Kauai

Hawaii 2025 – Final Days

Posted on November 7, 2025 by JimG

Friday, November 7, 2025

We spent our last couple of days doing exactly what a vacation should include: hanging out by the beach and pool, driving around the island while searching out places to eat and stop. We tried to book a Nā Pali Coast tour, but ocean conditions weren’t great and the available options were limited. We decided to save that for a future visit.

On the way to the airport, I had the familiar feeling that once we arrived in Hawaii, the next thing we’d know it would be time to go home. Vacations always seem to work that way.

Even though I’ve been to Hawaii many times, I never once felt a sense of “been there, done that” on this trip. In Waikiki, we stayed at the Royal Hawaiian. It’s a very nice hotel, and the staff was top notch. I’d always wanted to stay there, and it didn’t disappoint.

Kauai felt pretty much the same as I remembered, but Waikiki has changed. I used to love Waikiki—back when I was in my twenties and happy going out until all hours of the night. Somewhere along the way, both Waikiki and I changed. As one of our Uber drivers put it, “Waikiki is nothing but a city with a beach. Kauai is still an island.” I have to agree.

As we boarded our flight back to Los Angeles, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that we couldn’t stay longer.

 

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Hawaii 2025 – A day at the Beach

Posted on November 5, 2025 by JimG

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

I did a few work related things in the morning and then drove to Lihue for saimin at Hamura Saimin. We’d eaten there on our last trip. It’s mostly a local spot, but there’s always a slow but steady trickle of tourists finding their way in.

After that we swung by Safeway. I wanted to grab some poke for the room, and honestly, I just like seeing what is available locally. I am always amazed at how expensive food is in Hawaii.

Once we got back to the hotel, I headed straight to the beach and rented a cabana. I’ll never get over how you can pay a resort fee and still have to pay extra just to sit on the beach at a beachfront resort. It’s ridiculous, but here we are.

The weather was partly cloudy — warm, tropical, and comfortable without being unbearably hot. I enjoy listening to the ocean while watching people frolic in the sand.  Every once in a while, I dipped into the ocean or pool. Continue reading →

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Hawaii 2025 – Allerton Gardens – The Sunset Tour

Posted on November 4, 2025 by JimG

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

The plan was to spend the day at the beach, but a thick cloud cover killed that idea. We ended up driving to Koloa and stumbled onto Break + Fast. Solid choice — we liked it a lot. I had some work to finish up, so I knocked that out until the housekeeper showed up. We moved to the lobby, sat in the rocking chairs for about an hour, then headed back to the room. Both of us crashed for a nap before heading to the Allerton Gardens.

We’d toured Allerton once before — the Best of Both Worlds tour — and loved it. This time, I was curious about their Sunset Tour, you visit the Allerton House and have dinner.   Sure enough, we ended up with the same guide who is very funny with a contagious laugh and knows his botanicals.

Quick refresher: Robert Allerton was born in 1873 into an absurd amount of money. He wanted to be an artist, wandered Europe for a while, eventually gave up, and on a whim stopped in Kauai. Weeks later, he bought the 62 acres that are now the Allerton Gardens. He created these outdoor “rooms,” built structures, and threw extravagant parties. I could never find much info about those parties online, but our guide said former estate workers told him that when the parties started, the staff basically vanished from sight. That tells you enough. Continue reading →

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Hawaii 2025 – Turtle Beach

Posted on November 3, 2025 by JimG

Monday, November 3, 2025 (Part 2)

After a quick break, we headed out to explore on foot. This was my first time staying in Poipu, and I’d heard there was a spot where sea turtles swim ashore to sleep at night. Sophon pulled it up on Google Maps — not right in front of our hotel, but close enough to walk.

As we got near, I was surprised to see a roped-off area with about twenty turtles resting on the sand. They were huge. A biologist was on-site answering questions, and I had plenty: Why this beach? Do they ever come up at the beach next to ours? Are these the same turtles every night?

She explained that this particular stretch of beach has a gentle slope and is naturally protected by rocks, making it a safe place for the turtles to sleep. They come ashore in the early evening and return to the water just before sunrise — they simply can’t rest as deeply in the ocean. It’s not the same group every night; this is one of only three places in the world where this behavior happens, and the mix of turtles changes daily, though they do see some individuals return a few times a week. Continue reading →

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Hawaii 2025 – Driving around Kauai

Posted on November 3, 2025 by JimG

Monday, November 3, 2025

Early in my career, I spent six weeks traveling between Kauai and Maui. I couldn’t have asked for a better project — I fell in love with Kauai’s natural beauty and immediately understood why so many Hollywood productions were filmed here. Even now, simply driving around the island is one of my favorite things to do.

We drove from Poipu up to Kapaʻa, about 45 minutes. Passing through Wailua, I noticed the Coco Palms was still fenced off. It’s the iconic hotel where Elvis filmed the wedding scene in Blue Hawaii. Hurricane Iniki destroyed it in 1992, and ever since, there’s been endless talk of redeveloping it. Sadly, it still sits there today — fenced off, decayed, and frozen in time.

