RAINY PARADISE

 The Wai`oli Hu'ia Church Choir is well known for its skill in singing and for its repertoire of early Hawaiian hymns which are sung each Sunday at the 10:00 AM service.  It's interesting hearing the Hawaiian language as scripture is being read or familiar hymns are sung.  We attended this church this morning where the pastor reminded us that "though we are happy when we're at the beach, we need to remain 'joyful' even when we have to leave" (my paraphrase).  We decided he was speaking directly to us since we leave this beautiful island tomorrow morning.

The rain started around noon and the afternoon was spent reading, packing, napping, packing, listening to the rain, and packing.  HOW did this stuff fit in the first time?!  

We did decide the rainy day was good for helping us re-enter life on the mainland.  The humidity was a reminder for Deon & Raymond and their return to Florida, and the gray was a foretaste of days to come for us in Indiana.  

It's been a simply wonderful month in Paradise, but it's time to say ALOHA!

(Aloha means both hello and goodbye)

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Since it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow and we have to clean out the refrigerator and eat an odd assortment of various and sundry items and pack for leaving Monday morning, we decided to celebrate my birthday a day early.  

It was a leisurely day, starting with brunch at The Garden at Common Ground.  Such a relaxing atmosphere, sitting outside, surrounded by the gardens of this organic, sustainable farm.  And the food is delicious and fresh with lots of gluten free pastry choices.

 We walked down the 180+ steps to Pu'u Poa  Beach, which is below the famous St. Regis Hotel.  
Then one also has to walk back up.  Bob had his physical therapy today!

The forecast was for rain and it was cloudy and gray all day, but the rain never came.  I think the gray was to help us get used to going back to Indiana.  The waters are pretty turbid in Pu'u Poa Beach in the winter but Raymond wanted to get in some more snorkeling.  The rest of us sat on the beach and people watched.  It's amazing what one can see if one looks long enough!  (You can thank me later for not posting those photos.....)

My birthday wish was to spend the last 2 evenings here watching the sunset at Ke'e Beach.  With ChocoVine in hand, we headed for the beach. (Thanks for the tip, Char!) 

The sun did set, but we couldn't see it.  But it was still beautiful-- and the water was wild this evening.  One of my favorite spots!

Deon & Raymond

We ended another wonderful day with dinner at Postcards Cafe in Hanalei.  We've had some wonderful food here but I think this one tops them all.  They advertise "Superb Seafood and Gourmet Natural Foods Cuisine" and they certainly lived up to that claim. Definitely a stop to make the next time you are in Kauai! 

Good Night Happy Day!

MORNING HAS BROKEN........

Another gorgeous morning view from the lanai!

and it's almost time to return to SNOW......

Anini Beach--Snorkeling for Turtles

Ahhhhhh--Anini Beach once again!

Beach photographer--just can't stop taking photos, even while lying down!

Beach tree roots

 After a leisurely breakfast at the condo, Anini Beach was our destination for another (our last?) day of snorkeling for Raymond, Deon, and me.  Bob supervised from his beach chair.

We usually see large sea turtles at this beach and that is what we were looking for today. They like to eat the sea grass on the bottom and don't seem to be a bit bothered by the human activity up above.  The water was unusually calm and clear--but I needed my floatie today....  I followed 2 turtles around for awhile--was soooo neat!  Deon shared a photo from her underwater camera.  This little guy(?) is about 3 feet long.

Beach coral

More Beach coral

Beach Bananas

Beach Bums

 We bid farewell to Anini Beach (sigh), headed to the condo to wash off the beach sand and went to Tahiti Nui's in Hanalei for a wonderful meal--looking out over the mountains, feeling the cool breezes, and listening to 2 guys playing slack key guitar.  Tahiti Nui's  is an old restaurant/shack where George Clooney liked to hang out when he was staying here and filming his latest movie, The Descendants.  I was probably sitting in his chair!    

     On the way home, we stopped at the pier at Hanalei Bay to watch the sunset-----another wonderful day in paradise!

                                

Snorkeling at Po'iPu Beach

  Since the water on the North Shore isn't very conducive to snorkeling in the winter because of the turbulent water, we decided to head back down south to Po'iPu Beach  where we had seen so many fish earlier in the week.   

    Po'iPu is a resort town, lots of people, lots of beach hi rises, condos, hotels--just a completely different feel from Princeville, where we are staying--but has good snorkeling.

As I mentioned earlier, lots of people and lots of snorkelers AND lots of beautiful fish--even more today than the first time we were here.  We weren't sure Raymond was ever going to come in from the water!  Just have to let you know that I snorkeled without my floatie today.

