Hawaii 2013

We returned to the North Shore of Kauai for two weeks at our timeshare with a brief stopover in Honolulu to visit with Dave's sister. Max's sister Rhona and Howie accompanied us in separate unit for the first week, followed by our friends Courtney and Bill for the second week. A great time was had by all, but our trip was overshadowed by the need to put down our dear dog Josie while we were away.

Diving

My diving was limited to three days of shore diving at Tunnels due persistent swells and rough seas, especially during our second week. Despite the less than ideal conditions, I managed to take a few decent underwater photographs.

21 images

1 Flying into Honolulu over Koko Crater at lower left and Hanauma Bay top center	2 Diamond Head
3 The approach into Honolulu airport is over Pearl Harbor. You can just make out the Arizona Memorial, the little white "dash" in the water at the far right, just off Ford Island.	4 We had several hours in Honolulu before our flight over to Kauai, so we spent it with Deb and Mary. We had always wanted to visit La Mariana, the last of the true tiki bars, and since it was close to the airport and it was almost cocktail hour....
5 Entrance path to La Mariana	6 Bar area of La Mariana with all of the tiki kitsch. Being late afternoon, it was pretty empty.
7 And what better way to start vacation than a Tropical Itch! Mmmmm, it was verrry good!	8 Arriving in Kauai
9 Sistahs Max and Rhona at Mother's Day brunch at Nanea. It was a bit of a drizzly day, only time for a few quick photos before the rain started spitting again.	10 The Waikanaloa wet cave out by Ke'e Beach was now completely cordoned off with dire warning signs. Unfortunately, Max failed to heed the warnings and had to protect herself.
11 Have no idea what this was about, no signs of goats anywhere among the palm trees, was thinking we'd give him a call once we get home if we find our lawn guys didn't keep up while we were away....	12 Still kind of drizzly the next day, so we drove up to the Wailua Falls overlook (da plane boss, da plane!). Wow, with all of the rain it was raging brown. Normally it's a dual falls, but not today!
13 After Wailua Falls, we stopped by the Right Slice, a bakery that specializes in awesome pies and located in an industrial area of Puhi	14 We'll take one of the lilikoi cheesecakes and a small assortment of "little bites"
15 Then we drove further south to Spouting Horn in order to find the sun	16 Surf was a bit high, which made for a good display at Spouting Horn blowhole
17 Sisters take care of each other, despite the warning signs	18 My brother-in-law, the chicken whisperer
19 Up and early Tues morning for our Na Pali catamaran trip with Rhona, Max's sister, and her hubbie Howie.	20 We knew we were in for a great time when we spotted a double rainbow across the road
21 Boarding the kayak that will take us out to the catamaran	22 All of the misty weather made for yet more beautiful rainbows as we pulled out of Hanalei Bay. This one started at the Hanalei Pier....
23 ... and ended over Bali Hai	24 First, the safety briefing by Captain "Sam", where he explains how he tries his best to return to port with the same number of passengers as he takes out
25 After the talk about what to do in the event of a maritime emergency, our Na Pali trip begins with a detached throttle cable. This wasn't part of the briefing.	26 Quick repair brings us to the start of the Na Pali coast. You can get a sense of the scale by the kayakers at the lower left.
27 Hanakapi'ai beach and valley is a two mile day hike in along the Kalalau Trail. This is as far as you can hike without permits and without being fully outfitted for backpacking.	28 Waterfalls cascade off the mountains and drop into the ocean
29 The semi-circular remains of an ancient collapsed volcanic cone	30
31 A waterfall drops right in front of the entrance to a sea cave	32 And this shot gives you a sense of the size of the waterfall and cave
33 The Waiahuakua, "waters of the altar of the gods", sea cave is one of the longest in the world. The Waiahuakua Stream tumbles its final feet through a hole in the roof.	34 Yes, that waterfall dropping into the ocean starts way up there, in the cloud-shrouded mountain tops.
35 Hanakoa Valley	36 Puakuau falls and sea arch was used by ancient travelers who were able to fill their water jugs without getting out of their canoes.
37 "Cathedrals" along the flank of the Kalalau Valley	38 The Kalalau Valley
39 The two sections of Honopu Beach are separated by this archway that was used during the filiming of Six Days Seven Nights.	40 The first segment of Honopu Beach
41 The catamaran in front of the Honopu archway gives you sense of scale.	42 The entrance to the "Open Ceiling Sea Cave"
43	44 Taking the boat into the Open Ceiling Cave, which is the remnant of a collapsed lava tube.
45 The intrepid Na Pali coasters...	46 Time for lunch and snorkeling at Nualolo Kai
47	48
