile loop (Nu’alolo to Cliff Trail to Awa’awapuhi Trail), and we could walk from our cabin. We headed out about 9:45am, quickly ascending a steep hill. Our layers came off, and thoughts of the cool morning were a distant memory.

We had lots of steep up and down, and walked carefully to stay upright. Jeff had a little fall later in the day - otherwise we came out muddy, but largely unscathed. As we got closer to the coast, we got glimpses of the ocean and clouds that were lower than us (we topped out at just over 3000 feet). Across a deep valley, we’d noticed a helicopter landed there and people in yellow suits and helmets were getting out. We watched them through binoculars, but couldn’t figure out what was going on. The day warmed up and I was glad to have a hat to keep the sun off my face.

Just after the 3-mile marker, we came to the Cliff Trail junction. We thought about it for a bit, but we still had 0.75 miles left to the end of the Nu’alolo Trail. I figured, we’re here, we need to see the end. The views of the cliffs were getting more and more spectacular, and the ups and downs were also becoming more extreme. Jeff decided to wait in the shade while Ryan and I checked out the end. We walked another 0.5 miles to a wide-open space, which would have been spectacular, however, clouds swirled in just at that moment! We watched them swirl for a bit, but it appeared they were here to stay! The ridge to the north looked like black hardened lava - no vegetation like we’d just hiked through. There were a few breaks in the clouds, but we decided to turn back without getting to the actual end.

Back to scoop up JT, and we had a snack break. We got back to the junction of the Cliff Trail, and decided to just head back the way we came. I was initially disappointed, but as the afternoon went on and I was feeling whooped, I was glad we’d come back the same way. In total, we hiked just over 7 miles with 2000 feet of climb (and descent)!

Back to the cabin for showers and a quick rest, then we headed into Waimea. Along the way, we got our first glimpse of Waimea canyon, “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” It was as breathtaking as the real Grand Canyon! Across the valley was a waterfall, that we could hear from like three miles away. WOW - next hike will be down into the canyon.

We have no cell service at our cabin, so headed to town to book a boat tour of the Na’Pali Coast. We wanted to book for tomorrow, but none of the local charters had space until Saturday, so we booked that. We had a great dinner at Wrangler’s Steakhouse in Waimea (not a lot of options on this wonderfully remote side of Kauai), and hit the grocery store for a few items, including more wood and water.

Hard pressed to stay awake past 9pm, but it was an amazing day!

Thursday November 18, 2021. Beach Day!

We’d hoped today would be boat day, but no complaints from me when Jeff suggested we take a day off hiking and have a beach day!!

I was awake from about 3:30am, so I finally got up around 5:30am and did some yoga in the little sitting area. Not as spectacular as yoga on my porch as the sunrises, but it was delightful to have the sky brighten and see the smoke from our neighbor’s chimney (someone was up early there too)!

Jeff had leftovers from his steak and baked potato last night, and he whipped up omelets. It was quite a feat considering the limited kitchen equipment in our little cabin. We’d been spoiled by some VRBO’s with nicely outfitted kitchens over the past several years - this is not like that! The oven doesn’t work, the microwave acts like its running but doesn’t actually run. We’re drinking wine out of coffee cups … ah. First world problems, I know. Anyway, the omelets were great and the toaster works fine!!

We headed out about 9am, and decided to check out some lookouts before heading down to the beach. We headed north on Hwy 550, to where it dead ends about 4 miles from the cabin. The first lookout we came to was Kalalau, which overlooks the Na’pali coast, and the Kalalau valley and its namesake beach, which is the end of the eleven-mile Kalalau Trail. We’d originally planned and got a permit to hike it next week on Jeff’s birthday. You hike the 11 miles, camp on the beach and hike back the following day. However, after watching several You-Tube videos, we cancelled our reservation - too treacherous for us! The view from the lookout was breathtaking. To make it even better, we had the place to ourselves. As we were leaving, panicked tourists were arriving - they were driving fast, tailgating, and just had this feeling of frenzy about them, like they just had today to make all these stops, and we didn’t want to get in their way!

We continued down the road to the Puu o Kila Lookout - this one had a spectacular view of the Na’pali coast to the north, and the massive wildness of the center of the island to the south.

We’d been chilly in the cabin this morning and didn’t start a fire. After breakfast we were thoroughly chilled, but it didn’t take long to warm up once we were out in the sun. As we were so cold, it was hard to dress for the beach, but we’ve come to understand the temperature extremes of this section of Kauai!

On our way back down, we stopped at the Koke’e Lodge. The museum wasn’t yet open, but the cafe also had a little gift shop and we bought some new maps, and water bottle stickers, and Ryan bought a sweatshirt. We hit a few canyon overlooks on the way down to Waimea, but with the morning light, the colors weren’t as dramatic as they are in the afternoon.

We took a right at the 550/552 split, and that brought us to Kekaha, where we had our first beach stop. I really wanted to drive to the end of the road, where a jeep road takes you to Polihale State Park, where you can find 50–100-foot dunes … but we didn’t think it was a good idea to take our Kia SUV on that road. The area between the State Park and Kekaha is mostly the “Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility” and while it is contiguous beach, its closed to the public for security reasons.

Kekaha beach was beautiful. Soft sand, with no rocks or shells. There was a surf break with some smallish waves and some local kids were surfing there, fun to watch. We walked the beach for a bit. Jeff went out in the water, while I had a little nap, and Ryan continued to walk on his quest to find “sea glass,” but there was none to be found on this beach. I hadn’t brought my towel out of the car, and had so much sand stuck to my sunscreen that I had to go into the water too - it felt great.