An added bonus--we saw another Monk Seal.  There are only 40 on the island and we have seen 3 now.  He/She was very relaxed inside the roped off area.  Whenever a monk seal comes up to the beach, they quickly put up a rope barrier to give some space from all of us tourists.

Bob chose to just sit in his chair on a paddle board and watch the action.

Just kidding....actually Bob stayed home to let his leg heal (the area behind his knee which was scraped off when sitting on the deck of the Catamaran).  But doesn't it sorta look like him?

                                   Finding Nemo....
(Photos courtesy of Deon)

FLOWERS, FLOWERS EVERYWHERE

As you can tell, I just can't stop taking photos of all the beautiful flowers here.  I wish I knew the names of them, but I'm just content looking at their beauty.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

  

         HAPPY

      CHINESE

          NEW YEAR!

         2011

        The Year of the Rabbit

The Chinese Zodiac says I was born in the Year of the Monkey.

Do you know your animal?

Some Favorite Nature Sights

The tree bark in the center picture is a Paper Bark Tree.  They are wonderful, big trees lining the walking path nearby.  The bark literally peels off like big sheets of heavy paper.  I keep thinking that I should be able to make something out of those pieces--they are neat.
                                    Happy Groundhog Day Everyone!

Viewing photos on the blog

In case any of you are interested, did you know that you can make the photos larger by clicking on the picture?

HIKING THE KALALAU TRAIL

The ultimate hike in Hawaii is said to be the Kalalau Trail--11 miles of switchbacks, hills and beautiful scenery.  And Raymond came to Kauai determined to hike at least the first part of it.  According to one book, "the first leg is a strenuous, two-mile stretch from Ke'e Beach to Hanakapi'ai Valley and Beach that sees an estimated 500,000 people every year."

                                                                    

Beginning up the trail....

The trail is quite rocky and steep in spots and the dirt is a red clay that gets slicker than snot when wet.  Afternoon showers are frequent in this part of the island so finding a dry day to hike isn't easy.  Bob stayed back to keep the home fires burning and Deon, Raymond and I set off for our adventure this morning, hoping to make it to Hanakapi'ai Beach but deciding to just go as far as we could go.

Our first view of Ke'e Beach at .25 mile marker.

The views were spectacular and each one seemed to get even more so.
There is a spot for a helicopter to land to rescue people at this lookout.

                  

                Looking towards Ke'e Beach to the right....

And towards the Na Pali coast to the left.  I'm glad I brought along a lot of film!!

 

 Approaching Hanakapi'ai Beach we came to the above signs.  In case you can't count the hash marks on the sign on the right--82 visitors have been killed in currents at the beach.

Crossing the stream to get to the beach

Hana tree - called "tourist pineapple" because the fruit is mistaken for a pineapple.

We did not go near the water.  We did sit and have lunch while watching the wild waves.

And we all made it to the beach AND back!   And YES!  Once again the Florida weather fairies were with us and the weather was perfect.  (I almost feel guilty writing about perfect weather when I hear what is going on around all of you, especially in Kansas and Indiana.)
The path was rocky, steep, and wet in spots (and Deon has a sore knee and some muddy pants as proof of how slick it was).  I was really glad I had brought along Bob's trekking pole as well as my long legs.  ( It wasn't as bad as hiking up Sentinal at RMMC in Colorado--at least we didn't have the high altitude to deal with.)  It was a challenging hike but a GREAT one!

Po'ipu Beach Park

Coconut water--my favorite island drink!

The last day of January, one week from today we leave this beautiful island.  I'm thinkin' that we have a LOT of sun and warmth to soak up in the next 6 days!


Deon & Raymond have now been able to view Kauai from land, sea and air.  Today they took an helicopter ride and have some amazing photos of their tour.  (And, yes, the weather fairies again provided an amazing day for their trip.) 


 We then all headed to the south part of the island to try snorkeling at Po'ipu Beach.

Po'ipu Beach

Sign at the Beach, and we saw all these fish...plus more!

 The best snorkeling day yet!  The water was clear, and the fish were beautiful! Many didn't even look real they were so brightly colored!  I kept looking for Nemo!  Bob was not planning on snorkeling today, but after the rest of us saw all the fish swimming about, he headed out too.   We had some underwater cameras along and it will be interesting to see if we were able to capture anything but the fish tails as they swam away.

Didn't really need a mask, you could just stand and look at the fish in the clear water.
 

Stand-Up Paddling--a favorite activity around here. (No, I have not tried this.)