We had breakfast at Kountry Kitchen, one of my longtime favorites. Sophon went all in with the pork loco moco — shredded pork over rice, topped with an egg and smothered in gravy. I stuck with my usual Eggs Benedict. From there, we continued up to Hanalei Bay, stopping along the way to take in the views. When my parents retired, I used my miles to bring them to Kauai, and they absolutely loved it. I always think about how special that trip was. Continue reading →

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Hawaii 2025 – Waikiki to Poipu

Posted on November 2, 2025 by JimG

Sunday, November 2, 2025

We had breakfast at the Surf Lanai, the hotel’s restaurant. I went with the eggs Benedict, and Sophon ordered the signature pink pancakes with a side of bacon. Both were great, and the view of Waikiki and Diamond Head never gets old.

After breakfast, we took a walk through Waikiki. Earlier in the week I’d spotted a hot sauce from a local Hawaii company that I really liked, and I was determined to find it again. The problem? Trying to remember which ABC Store we were in. I have no idea how many ABC Stores Waikiki has, but we checked at least six within a couple of blocks. Eventually, I gave up — they blend together after a while.

We headed back to the hotel to pack up for our flight but took one last walk around the Royal Hawaiian. I really enjoyed staying there — zero complaints.

The flight to Lihue was quick and painless, which is all you can ask for these days. We grabbed the rental car and drove to Poipu, where we were staying. As we pulled into the Sheraton Kauai Resort Villas, it hit me: years ago I worked on a project at Kiahuna Plantation right next door. Back then I stayed at the Islander on the Beach in Lihue, so this was my first time actually staying in Poipu. Continue reading →

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Kauai 2025 – Kauai Botanical Gardens

Posted on February 27, 2025 by JimG

Jurassic Trees

Feb 27, 2025

Although I live in a major city, I grew up in a very rural are and I love the beauty of nature.  I rarely pass up a chance to see a botanical garden.   Today we were headed to see Kauai’s botanical garden.

On our way, we stopped at the Paradise Café where they have wonderful Malasadas. At times island traffic can move at a snail’s pace.  I always give extra time and when I find myself traffic that isn’t moving, I remind myself that there are worst places to be sitting in traffic.   We hung out at Spouting Horn before heading over to our tour.

I had booked the best of both worlds which meant we were going to see two gardens – the Allerton Garden and McBryde Garden. To be honest, I didn’t do any research. I knew that I wanted to see the botanical gardens and knew that the Allerton Garden had been used in Jurassic Park as well as in many other movies. Continue reading →

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Kauai 2025 – Lydgate Farms Chocolate Tour

Posted on February 26, 2025 by JimG

Cacao

Feb 26, 2025

I do not have a sweet tooth; I am not a big dessert fan, and I am not a fan of chocolate.  If you were to put a piece of bread and a Hershey bar in front of me and tell me I could have one, I would choose the piece of bread and not think twice about it.  I went on this tour because, in general, I like learning about food, where it comes from and how it is made.  Although I had been to a Hershey’s and Cadbury’s factory, I don’t think I had ever seen a Cacao farm.

I booked this tour thinking it would be interesting; by the end of the tour, I was blown away.   I left with a whole new appreciation of chocolate.   The tour lasted over three hours, we saw how  Cacao grew along with vanilla beans.  We got to taste chocolate that was produced on the farm side by side with chocolate from different parts of the world. It reminded me of a wine tasting with different chocolates with different nuances and characteristics.

All of it was fascinating and the farm itself is a small tropical paradise! Continue reading →

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Kauai 2025 – Princeville

Posted on February 24, 2025 by JimG

Sunset from the room

Feb 24, 2025

We were changing our hotel from the Sheraton Kaui resort located in Lihue to the Westin Princeville Resort Villas which is located north of Lihue close to Hana.   Although I have driven all over the Island, this was my first time staying in that area.  I thought it would be nice to spend some time in that part of the Island.

As we drove in Princeville, there was a large fountain with a huge statue of Neptune.  I sarcastically said, “Nothing says Aloha like a statue of Neptune!”.   Later I found myself learning the about the history of Princeville and how a Scottish plantation owner named the area Princeville in honor of King Kamehameha’s son, Prince Albert.  It explained where the name came from but not Neptune.

I finally asked someone at the desk, if the plantation owner was Scottish, why and where did this huge statue that looked like it belonged in Rome was the first thing you saw when entering Princeville.  I got a story about how that back in the 1980s, the owner of the property had it commissioned.  I never took a picture of it! Continue reading →

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Kauai 2025 – Waimea Canyon

Posted on February 23, 2025 by JimG

Waimea Canyon

Feb 23, 2025

Waimea Canyon is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  Although it is not nearly as big as the Grand Canyon, it is just as impressive.   After stopping at Haole Girl Cafe for coffee and something to eat, we set out.  Although the roads into the state park are narrow with a lot of twists and turns, it is a fairly easy drive with a lot of places to stop and take in the views or go hiking.   We wanted to do the drive relatively early knowing that later in the day, it would probably get busier.   We went hiking at one stop and we stopped at all the lookouts, unfortunately, the road to the last lookout was closed.

Although I have done this drive a few times, it never gets old.  It is one of those experiences that you think you remember it and when you see it again, you realize that alhtough you remember it, you don’t reemember how great the experience was. Continue reading →

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