After a bit, we got in the car and headed east. Next, we went to the Salt Pond beach, which was unique and lovely - especially if you had small kids as there was a lava wall that made a nice break. We had our picnic lunch there, then walked the beach. Many more shells and rocks there, and Ryan collected a hand full of sea glass for his collection (his first from Hawaii, he said).

We’d had about enough sun then, so back in the car we kept driving east, through Koloa to Kukuiula. The houses and scenery changed from rustic to polished lawns and landscaping, hotels, and houses on the ocean. We went to Spouting Horn County Park, and watched the blow hole for a while. A guy there pointed out dolphin a way off of shore, and told us we were still a bit early for whales. A few have been spotted, but they’re still rare.

We headed back west, and went to the Chicken in a Barrel restaurant at the Plantation Cottages hotel in Waimea, where we had a beer and ordered dinner to go. We drove back up to Koke’e State Park - our first time driving up the mountain in daylight, and it was a very different experience!!

Back at the cabin, we cleaned up, ate our dinner and had a mellow evening. Another hike planned for tomorrow, this time down into the canyon!

Friday November 19, 2021

Another great night’s sleep - the roosters weren’t too close, so I slept until after 6am before getting up to do a little stretching and meditation. Breakfast of oatmeal and peanut butter toast and we were ready for an early start to the day.

In preparation for this trip, I’d researched Kauai hiking online and bought a few books including one that had been updated in 2002, but was originally published in 1977 and had the 1970’s photos to prove it (Hiking Kauai by Robert Smith). Surprisingly, the state parks didn’t have maps online, and we struggled getting detailed trail maps. Yesterday when we stopped in the Koke’e Lodge, I bought “Kaua’i Island Atlas and Maps,” which had a little more detail. What makes this difficult, is it appears there are a series of short trails, some linked, some not. Some trails lead to another, some have to be accessed by a dirt road. Last night, we used all of our resources and found what we thought was a 6-mile loop we could do from the cabin.

We set off at 8:15am. It was another beautiful day, but we were all chilled from the damp cool cabin, and we hiked over a mile before we warmed up enough to peel off layers. The map showed Faye Road as just across the highway from the cabins, and we turned there, with some uncertainty as the road was unlabeled! It was a decent road, but encroached by vegetation, including massive trees and beautiful flowering shrubs. We were surprised to see houses along the road, as technically we’re in the state park, but in must be an imminent domain type of situation!?

For the first time today, I missed having the Guthook (Far Out) app that we use to find our way on the Ice Age Trail. As we were walking down the road, I was uncertain if this was actually Faye Road, and if it’d lead us to Faye Trail. Ahead, we saw a “dead end” sign, and then on the right, a sign appeared that said “Faye Trail / No Name” with an arrow pointing left.

We took the trail, beautiful trail, not well travelled. Along the road and on the trail, we saw amazing flowers, plants and trees. It’s no wonder Kauai is called the “Garden Island!” The trail dipped down to a little stream, and as we looked across, it looked foggy, however it had been a crystal-clear day?! We realized was it was this unique kind of pine tree with long but very fine needles that were giving the appearance of fog. I had to literally shake my head to reset what I was seeing, an odd phenomenon indeed! As we neared the end of the short trail, we heard voices, and then barking dogs from a nearby house. We were a little rattled when two large dogs ran through the woods from that house to greet us. Their owner recalled them without incident, and yelled “sorry.” The trail ended on another unnamed dirt road, but it was obvious which way to go, as it was gated to the left. We took a right, then passed another trail head with a sign. Not our turn, but it helped pinpoint where we were on the map and my confidence increased.

We walked awhile further, enjoying the solitude of the morning, passing more cabins, seeing no people. We passed a sign that said Waipo’o Falls, which was our intended destination, but I didn’t think it was our turn and dismissed it. We hiked on, up and down steep hills on the dirt road. A couple with a small child came our way, we chatted with them a bit, and learned we were nearly back to the highway, so we should have turned at the Falls sign. He showed us his “All Trails” map, but I still couldn’t orient that to my map. Another couple came along, walking fast with just one water bottle. It seemed that we’d entered a different dimension!

We turned around, and about a quarter mile after the Falls turn, there was a small parking lot and signs for 4 different trails! We headed out on the Canyon Trail, with lots of other people traveling in both directions. It got crazy for a bit there. Most people were traveling light and moving fast - hurrying to see the falls and get back to the next thing on their list. Four young ladies passed us, one with a Starbucks cup. Several people were turning back - the couple with the young boy, and the couple with the one water bottle. To add to the madness, there were helicopters hovering overhead - a different way to enjoy the majesty of the canyon.

We had breathtaking views from the ridge, without it being too scary. We’d seen this trail from the lookout yesterday and I thought it looked frightening, but it was just fine. It had really heated up, so by the time we reached the falls (pool #1), I took a dip in the cold water and that felt great.

After the nice break, we continued on the Canyon Trail - a trail that hardly had any use! After the dozens of people at the falls, it was great to be back in solitude. We met a couple coming towards us, and they told us that Kumuwela Lookout had a picnic table with an “out of this world” view - just a mile ahead. The views were fantastic along the whole ridge leading to the Lookout. We’d pop out of the woods, have a great view, back into the woods, down then up, then back to the ridge. We got to the picnic table just before noon and enjoyed the view and the solitude while we ate our lunch.

We continued on the Canyon Trail, turning away from the ridge into the woods. The trees were different, with larger leaves, and the forest floor was carpeted with dry leaves. We were surprised at how dry it was, considering how close we are to the “wettest spot on earth!” We came to a spot where many trees were down over the trail, which made it a little challenging to find at times. Once we saw the trail up the hill from where we were, so cut up there, but then we were a little uncertain about which was to go! It was a switchback, so the “right way” was the opposite direction from which we’d been traveling!

