Whoah is me, I am home now. Depression has hit, and now all I can do is look back on my wonderful days in Oahu and Kauai. So in looking back on my trip to paradise, I figured I would write a nice trip report for all others so that it might help make some decisions on where to stay, eat, and play! For Oahu details, please see the trip report on the Oahu board.
Wed May 24- We arrived in Kauai by 1 and had our rental car by 1:30. By 2 we were at the Marriott Waiohai and checking in. Our room was ready so we went to it and got all our stuff together. We stopped in to get our gift certificates as part of our deal and signed up for the presentation for another $100 in gift certificates. After that we decided to take a walk on the beach and found Poipu within minutes. Decided to start walking the other direction and found quite a few nice beach areas. Had a couple of drinks at the Honu bar and got changed for dinner at the Beachhouse. Beachhouse was packed as always and even though I requested an ocean side table and told them it was our anniversary, got one of the worst ones second row back. The reason I said it was one of hte worst was because it was right behind a wall partition so we had to crane our necks to see the ocean. The food was good, I had the Kauai Duet with Grey snapper and scallops, it was excellent. Had their specialty chocolate dessert and it too was yummy. Bill was a little on the high side, but it is Hawaii after all.
Thurs May 25- Had an early start for our Kayak and hiking tour. Used Kayak Kauai as our tour guide and somehow managed to have a completely private tour. Just hubby, me and our guide Josh. We kayaked up the river, and hubby decided that I was not a good kayaker, so he rowed the whole way. We made it to the area to drop off the kayak and off hiking we went. The hike wasn't too bad and we made it to the falls. After a rocky start, literally, getting into the pool, we swam our way under the falls and got some pictures. After swimming we got a big sandwich from Josh, as well as some Maui Onion potato chips and some Macademia chocolate treats. Then off on our hike back. Josh decided to take us the back way which was a little rougher than the first way, but we made it back to the kayaks and off on the way back we went. Warning if you take this tour, BRING BUG REPELLANT!! I am a mosquito magnet and even with bug repellant, I got eaten alive! After the tour was over, hubby and I got some shaved ice from the Fish Hut in Coconut Marketplace. I liked it very much, but this was the only chance for shaved ice on the trip, so nothing to compare it to. Definitely much better than the shaved ice here in Phoenix. After this we went back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit, then went up to Spouting horn. This was amazing and really a must see. Quite a few vendors here too. One actually had Niihau shell necklaces for $175! And they were beautiful. After Spouting Horn we went over to Keoki's Paradise for dinner. Crab cakes were just ok, but the Herb crusted Opah was fantastic! It was so good, the amount I had left over I brought back to my hotel and ate it for a snack the next day! Yummy! The atmosphere is kinda cool, I think the Blue Bible explained it best by saying it resembles the South Pacific only seen in movies. But it was very cool. The hula pie is huge!!! Easily 3 people can share it without a problem.
