Hi Y'all!

My mom (age 83), sis and I just got back from a 2 weeks trip to Kauai. We had such a good time and I thank the contributors to this forum for your tips and suggestions.

We stayed at the Sunrise Cottage (www.alohacottages.com) in Kapaa. We have stayed in Kapaa in the past (this was our 4th or 5th trip to the island) so we were familiar with the area. Our little house was delightful! It was very clean, very well furnished (comfortable beds!) and the view was absolutely fantastic. We loved sitting on the porch watching the kite surfers and the fishermen. I can definitely reccommend this house to anyone wanting a comfortable and scenic place to stay.

Since we've been to Kauai before, we didn't do a lot of the usual tourist things-- we've been to Waimea Canyon, the lighthouse in Kilauea, etc. We did drive to Princeville, Hanalei, Poipu (I said "ALOOOHAAAA!!" to Koloa Girl as we did!) etc. We were surprised, after hearing that tourism is down, at all the building that was being done!

We are "foodies" to some degree. Going to new restaurants and re-visiting old favorites is one of our favorite things to do while travelling. When we were in Kauai 5 years ago, we discovered A Pacific Cafe and were soooooooooo disappointed that it is no longer there! On this trip, tho, we went to:

Hukilau Lanai and thought it was fair. Nothing more than that. While the wait staff was efficient and quick, they were not very personable.

Gaylord's-- We'd been there before and found it not much changed. Two of us thought the meal was outstanding, one of us was not real thrilled. The wait staff was a little more personable but got a few things wrong in our orders. These mistakes were quickly taken care of.

The Beach House-- We ate there 22 years ago just after Hurricane Iniki when you had to go on cane roads to get there! I remember parking in a vacant lot next door-- which I think is now the Prince Kuhio Condo complex. What a change since then!! We got a wonderful table right by the window and, of course, the view was spectacular. I'd read the reviews of this restaurant so I was ready to not like it much-- but we thought it was just a great place. We had a wonderful, friendly and knowledgeable waiter and the food was outstanding. I'd go back again tonight if I could! Of course....this is a very pricey restaurant-- but worth the splurge IMO.

Hanalei Bay Cafe-- We went to Sunday Brunch there. We had to wait an hour for a table but were seated on the patio and had a great view. The service was very good and the champagne flowed! The food was good but not great but the view was worth it to us.

Duke's--- Our least favorite of all. We ate there on our last night and were hoping it would be a fun place to end our trip. It was soooooooo crowded that getting up to go to the salad bar was like walking an obstacle course. The wait staff was harried by several very large groups and we had to wait a lonnnnng time for our drinks. When you add in the screaming, SHRIEKING toddler at the table next to us (who made conversation for any of us almost impossible) and you have the makings of a very unfun evening. We left without waiting for dessert--- no Hula Pie for us!

Most of the trip we did........NOTHING! Took naps, read lots of books, did a little shopping......repeat as necessary! I begin my 22nd year of teaching first grade next week so it was just what I needed. A great way to end my summer!

So that's it! Thank you for reading this far! I didn't realize this post would be such a novel when I started writing!

Aloha and Mahalo from

aggie1ca and family