The trail ended at Kumuwela Road, and there was a fire ring there. The view there was of the canyon, and all the way down to the ocean. It would be a spectacular place to camp and watch the sunset! We walked down the road, and we were relieved to see a sign for Kumuwela Trail, as there aren’t a lot of signs and there are no trail markers … and we were clearly in a part of the park that doesn’t get much foot traffic. We also had conflicting information on our various maps and the signs about the length of the trails. Just added to the adventure!

Kumuwela Trail was not very travelled and I led our little group, clearing spider webs as I went. It was 1.0-1.3 miles, depending on which source you were trusting.

We started heading down hill with switchbacks. Some downed trees, and then we got to a marshy area. We could hear a river, and we’d seen it from above, but we had jungle plants (wild ginger that has become invasive and is out of control) over our heads - or sometimes grass with a slight indentation (maybe this is the trail or are we on a wild pig trail now?). Jeff was feeling uneasy, but I pushed forward. We were headed in the correct general direction, and if we weren’t on the trail, we also wouldn’t have been able to find our way backwards. With relief, we came to a road. Once again, a no-trespassing gate was across the road, so it was easy to determine which way to go! We passed by more cabins by didn’t see any people. We passed two other trailheads, which gave us confirmation that we were in the right place!

We turned onto Waineke Road, which brought us back to the highway, just north of the lodge. I poked around in the museum, then we went into the cafe and had burger / sandwiches, some yummy beer from Maui and listened to a local man performing some Hawaiian music, as well as some oldies. He played a ukulele of course, and had a wonderful voice. Perfect end to a great day.

We walked the 0.25 miles back to our cabin, picking up some kindling along the way. 8.25 miles over about 5 hours, with 1666 ft of elevation gain. We all felt great, not as exhausted as we were after our Wednesday hike for sure!! Showers, and a mellow evening. I skunked JT at cribbage, leaving me up 4:1 so far this trip!

Tomorrow: Boat Day!

Saturday November 20, 2021

One sign of an epic vacation is when you don’t even know (or care) what day it is! Staying in this remote cabin with no TV, Wi-Fi, or cellular signal also helps with that! We had our same morning routine: yoga for me, breakfast (JT made eggs to order) and we got ready for our day. Odd to be changing into swimming suits again when we were so chilled, but we believed it’d be different weather once we were down off the mountain, and it was (twenty degrees warmer!!).

We arrived in Waimea around 9am, a stop at the grocery store for more sunscreen, and the post office and then we headed to the Small Boat Harbor just west of town. We’d signed up for a six-hour zodiac cruise, with snorkeling, cave exploration, and a tour of an ancient Hawaiian fishing village. The attraction for us though, was seeing the Na’Pali Coast from the water. We met the crew - there were two boats with about 14 passengers each, and each had one captain and one crew member. Our captain was Justin. Originally from Oregon, he’s been in Kauai for ten years and was an amazing guide. I was really impressed with his knowledge of the land, the history of the people and many other facts about Kauai. The Zodiac was fun and really moved along. Preboarding, we were asked to disclose health conditions, including history of back surgery or issues. We stayed quiet on that topic, and I know Jeff really protects his back and wouldn’t do anything stupid! The weather was fantastic - the crew kept commenting on how rare this is for November. And the ride was smooth.

As we set out, Justin kept stopping to point out landmarks. He pointed out MacArthur Park beach in Kekaha, which starts the longest contiguous beach in the Hawaiian Islands - from there all the way to Polihale State Park. We had a great view of the island Ni’ihau, 17 miles off the coast of Kauai. Justin told us the fascinating history of the island. It is privately owned, and about 200 Hawaiians live there - completely off the grid. When kids reach the age of fourth grade, they are sent to a private school in Kauai, and after school they need to decide to return to Ni’ihau or not. He said most don’t, and it’s a dwindling population, but a great microcosm of the old ways. Justin said the Robinson Family, which owns Ni’ihau, also owns a large chunk of land on the southwest side of the island, which is why it is largely undeveloped - which I think is one of the coolest things about Kauai compared to Oahu or Maui!

We spotted Hawaiian Spinner dolphins - our first batch weren’t as spectacular as what we’d previously seen, but a little later in the day we came upon a playful pod that performed for us!

A large portion of the south western part of the island is occupied by the Pacific Missile Range Facility. From the water, we could see buildings and towers - not much to look at, but what amazing real estate they occupy!!

We paused again offshore of the Polihale State Park - we could see the awesome dunes - some 50-100 feet high. There were several jeeps driving on the sand, something Justin said tourists shouldn’t try with their rental cars! I was happy to get to see the park from the water as I thought it looked cool on the map (we’d decided not to drive our rental car down the Jeep road)! It was hot, and we had an opportunity to jump off the boat and go for a swim. I declined as I wasn’t ready to get wet yet (other than the spray from the Zodiac crashing the waves).

We’d now arrived at the Na’Pali Coast. The first section wasn’t as dramatic as what I knew was to come, but the ruggedness is still otherworldly. This section has a lot of sea caves, and we were in just the right kind of boat to explore them. Some we’d drive into, some we’d back into, one was a huge cave without a roof! Along the way, we’d seen plenty of places where caves had collapsed, or the mountain eroded. As we’d drive into a cave, I’d say a little “not today” prayer … I loved exploring the caves, but found it slightly unnerving.

Justin also pointed out “waterfall scars,” which are the tracks of waterfalls that had been diverted years ago. It’s impossible to think about how that could even happen, but somehow, they diverted the water for irrigation of the sugar cane. Then 15 years ago, somehow it was decided that they were no longer growing sugar cane so they stopped the diversion. However, they found an unintended consequence in that the fresh water was harming the ecosystem that had developed in the ocean below, so they rediverted it again.

We passed by Nu’alolo, a beautiful beach below the trail where we’d hiked last Wednesday. A cloud had come in then, so we never saw the beach, but it was fun to look up and see the cliffs we’d been traversing. We continued to Kalalau Beach, again enjoying the view from below, when last Thursday we were up top looking down at the beach. From there, we continued on and were able to see glimpses of the Kalalau Trail, specifically the portion called the “crawlers’ ledge,” further affirmation that we didn’t the right thing deciding to NOT do that hike next week!

We turned around and returned to Nu’alolo, where we stopped for lunch. We’d passed by several beaches like this one where it’s possible to get a permit to arrive by kayak and spend the night. They’ve got two signs with red lines, and you line up your boat with them and make your landing there, as to not disturb the coral reef. There was also a compostable toilet. All off these beaches have historical and archaeological significance, so there are specific guidelines and permits needed for visiting them. I think that’s really awesome! Many native Hawaiian’s lived on these beaches, and nearby forests. It’s really something to try to imagine that. If they grew or made something unique, they’d get into their outrigger canoes and go to neighboring beaches or islands to trade. Justin also pointed out an area where when royalty died, someone would be lowered with the body, find a cave or crevice to stash the body, then cut the rope and plunge to their death. Doing so was an honor, and would elevate the social status of their family. Wow.

Back at Nu’alolo, our outfitter had a permit to stop there, allow us to snorkel, and go to shore for lunch. They had picnic tables set up in a beautifully landscaped area on the beach. The crew issued us bento boxes with sandwiches, tortellini, fresh pineapple and macadamia nut cookies - yum yum. After lunch, our guide took us on walking tour around the back side of the beach where there were walls left from what had been houses, and a large structure that had been the building to store their canoe! We could see where they’d had gardens, and he explained how the reef helped them catch fish. Besides the interesting immersion in history, the place was beautiful. We saw a pack of wild goats, and three turtles resting in the sun, along with a monk seal who reminded us of the cheetahs we saw on the Serengeti (the guide said they eat a big meal and then sleep for three days)!

We had about an hourlong ride back to the harbor from there. I sat in one of the back lounge chair-like seats and chilled and enjoyed the ride and the beautiful day. We arrived back at the harbor right about 4pm. We cleaned up, changed clothes and headed back to the Chicken in A Barrel for an early dinner. We started with Corona with lime, which just tastes so good after a day around salt water!! Then we ordered dinner and finished up about 5:30p, and then we walked to the resort beach front for the sunset. There was rain way offshore, so it wasn’t a perfect sunset, but beautiful just the same.

Back to our cabin for showers and a final night to chill before entering a different world tomorrow.

Sunday November 21 thru Wednesday November 24, 2021

We slept in a little later Sunday morning, but we were up and packed and down the mountain by 9:30am. We drove to Poipu, where we planned to meet Kyle (flying in from Honolulu this am) for lunch at 11am. We had an hour to burn, so we hung out at Brenneke’s Beach - where there was a sleeping sea turtle amid all the chaos. We walked along to Keoneloa Bay were there were dozens of amateur surfers and boogie boarders on top of each other.

Jeff realized the Packer-Viking game was on. He checked on his phone and it was the 4th Q and a close game. We walked over to Brenneke’s Beach Bar where we had an 11am reservation, and hung out in the bar drinking Bloody Mary’s and watching the lead change several times - very exciting. Not only did the Vikes prevail in the end, to add insult to injury, Jeff and I were playing each other in our church fantasy football league and he has Arron Rodgers as his QB and Jefferson, a WR for the Vikings. He smoked me by over 50 points.

Kyle came and we had a wonderful lunch, and time for Ryan and he to connect. We dropped off Ryan at the airport and headed north towards Princeville. Kyle hung out in Poipu. His daughter, Bella, flew in from Denver in the early afternoon, and his wife Leah and their youngest daughter, Amaya, were set to arrive from Minneapolis around 7pm.

Jeff and I scoped out our rental house, but we weren’t supposed to check in until 4pm. We continued north, through the funky Hanalei, Wainiha and Hanna. We stopped at a few beaches, one which we deemed too tricky to access down the eroded path. On our drive back, we stopped at Lumaha’i Beach, where it seemed like mostly locals enjoying a perfect Sunday afternoon on the beach (expect for one guy that got his truck stuck!). Back to Hanalei, we stopped at a small, crowded grocery store for provisions.

Back at our rental house in Princeville, we let ourselves in using the lock box, and marveled at the contrast to our rustic Koke’e cabin! I probably drove Ryan crazy texting him photos of the place - especially the 4 different place settings of dishes!

We got settled in the large walk-in closet, and set about finding our way around the kitchen. We made a pasta salad, had some wine, and played some cribbage. Feeling at peace, but also kind of sad with Ryan’s departure. Soon enough, the tranquility was interrupted by the arrival of the Plath family! The girls were normal giggly girls - I’m sure they were so overjoyed with being together again (it’s Bella’s first year away at college). We were supposed to also be joined by Kyle’s parents (Jeff’s sister Barb and her husband Allan), but Allan has had an adverse event to shoulder surgery and will need to have another surgery to rebuild the joint next month, so traveling was out for them.

While it was warm when we arrived (and there is no AC, which is OK), we had a great breeze coming through the windows and it was a very comfortable night.

Monday morning, we were up at 6:30am as we’d arranged “Sunrise Yoga” with Tulasi on the golf course overlooking the ocean. Kyle and Leah had done this two years ago, and I was delighted to learn about it. The six of us walked to the golf course club house, where they’d met last time, and it took some more than gentle urging for me to convince them that according to our confirmation email, the meeting spot was different. It stresses me out to be late to yoga, but it turns out this was more of a casual “island time” meeting time, and there were others even later than us!