Friday May 26- Today we tried Snuba. This was absolutely awesome! Went down to the Lawai Beach Resort and met up with our guides- Shawn and Kipu. They did a great job. They weighed us down with some weight belts with sand in them and then asked us to cross the road. This in itself was funny because you are totally off balance with the extra weight. They taught us how to use the equiptment on land first, which was really easy, then took us into the water for us to try there and if we felt comfortable put on our flippers. The air is actually suspended above you on a float so you had twenty foot of hose to work with. We got to see all kinds of cool things, even a sea turtle! I was so excited to get to see one up close. I think I made Shawn nervous though because I was trying to get really close to get a picture, but I think he thought I wanted to touch it, which is completely illegal, so he started tugging on my line! :) They even gave us fish food to feed the fishies with and boy do they have sharp teeth. We were underwater for about an hour or so. This was a complete blast and I highly recommend it to everyone. Unfortunately, this was the only time we got a chance to be in the water as we never got a chance to snorkel. I guess we will have to put it off for the next trip :) Went back to the hotel and got changed and relaxed a little bit. Started to get hungry so we went to Tomkats for lunch. I think hubby was expecting something different since if you went to a place called Tomkats here in Phoenix, it would more than likely be a strip club! But it was a great place for lunch, we got a couple of messy burgers that were very good. Reasonably priced too. From there we shopped a little bit then off to the Wailua River cruise to Fern Grotto. WHAT A WASTE!!! Do not bother with this until Fern Grotto is open again. The entertainment on the cruise is awful. I have seen Karaoke singers better than them. I have to contact who we booked the tours through and complain cause not only did we not see Fern Grotto, we paid too much to not see it. Well, since Fern Grotto was closed, the cruise got back a half hour ahead of schedule. This really threw a cramp into my timing, because I had us scheduled for the Smith Luau afterwords and it would have been perfect timing if the cruise ran properly. Oh well, so is life. We waited around til they opened the gates and then walked around the grounds. They told us that 3 pigs had escaped and could not be caught... Wouldn't you know we bumped into one of them. He seemed friendly, but didn't like us much when he figured out we didn't have food. On to the Imu Ceremony, a peacock had decided that he didn't much like the concept of everyone staring at the ceremony, so decided to plume himself out. Didn't get to see much after that. Loved the free flowing Mai Tais even though you can only carry one at a time. The food here was so much better than the Polynesian Center. The Beef Teriyaki was AWESOME!!! Hubby went up for 2nds. Dessert was pretty good here, but the PCC beat them on this count. Off to the show, which was pretty bad in comparison to Horizons. There were only a couple of really good dancers. Back to hotel.
Sat May 27- early start this morning for our Downhill bike tour with Outfitters Kauai. This was a really cool tour. They start off by testing you with the equipt. Then they pack you into a van and take you up to the top of Waimea Canyon. You take in the sites, use your camera etc. Then they let you out and you get on your bikes and down the hill you go. Most people were speeding down the hill instead of checking it out and taking in the view. The cool thing is that Jill and Adrian really let you take whatever pace you wanted to keep. They make a couple of stops, sometimes to let traffic by others to let you see some cool sites and get a snack and a drink. I liked this tour, but if high speeds bother you, don't do it. After the tour we did some more shopping, and stopped for some brunch at Joe's on the Green. Food here was good, but the view was fabulous! Reasonably priced. Would recommend. After brunch, off to bed. The start was a little too early to not take a nap. From our nappie time we went to the timeshare presentation. For a 90 min presentation, it took an awfully long time and we didn't get out of there til 6:30- 3 ½ hrs later. But, we decided to buy one so I guess it was our own fault. Of course due to the late nature of the initial time, we couldn't sign all the papers til Sunday. We asked for a recommendation for a dinner, and were recommended to Casa Di Amici, and I have to say it was WAY AWESOME! If you go, you have to try the Risotto Quatro Formaggi for an appetizer. I also had one of the beef dishes as my dinner and it was so good I saved half of it for breakfast the next day!
Sun May 28- Not as early of a start, but another tour. We went to try Zip N Dip tour through Princeville adventures. Now before I start telling you about the tour, I should explain that I am horribly afraid of heights. But I wanted to do the tour to try to overcome my fear. We really had a blast and it was definitely new experience when you are all hooked up and then they tell you to jump off a cliff!!! Sherri and Analeiah were great tour guides and very patient with everyone. The course consisted of 8 ziplines, 1 baby one to get you used to it and 7 big ones. You go through 7 first, then swimming and lunch, then the last one and a nice hike back. This was the best tour we went on! I highly highly highly recommend it. The only issue I had was with the suspension bridge. You are clipped into it, but that is where my fear of heights freaked me out, but I got across it! After we got back from Princeville, we went over to sign the papers on our timeshare purchase. From there we grabbed a bottle of champagne out of our fridge and celebrated our purchase out on the lawn. We wanted a nice relaxing dinner so we went over to Brenneckes, and I have to say other than the crab appetizer and the king crab for dinner, it left a lot to be desired. Oh well, every dinner cannot be fantastic.
Mon May 29- Our anniversary, and unfortunately the day we left. :(
Link to our Kauai photos:
