Double Rainbow

Just before sunset yesterday afternoon, we were treated to this beautiful double rainbow.  We had been treated to an out of season rain shower earlier in the day.  A good day!

 

Spring in Tucson

We returned from Kauai on Wednesday morning, to the beginning of spring in the Sonoran Desert.  Palo verde are starting to bloom, orange prickly pear, creosote bush, saguaros, and brittle bush.  There will be much more to come over the next few weeks.  Of course, with all this beauty, we get pollen.  Achoo!

Last Day on Kauai

We had a leisurely last morning in our beach cottage.  We enjoyed the sunrise, had breakfast, and finished packing up.  We left by 10 and went to Anini Beach on the North Shore.  It is a beautiful, long sandy beach.  I walked for almost an hour while Papa lounged under a tree.  We enjoyed watching snorkelers and sailboats, before going to Kalalea Juice Hale for açaí bowls for lunch.  They were yummy!

We stopped at Poliahu Heiau, on a bluff above the Wailua River with views of the Wailua River valley and the ocean beyond.  The heiau originally enclosed over one acre with rock walls, and was a place of worship for Ancient Hawaiians.  

We drove to Koloa, historic and picturesque, it opened Kauai’s first sugar mill in 1835, becoming a large, thriving sugar producer, Koloa needed labor and waves of immigrants came to work, from Portugal, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Japan, China, Korea, England, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Spain, Black Americans, and Russians.  The sugar era opened the door to Hawaii’s multicultural population of today.

We went to the airport at 6, to fly home this evening.  We’ve had a wonderful time in Kauai.

Na Pali Coast by Boat

We took a tour of the Na Pali Coast today, about four hours long on rough seas.  The mountains and steep, sharp ridges covered in green, with sky blue water crashing the rocks below were absolutely beautiful.  The coasts is about 16 miles long and one of the most stunningly beautiful natural sights we’ve ever seen. We even saw a whale while we were out.  It was a memorable day!

Hanalei

Heavy rains triggered landslides in early March, covering the highway approaching Hanalei Bridge and cutting off access to the North Shore of Kauai.  Construction crews have been working since just after the landslides, six days a week, with one lane open three times a day, for about 30 minutes each time.  The road is not open to tourists except on Sundays.  

We left our cottage by 8 this morning, and drove to the end of the road, past Hanalei.  We turned around, and stopped at Haena Beach Park, for a two mile walk on the beach.  Along the way, misty rain fell off and on, with the sky going from party cloudy to all clouds.  We took refuge under Australian pines, to stay dry.  We drove back to Hanalei and to Hanalei Bay, where local families were spending their Sunday at the beach.  Misty rain didn’t seem to phase them!

Morning with the Locals

I was up before the sun rose and was treated to a spectacular sunrise.  Soon after we were dressed this morning, I walked out on the porch and the neighbor from across the street came over to chat.  He was full of tales and good advice.  Yesterday, we learned about a local farmer’s market from a food truck vendor, so by 9:30, we were off to Lihue.  We bought a pineapple and some bananas.  

From the market, we drove on back roads and came upon Menehune Fishpond, estimated to be built about 1000 years ago, by Polynesians.  The fishpond abuts the Hule’ia Stream, with a 900’ long stone wall, diverting water into the pond, and holding fish.  It was an interesting project for it’s time.

We visited more beaches, Nukili’i and Lydgate, a large Kauai County Park, with picnic tables and ramadas.  Lydgate was teeming with local families hosting birthday parties for their kids.  Everyone was having a great time - so nice to see after a year of quarantine.  We walked around the end of Lydgate Park, reading all the plaques about Hikinaakala Heiau, an Hawaiian sacred site built in the early 1300’s at the mouth of the Wailua River, celebrating the rising sun.  The site is now a jumble of rocks, but was originally built in a rectangle with 6’ tall walls, 11’’ wide.  The traditional Hawaiian religion was abolished in 1819.  Hikinaakala Heiau was added to the National Historic Register in 1962.  So much to learn!  We had lunch of fish tacos at Coconuts Fish Cafe and back to our cottage for a relaxing afternoon.

Beach Day

We walked the beach by our cottage, Anahola Beach, this morning after breakfast.  We got wet from a lone rain shower on our way back.  We dried off quickly, then went to Kapa’a Beach for a walk on the historic path.  We ate fish tacos for lunch along the way.

After a siesta, we set off for more beaches, Kahili Beach and Larsens Beach.  Each beach had it’s own personality and each one was beautiful.  

Road Trip to Na Pali Coast Lookout

We woke up to a beautiful morning, with mostly clear skies.  We expected clouds after 10, so we left our cottage by 8 and headed toward the west coast and up into the mountains.  We stopped at the Waimea Canyon overlook, punctuated by Waipo’o Falls, a beautiful double 800’ waterfall.  Our next stop was at the Kalalau Lookout overlooking a Na Pali canyon.  It was stunning!  We drove a little further to the end of the road, to the Pu’u O Kila Lookout, another stunning Na Pali canyon.  

We drove back down the mountains, and had Porky’s special for lunch, in Waimea, sitting under the Captain James Cook statue, commemorating Captain Cook’s nearby landing in January 1778.  He was the first European to sight the Hawaiian Islands.  We crossed the Waimea River and walked around the ruins of Russian built (1817) Fort Elizabeth State Park.  A few miles down the road we stopped in Hanapepe, an old Japanese settled town, with a hanging bridge.  We walked across the bridge and back.  A bit scary!

We saw lots more chickens today and read about them on a history sign at Kalalau Lookout.  The local folklore is that Hurricanes Iniki (1992) and Iowa (1982) destroyed coops, letting the chickens loose.  Some say the escaped domesticated birds joined up with jungle fowl brought by Polynesians 1000 years ago.  National Geographic published an article about the chickens in 2018, reporting that genetic studies indicated the folklore was correct.  The wild chickens are everywhere! 

Kauai

Papa and I flew to Kauai yesterday.  We rented a cottage on the beach.  We’re enjoying the constant sound of rough seas and the clucking of chickens.  We’ve never seen so many chickens... everywhere!

After our six and a half hour flight, we arrived yesterday afternoon, starving!  We ate a late lunch/early dinner of fresh mahi mahi tacos with mango salsa and cabbage slaw served on top.  They were delicious!  We shopped for groceries, then found our beach cottage by 5.  

We woke up to a sky heavy with clouds.  Blue began to appear in the sky soon after breakfast, so we set off to explore.  I took photos of the outrigger canoes just up the road from our cottage.  We stopped for smoothies at a farm stand, then drove to the Kilauea Lighthouse.  Entry has been limited for the past year, but the view was beautiful, over a cove designated as a National Wildlife Refuge.  Big water birds were busy flying back and forth.

We stopped at a couple more beaches, with clouds following us and dropping sprinkles.  We walked around the Christ Memorial Episcopal Church and it’s cemetery, with headstones dating to the 1800’s.  The church was built of lava stone about 100 years ago.  The road to Hanalei was closed due to construction repairs after a washout a few weeks ago after an unusually rainy several days.  We turned around and drove south to Kapa’a for lunch of shrimp tacos on the beach.  We explored a bit further and visited the Wailua Complex of Heiaus - historic Hawaiian places of worship.  We saw a beautiful waterfall nearby, then stopped for dinner takeout - açaí bowls filled with locally grown fresh fruit.  A good day!