We walked through the golf course to this beautiful spot overlooking the ocean and Hanalei bay. It was awesome, and Tulasi was a great yoga instructor - seemed to know just what you need to hear when you need to hear it “relax your shoulder, relax your jaw …”

We walked back to our house, and Jeff made spinach and cheese omelets while we visited more. We showed them photos from our Tanzania trip, and we got to catch up more. After we cleaned up breakfast, Jeff and I wanted to take the bikes from the garage to explore Princeville a bit more. However, the tires were flat. It was a 0.7 mile walk to a gas station and I proposed we walk the bikes there, but Jeff went knocking on neighbor’s doors and found someone who lent us a suitable pump to get us on the road.

We explored the north side of Princeville. It’s a somewhat gated community, with no direct access to Hanalei Bay or the village of Hanalei without going on the narrow highway down a massive hill. So, we explored what we could in the 45 minutes or so that we had. There are a lot of homes here, and they seem to be built around 3 golf courses. The streets are windy, with many cul de sacs - makes for odd shaped yards and the feeling that you are intimate with your neighbors (you can’t see because of the clever thick landscaping, but you can hear their conversations, crying kids and barking dogs).

I had a board meeting and another committee call booked Monday afternoon, so we were back to shower and have lunch so I could spend a few hours trying to engage in Zoom, which was tougher than I’d expected it to be!!

The Plath family had walked down to Queen’s Bath, and spent the afternoon there exploring and swimming. They said they wanted to go out for dinner at someplace with funky drinks, and researched and found “Happy Talk” at the Hanalei Bay Resort (we’d biked past it this morning). We had yummy drinks (I had a Kauai Mule which was made with coconut infused vodka), appetizers, most of us had tacos for dinner and we split a lava cake for dessert. After dinner, we walked through the resort and down a steep path to the beach to catch the end of twilight over Hanalei Bay - we’re facing NW, so just pink/orange tinges to the sky, the sun had dropped below the Na’pali coast while we were eating dinner.

Tuesday (Jeff and Kyle’s birthdays) we were up early for the hike! The Kalalau Trail was long on Kyle’s bucket list, as he and Leah had previously hiked the first two miles to Hanakapi’ai Beach, and then the additional two miles from there up to Hanakapi’ai Falls. Kyle’s goal was to wake up on Kalalau Beach on his 50th birthday. He did the research regarding permits, and learned that they open 30 days out, starting at midnight Hawaii time, and were limited to 2 permits each person. He and I got up independently at 5am CST thirty days ago - the first time I was successful in obtaining a permit for 2 but he wasn’t. The next morning, he was able to get 4 permits under two different names. He also secured parking permits. As Jeff and I talked about it, we decided to not do the whole hike. We’d watched several YouTube videos and there is a spot 8 miles in called “Crawler’s Ledge” that I just didn’t think I could do. On one hand, it made me sad to bow out of the challenge, not sure if its maturity or just a reckoning of our aging and our limitations.

BIRTHDAY BOYS

Kyle wanted to be the first in line when the gates to the parking lot opened at 6am, so we left the house around 5:15am in our two different vehicles. We got through the gate with no issues (Kyle had two parking passes in his name and he schmoozed the lady to also let us in). We changed into our hiking boots and strapped on our packs just as the sun was rising up over Ke’e Beach on another perfect Hawaiian morning! The two miles to Hanakapi’ai Beach were about a mile straight up, and then a mile down. We had a small stream to cross over on the way and had fantastic views of the Na’Pali Coast in perfect morning light. There were a handful of others on the trail, but nothing like what we saw later in the afternoon!

We got to Hanakapi’ai “Stream,” where Jeff and I changed into our water shoes and waded across while others rock hopped. We didn’t see anyone fall in, but I know it must happen frequently. There are warning signs all over, both for the beach and the stream. YouTube has dozens of videos of people getting washed down the stream into the ocean, or rolled on the beach by a rogue wave. It’s nothing to be messed with.

We poked around on the beach for a bit, had a snack, and then went our separate ways. I said a prayer for the Plath’s journey and safe return. Jeff and I began our two-mile climb up the trial along the stream to the falls. We went through an area with these immense stands of bamboo - which felt alive and made funky sounds. The ever-present babbling of the tumbling stream was a comfort to me. We encountered some people; however, it was still fairly early in the day. We had several stream crossings, which we were able to rock hop thanks to the balance our poles provided. As we climbed higher, the trail grew narrower, an indication of how far most people make it, I think?! I was in the lead and took us down the wrong trail, which was very narrow. I tried to dismiss Jeff’s concerns with the fact that many people don’t make it this far … but thankfully I did allow him to decide that we needed to go back, and indeed, we hadn’t been on the trail. We progressed on the correct trail. We had an awesome view of the falls, but to get to the waterfall pool was going to be a tough climb down, so we enjoyed the view, ate our sandwiches, and then headed back down the trail. Jeff was uncertain how his knee would do with all the down, but with the help of Advil, he did ok.

Back at the beach, we took a short break, then crossed the stream again (I rock hoped with a close call, but made it successfully). Jeff changed into his water shoes and successfully forded the stream. Made me smile and think of the tough crossings we’d had so far on our Ice Age Trail journey.

Then we had a mile up and a mile down, back to the car. The day was warm, but there were consistent breezes and the views were out of this world. The trail wasn’t as muddy as we’d remembered this morning, which we were thankful for! There were a lot more people on the trail - heading in both directions, but the path was wide enough for people to travel both directions or even pass. We approached the end and I was surprised at the number of people heading in - it was nearly 3pm then, only 3 hours of daylight left!!