49 As we finished snorkeling, the crew on a neighboring boat was playing with their new toy- a quad rotor drone outfitted with a Go-Pro hd camera. Pretty cool!	50 Video of the coast
51 Upon our return to Hanalei, we introduced Howie to the concept of Hawaiian shave ice	52 Max with li hing mui, pina colada, and lemon flavored shave ice over coconut macadamia nut ice cream and red azuki beans. Yummm!
53 Initial skepticism followed by yummy deliciousness	54 After shave ice, time to hit the Hanalei Waipa Farmer's Market
55 The Kunana goat farm makes some awesome varieties of chevre. This time we tried the lilikoi to go with our breakfast english muffins.	56 The luau at The Mediterranean Gourmet is once a week on Tues nights. The call to order is by Coppin Colburn blowing the conch shell.
57 It's a family affair, with Coppin providing the music and his daughters dancing the hula.	58
59 The Mediterranean Gourmet luau starts with Coppin Colburn and his band playing while we eat. Then the hula performance by his daughters and his neice begins. The evening finishes with Coppin doing a Maori fire dance routine- indoors!	60 Wednesday, we beached it at Anini. A little cloudy at first, but then it cleared up nicely.
61 By this point, Howie was able to have full conversations and commune with his own kind.	62
63 Wed night dinner in Kapaa at the Hukilau Lanai	64 Our annual homeowner's association meeting was on Thursday, followed by an evening reception around the pool. This year, we had Doug McMaster, a well-known slack key guitarist, and his wife Sandy, who plays the ukulele, provide the entertainment.
65 Sunset from Hanalei Bay	66 Silhouette of Bali Hai as the sun goes down
67 Nothing better than a bottle of wine and Max's homemade guacamole on our lanai for cocktail hour	68 Final night with Rhona and Howard at Bar Acuda in Hanalei, before they head out the next day for the Big Island.
69 Saturday, Rhona and Howard left for the Big Island and our friends Bill and Courtney arrived from Tucson, greeted by us in Lihue with a plumeria lei for her and grape-seed / kukui nut for him	70 After picking up Courtney and Bill's rental car, we headed back to the North shore and stopped at Common Ground for lunch.
71 Common Ground is a farm to table cafe, where you can wander through the gardens that are meticulously maintained.	72
73 Edible nasturtiums	74
75	76 Back again for Sunday brunch at Nanea, this time with Courtney and Bill
77 Sunday afternoon was a bit cloudy and misty, so we drove out to see the just completed restoration of the Kilauea lighthouse	78
79 The area surrounding the lighthouse is a nesting area for endemic species and is a refuge managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Service	80
81 Lots of nene's, the Hawaiian state bird	82
83 Monday morning was time for a another catamaran trip down the Na Pali coast with Courtney and Bill	84 Max shows off her stylish sea-bands. Unfortunately, they were no match for the rough conditions that day.
85 Despite the higher surf, we were able to enter a few sea caves that we had passed by the previous week.	86
87 The waterfall cascades down upon us as we exit the cave	88 Our heedlessly intrepid captain even managed to get us partway into the Waiahuakua sea cave. We were only able to get a small glimpse of the cave's full extent, which is thousands of feet deep.
89 HIgh surf along the Na Pali coast	90 Despite the rough seas, there was less cloud cover than the previous week. At Cathedrals it was possible to see deep into the Kalalau Valley, whereas previously the peaks had been fully shrouded.
91 A turtle says hello as we moored for lunch at Nualolo Kai	92 Sunset from the Tavern on the Prince Golf Course
93 Tuesday nite luau again at the Mediterranean Gourmet, with Bill and Courtney	94 On Wed we visited the Grove Farm Homestead, a museum that preserves one of the first and largest sugar plantations on Kauai
95 Grove Farm was run by the Wilcox family, missionaries originally from Harwinton, CT	96
97	98
99 Inside the main plantation-style house	100 Miss Mabel Wilcox, unmarried, lived at Grove Farm until her death in 1978 at age 96. She loved to play this 1861 Chickering piano which she had shipped from Boston.
101 Miss Mabel was a registered nurse and this wheel was an educational tool she used to train others on the diagnosis and treatment of TB	102 Sunset Wed evening at Kukuiula Center in Koloa
103 Thursday looked like it had good sunset-potential, so we headed down to the Hanalei pier. Awesome display!	104
105 Hanalei Valley overlook	106 Our last day, Friday, we spent a couple of hours on the self-guided tour through the Limahuli National Tropical Botanic Garden
107 Traditional taro fields terraced into the valley	108
109	110
111 Giant fern	112
113 View from Limahuli Valley towards Mt. Makana (aka Bali Hai)	114 It took almost the entire trip, but I finally got a gecko to pose for me
115 The taro terraces in Limahuli Valley	116 Last sunset of the trip rewarded us nicely at Hanalei Bay
117 Viewing the last sunset in paradise (at least for this trip)	118