Kauai Ramblings

I've been wandering around Kauai the past few days.  Wendy and her family were on the island with me for several days, so I played tour guide a bit.  Here's the cove at Kilauea lighthouse.

Wendy near the lighthouse...Secret Beach in the far, hazy distance.

Nene hang out near the lighthouse.  They are the state bird of Hawai'i.

Hanalei Bay on a stormy afternoon.  There were three waterfalls visible on the mountains above town.  Three days later the falls were gone.

Wendy at Waimea canyon.

Nice canyon shot.  It's always amazing to see such a large gorge...half a mile deep...on such a small island.  Often, you can see several waterfalls in the canyon.  But now, at the end of the dry season, no waterfalls running.

Is dis da moke and da tita??  Naw, just a couple crazy haole tourons.

Classic shot of Kalalau Valley.  I remember hiking the trail, 11 miles each way, three times in the 1980s.  30 years and 60 pounds ago.  Skinny dipping in a pristine pool in the valley with a pretty Danish girl...

Wendy at the Kalalau lookout.

Remember the old TV show Fantasy Island?  Wailua Falls opened the show.  Here they are!

The ruins of the Coco Palms hotel.  It was once THE place to stay on Kauai.  During my visits in the 1980s, the Coco Palms was hopping; but I never stayed here.  Elvis Presley filmed Blue Hawaii here.  Bing Crosby and Duke Kahanamoku hung out at the Coco Palms.  It all came to an end on September 11...1992, when Hurricane Iniki trashed the place.  Insurance claims were never resolved and the Coco Palms never reopened.  There are tours of the ruins now...no other plans as far as I know.

Aaaahhh.  I'm back at my beach in Haena.  Spent seven hours here today...never drove the car out of the Hanalei Colony Resort.  Kepuhi Beach is beauty, tranquility, nature, peace...personified.  I have been here many times.  It is home.

Took this pic lying on my back on my beach mat.  You do have to be sure you're not lying directly under any coconuts, especially on a breezy day!

Tunnels Beach, just west of Kepuhi. 

Shells can be had at my beach.  It's not always easy to get them, though.  The two gems on the far left (the larger cowrie is about two inches long) were obtained by surf shelling.  I stand at the surfline where there is a large amount of debris, washed back and forth by the waves.  In the second or two between breakers, you try to spot a shell, then grab it before the next wave comes.  Sometimes the shell is spotted a few inches below the surface at slack water between waves.  Such practices require concentration, vigilance, and even some physical quickness at times.  But you can find treasures, often more easily than on the dry beach, where jetsam is quickly picked over by the folks wandering the sand.  I would say that the majority of really nice shells I have found in Hawaii and Florida have come from surf shelling.  You find a great shell and it's like hitting a jackpot on a slot machine...a woohoo moment.