Back at our car, we changed out of our boots and used our towel and extra water to wash the mud from our legs. We felt good about our hike, and wondered how the Plath’s were doing. We’d have to wait until they came out tomorrow to hear their tales.

Jeff didn’t want to go out for his birthday, so we stopped at FoodLand in Princeville and bought some stuff from the deli. While we were there, we picked up items for our Thanksgiving dinner. The place was nuts - families that had come from the beach, with barefoot whiney children, and above the man-made din, “Feliz Navidad” was playing overhead. I just laughed at the bizarre moment.

Back to the house, we showered, had dinner, played some cribbage and headed to bed early.

WEDNESDAY

We were up in time to ride the bikes to yoga on the shore - fantastic start to the day. Back to the house for breakfast of fried egg sandwiches with bacon - yum. We relaxed a bit, then packed a lunch and the car and drove to Hanalei Beach for the day. In the garage, we’ve discovered beach umbrellas and chairs, towels and beach mats - awesome to be able to enjoy the beach with all the right kind of apparatus. We struggled with the umbrella and the breeze for a bit, until Jeff noticed that others had filled the umbrella sleeve with sand and use that to tie it down - ingenious! We alternated napping, snacking, reading and walking the beach - a perfect day! The surf was pretty high and there were a lot of surfers on the beach - some way out at the mouth of the bay, where big waves were breaking with that classic curl - so cool - which we’d brought the binoculars! I heard a girl on the next blanket say that Bethany Hamilton was down the beach - and she was, working with some little kids on the waves closer to shore - pretty easy to pick out with her one arm!

After a few hours, we stashed our stuff in the car and walked down to the pier. From there, we could really see the surfers. Jeff got the hankering to try “shave ice,” so we drove the car the few blocks to town. We’d got a text from Kyle that they made it out, and were headed to Hanalei for food - so we weren’t completely surprised to run into them just after we parked! Jeff got his shave ice, the Plath’s ate food from the Chicken in a Barrel, and we sat and chatted with a couple from Philadelphia while Jeff ate his shave ice.

Back to the house, the Plath family had showered and were relaxing on the lanai. We grabbed a beer and listened to their stories. Leah summed it up by saying it was the most challenging thing she’d ever done, but also the most rewarding. She said she’d not necessarily recommend it to others!!

We played Cross-Crib with Kyle and Leah - a cribbage game with partners, and no cribbage board. It was fun - Kyle and I won. By then, everyone was exhausted and headed off to bed.

THANKSGIVING Thursday November 25, 2021

Pretty mellow day. I must admit, I felt a little melancholy not being in Green Bay with my extended family. But I’m in Hawaii on my own accord and we’re having an amazing time. It’s just odd. Last year we weren’t together because of COVID, and this year we decided to celebrate JT’s 70th birthday with a bang. Other than missing family, Kauai is a pretty awesome place to be on Thanksgiving.

JT and I got up and did a Peloton Yoga session on the back lanai. I’m so glad he is enjoying yoga again as I think the stretching can really help him with his knee issues and just in general. The Plath’s were out somewhere trying to catch a sunrise, and they came back just as we were finishing up. We had breakfast and visited, then chilled on the back lanai reading and chatting. I finished one of the Outlander series, “An Echo in the Bone,” and was dying to get started on the next in the series, “Written in My Own Heart’s Blood.” But I had to take a break and read “The Paris Library” for next month’s book club.

The Plath’s went in search of a snorkeling beach, and Jeff and I took the bikes out to explore other pieces of Princeville. We rode to the end of Hanalei Plantation Road, and down a steep hill, ending up on Pu’u Poa Beach. There isn’t much of a tide swing here, but with the surf and probably the tide - the water came to the trees. We walked along a built-up trail, with occasional glimpses of Hanalei Pier and Beach through the trees. We were at the spot where the Hanalei River enters the ocean, and the swirling and mixing of water was powerful. A young lady walked along the river, then dogpaddled (!!) across. She did get pulled by the current, but we were relieved to see her emerge from the other side.

We pushed our heavy bikes up the first part of the steep trail, then poked around what seemed to be plantation ruins where there was a mowed path towards the water. There was a clearing there that provided a great view of the surfers catching the big waves at the top of Hanalei Bay - wished we’d brought binoculars!

After we tired of watching, we rode back down the road, and then riding the shoulder of Hwy 560 for a few blocks we ended up at the Princeville shopping center. We did a few more side roads as we rode back, finding another beach path to explore tomorrow.

Bailey called me on FaceTime just as we returned to the house. They’d just wrapped up dinner, and she walked me around so I could greet everyone. Brother Jim was finishing up the turkey carving, and Mom and Aunt Cindy were in the kitchen doing dishes as usual. My dad and his twin brother, Uncle John were dressed in matching buffalo plaid (as was nephew Hans). Cousins, JC (and Roberta) and Sara were there, along with Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill. My brother’s whole family was there, including niece Hannah (and Ian) with their baby Hudson making his first Thanksgiving appearance. Emma, Mason, Georgia and her boyfriend, and Jim’s wife Cris. My sister, Sandra, hubby Matt and their kids Hans and Calvin (and McKinley). It was great to see everyone, but it did make me feel even more sad to not be with them.

I showered while Jeff sliced veggies for roasting and baked the ham. I made a salad, and the Plath’s returned from their adventure. We had a nice dinner. Their daughter, Dailia, was at Barb and Allan’s (Kyle’s parents, Jeff’s sister) and she called, and they Face Timed for a bit. I wasn’t alone in missing family on the holiday.

It was a nice mellow day and afternoon. Getting into the pattern of not having to have something to do. Okay with just “being.”

