US

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Feb 22, 2025

We had breakfast at the Kountry Kitchen, again. I had the 2 eggs with Portuguese sausage while Sophon had the Spam Loco Moco.

We both enjoy trying and learning about new foods, so we headed to the Hanalei farmer’s market which had locally grown produce, baked goods, and arts and crafts.   On a previous trip, we discovered the Ice Cream bean and yes, it tastes like ice cream.   Earlier in the week, we saw a golden fruit shaped like a tear drop.   We learned it was called egg fruit, but its official name was yellow sapote.  We bought a couple along with an ice cream bean and were told to let the egg fruit fully ripen and it would taste like Butterscotch pudding.

There was a local bakery that we had passed and as if we did not have a big enough breakfast, we purchased a couple of pastries and found an area to sit down and eat. I could have sat there all day and taken in the view! Continue reading →

Na Pali Coast

Feb 21, 2025

This has to be the highlight of the trip as well as one of my top travel highlights of all time.  The Na Pali Coast sits on the Northwest side of the Island of Kauai and unless you are a hiker, it can only be access by sea or air.   Over the years, I have booked a lot of sails to the Na Pali coast only to have them cancelled due to unpredictable weather.

The Na Poli Coast has been featured in many films and immediately recognizable.   If you have seen Jurassic Park, Tropic Thunder, King Kong, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean or Six Days, Seven Nights you have seen the Na Pali Coast.   I doubt there are any Hawaii themed calendars without a picture of the Na Pali coast.

I booked my trip with Captain Andy’s. They had a lot of great online reviews, and I wasn’t disappointed.  Traffic on the Island can be unpredictable.  We arrived in Port Allen a bit early.   We checked in and hung out until it was time to board the double catamaran. Continue reading →

Spouting Horn

Feb 20, 2025

We continued driving around the Island and headed through the tree tunnel and to Spouting Horn, a blowhole.  As we headed to it, the narrator on the guide along app told the story about how the coastline was guarded by a giant lizard who would eat anyone who tried to fish or swim in the area.  A young boy outwitted the lizard by jumping into the sea and then swimming under the lava rocks escaping through the hole. The giant lizard followed and got stuck in it. The roar and water is from the lizard.

It is something to hear as well as see.  It was almost comical that when I pulled the camera out, the spouts didn’t seem to be nearly as dramatic and when I put the camera away, there would suddenly be a huge one.  It was as if it knew that it was being photographed and wasn’t cooperating! Continue reading →