Friday November 26, 2021

The Friday after Thanksgivings is typically known as “Black Friday,” with holiday shopping mania. I was happy to be on Kauai, where it was just another day in paradise! Jeff and I got up and rode the bikes to sunrise yoga - another terrific class. When we got back to the house, Kyle had made French Toast with fried left-over ham - yum. They’d heard that their part-time foster kids were having an emergency, with the baby hospitalized with COVID, so Leah was making plans to fly home tonight to care for the two older girls. Bella had flown back to Colorado last night, so our numbers were dwindling.

We relaxed on the back lanai, reading, chatting and maybe I had a nap. Just before noon, we decided to walk to discover a few secluded beaches in the neighborhood. Jeff and I departed a little later, so we didn’t visit the same beaches - kind of had our signals crossed.

We hiked down a steep path to ‘Anini Beach, which had a road to it (not through Princeville though), and also some cottages. It was a nice beach with a wide shallow area - not the best for swimming, and Jeff was looking to swim. We climbed back up the hill, and found our way to Sealodge Resort (Kyle sent a text that they found Sealodge Beach). There was a small sign that pointed the way to the beach, but not a very clear path. When we got down a steep hill, we were surprised to see a utility building and a road leading up. We crossed the road and continued along a beautiful path that paralleled the shore, went around a point, and ended at some lava rocks that led to Sealodge beach. There were two people there, but the Plath’s had moved on. There wasn’t much water covering the reef, so it also wasn’t going to be good for swimming. However, we were hot from all that hiking, so we sat in the shallow water and got rolled by incoming waves. There were fabulous breakers off shore, but no surfers on this remote part of the coast. It was an enjoyable place to chill.

We walked up the road, hoping it wouldn’t be gated and would lead to our neighborhood! There was a chain across the road (yea!), but then we noticed we were in someone’s gated yard (yikes!). Closer review, we saw a small worn path around one side of the gate. I recognized the neighborhood as one we’d biked through looking for the path to the beach - we never would have spotted it if we hadn’t come up from below!

It was an enjoyable walk back to our house, looking at the birds, flowers and plants. Bizarre looking at some Christmas decorations though - just don’t jive for me!! We got back and learned the Plath’s had left to go to Waimea to see the sunset, and then drop Leah off at the airport. We had a quiet night eating leftovers, playing cribbage and reading.

Saturday November 27, 2021

We realized we’re starting to run out of time here on this magnificent island, so we got serious and made a list of the things we still want to do and got busy making reservations.

One of the things we’d talked about was golfing, so we did that today. We’d already seen so much of Princeville’s beautiful Makai golf course, so it seemed logical to play here. We got a 9:35am tee time, and a “deal” that included cart and club rental (and free t-shirts!!). It was another glorious day - and we keep hearing how rare this weather has been for November!

Amaya rode along in Kyle’s cart, and wasn’t interested in golfing, even though she has already had a hole in one in her lifetime!! It was just my second time playing this year - not enough play to hit well consistently, but I had some okay shots and really enjoyed the day. The photos hardly do justice, but everywhere you turned it was more and more beautiful - the rugged mountains, the flowers, the birds, the sea.

Just like our golf courses at home, there were a lot of geese, but these were Hawaiian Geese “Ne Ne,” which they say are endangered. They seem to be doing well here, and we saw a dozen babies too. Then there were Albatross - a cross between a seagull and a pelican. They make funny grunting noises and snap their beaks. We saw many egrets (all over the island actually), and several herons. What might be funniest though is chickens and roosters running around the golf course - just as they are everywhere on the island!

We finished up golf before 3pm and we were famished by then. We headed back to Happy Talk, where we had an early dinner and drinks. Back to the house for “game night.” Kyle was streaming his son Cade’s last football game on his phone, while we played a round of Cross-Crib (Kyle and Amaya won), then out to the garage for Ping Pong (Jeff and I won that), and a fun card game called “Pounce,” where Amaya kicked our butts - her young brain working a lot faster than any of ours!!

Fun night, but the fresh air and exercise has us petered out again; plus, I realize we haven’t been getting our usual nap time in!

November 28-30, 2021

The last couple of days went by too fast, but we thoroughly enjoyed our morning yoga, time to read, conversations with Kyle and Amaya, and island time in general.

Sunday, Jeff and I had booked a 2pm Walking Food Tour in Hanalei. We’d done similar tours in San Francisco and Victoria, BC and really enjoyed them. Kyle and Amaya went south to check out beaches for boogie boarding and snorkeling. Jeff and I went back to Hanalei beach, where we swam and enjoyed the waves. We showered at the beach, changed clothes and got to our food tour meeting place, the Hanalei Taro & Juice Company, on time. There we met another couple, Ryan and Karen from LA, who had also booked the tour. Most disappointing however, was our guide was a no show and didn’t answer the texts or phone messages until the next day (claimed to have looked at the wrong month on their scheduling calendar). While we were waiting, Kyle texted that he’d bought 4 steaks to grill out. So, I did some shopping while Jeff waited 30 minutes for a smoothie (!). We bought another pie and a bottle of good red wine and headed back to the house for dinner in, and while it was yummy, I was sorely disappointed that we didn’t get to do the food tour. After dinner, we cleaned up and Kyle and Amaya headed to Hanalei with their boogie boards and found spectacular waves there - many times on Kauai and Kyle hadn’t ever been to that huge beach!

We played more games, and retired early again. Jeff and I are both into the Outlander book now and it’s so exciting (and fun to read and dissect together).

Monday morning, Jeff and I rode the bikes to our fourth and final yoga session with Tulasi. It was drizzling when we left the garage, but was a perfect morning for yoga. No rain, and a strong wing that further challenged the balance poses, although a rainbow could have been the cherry on top. At the end of the session, Tulasi told us the weather is forecast to change to “normal” for November. The whole two weeks, locals had been telling us what wonderfully unusual weather we’ve had!

On my list of things I wanted to do on Kauai was an outrigger canoe ride, so we’d booked that for Monday afternoon. The only place we could find that offered it was at the Marriott in Lihue. It’s just a 20-mile drive, but with construction the locals say it was sometimes take HOURS! It was a little backed up, but took us about 45 minutes. We hung out at the beach at the Marriott (in front of Duke’s). Jeff and I napped and read, Kyle and Amaya tried their hand at boogie boarding again, but the waves either broke too far out or right at the beach. There was plenty of people watching and surf watching to keep me occupied for hours.

When it was 2pm, we checked in for our ride and met our guide, whose name we couldn’t retain. He was probably Indian or Sri Lankan, and a little difficult to understand. He told us he hung out at this beach where an old Hawaiian native was the outrigger guide, and he just started helping out until the guy retired and then he got the job. It was fun to talk with him about troubles he’s had with guests tipping the boat over, not knowing how to paddle, etc. - you can just imagine what he’s seen!

We didn’t get photos while we were out as we didn’t bring anything with us, which was smart because we got wet! It was perfect for the 4 of us - Kyle was in the bow (number one position), Amaya and I traded off the number 2 (duffer position) and number 3 paddler position, and Jeff was number four. The guide sat behind him with a really large paddle that he used to steer the vessel. We had some quick instruction, and then went right at it. We paddled around the edge of the bay, and then surfed our first wave - it was so exhilarating. Like a mixture of running through the rapids on a boat and riding a rollercoaster. And we repeated that four times. Our little craft wouldn’t be the kind you’d paddle to Bora Bora, but it was fun and everything I’d expected it to be. We had a light rain during our last wave run, but it felt great and really just added to the fun. Like all the rain we’ve seen so far, it was over about as fast as it started, and the sun came out again.

We showered at the beach shower and changed clothes and headed back north, stopping at the food trucks in Kapa’a for dinner (only thing missing was beer). We got back to the house and Amaya and Kyle went back to Hanalei to boogie board one more time - they said it wasn’t as great as last night, and they had a lucky break when Kyle heard a plop and saw that he’d dropped his car keys in the ocean (which he retrieved and they worked just fine).

Jeff and I finished our Kauai cribbage tournament and he won all three games - one with a skunk so he won the overall vacation match. We’re pretty evenly matched, and it’s always fun to come down to the last hand to see who gets the lucky break!

Overnight we had heavy rain, we’d only had a few minutes of mist up until now so that was quite different. Amaya had an early flight, so she and Kyle headed out early. Jeff and I did an online yoga session - inside today since the lanai was quite wet from last night’s rain. After that we had leftovers for breakfast, then learned that we didn’t need to check out at 10am as previously planned - the Airbnb host said they didn’t have guest coming until tomorrow so we were welcomed to stay! After breakfast, I wanted to hike to Queen’s Bath - a lava pool on the Princeville shore. The Plath’s had been there before, and hiked there Monday, but it was still on my “to do” list.

Like many of the coastal paths we’ve hiked these two weeks, this was very steep, and made much more treacherous with last night’s rain. We’d grabbed one of Jeff’s poles (the other one broke on the Kalalau hike with the Plaths). Jeff got about 20 steps in and decided not to do the hike, so I took the pole and went without him. The down was very slippery, and I was nearly falling with every step. I thought about turning back, but plunged ahead. I was wearing my Chaco sandals, and realized if I stepped right into the puddles, I was much more stable. My sandal straps turned from beige to Kauai mud red, and I’ll always remember this hike now when I see these sandals.

I went past a beautiful little waterfall, which I think had been enhanced by last night’s rain. Then I got to the coast, but I was way above it. I could see people down there, but couldn’t figure out where the path went. Another couple came by, younger than me, and she was wearing Chacos too! I let the guy lead and he led us across a traverse with loose dirt, where I was sliding again but in a different manner. The path turned into some trees, and we discovered a series of 4 ropes that we used to help lower ourselves down to the rocks. It wasn’t exactly rappelling, but I was glad to have had that experience (and so glad I had that pole as a safety brace)!

I went to send Jeff a text to let him know I made it, but had no service while I was down there. I hoped along the rocks, glad to have the slipperiness part over and have solid rocks below my feet. The surf was dramatic, and I was careful to not be close to the edge. I could sure see how a rogue wave could sweep you off the ledge so easily! I walked over to Queen’s Bath and there were two guys swimming in it, and another trying to get the courage to jump in. It’d be easy to get swept out of there with a wave surge too, I noted! I snapped some photos and went back to the ropes to start my climb up and out, which was a lot easier than going down had been! Near the waterfall, a text from Jeff came through, telling me about some not very fit people coming down. I encountered them, families with little kids who were struggling. I told them it was beautiful but they hadn’t yet got to the hard part. Not sure if they made it or not!

We walked back to the house, showered and finished packing and we were out of there around noon, heading to the airport. The small airport was a zoo, and we were glad to have our precheck status which saved an hour standing in the security line. The first leg of our flight was on Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu, then red eye to Minneapolis, and fingers crossed, home to Madison by 10am. The monitor said gate 4, so we settled there in the empty gate lobby and got engrossed in reading. We were jerked into action when we heard our names on the overhead, with a “last call” at gate 5! Luckily, it wasn’t far away. We got strapped into our seats and within a minute we were pushing back. Whew.

The adventures of travel - most times things go our way, and the things that don’t make the good stories! We loved our time on Kauai. Such a laid-back place to be immersed in nature. I hope the warm memories will sustain me through the next 5 weeks until Sandra and I go to our yoga retreat in Costa Rica!