Kauai 2013 ~ Day 5 & 6

We didn't have much planned for Day 5, Sunday.  The weather this day reminded me of some of Portland's springtime weather, confused and unsure.

After having breakfast at home, we set off to do some shopping.  First stop, Poipu Shopping Village.  We strolled the shops, bought a few items and continued over to the town of Koloa.  I really like this town with its quaint little shops.  As we began going through the shops, the rains decided to blow in and stay awhile. Perfect time for shopping.  Picked up a few gifts at Island Soap & Candle and then set off in search of food.  

Photo credits go to Michael

I miss my Lulu!

We had planned picking up some plate lunches from the Koloa Fish Market but found out they were closed on Sunday. I really wasn't in the mood for a plate lunch but the boys were so they went over to the Sueoka Store Snackshop for a plate lunch meal.  The kids didn't really care for it.  Snackshop was out of a lot of their food menu choices so instead of just leaving, they just settled on the what ever they had left.

Mike and I decided to go over to Keoki's Paradise for our lunch.  So glad we did.  I really enjoyed my Asian Chicken and Somen Noodles salad!   It was a good size and very tasty!

I plan on writing restaurant/excursion reviews, but not until we get home.

Very good!

Good, but a little bland

lunch menu

After lunch, we took a drive out to Spouting Horn.   Even though the drive was brief, it's a beautiful drive.

I find it interesting to find graffiti/vandalism on these leaves.  What caught my eye is the name "Haley".  That's our daughter's name.  I miss her. 

Spouting Horn from a distance

Returned home for some down time.  Then just before sunset, we walked down to Poipu Beach for the kids to take a quick swim and to watch the sunset.  Too bad you can't call a "rain delay" when it comes to sunsets.  To use another baseball analogy, sunset was called on account of rain.  Packed up and went home a little soggy.

I mentioned earlier that I like the little town of Koloa.  We took a quick drive over there again tonight to pick up a few things that we needed.  Our daughter works with a lady named Hawley who recently moved to the mainland from Kauai.  Once she found out we were going to Kauai, she asked if we could pick her up a few things that she couldn't find in Portland.  I have been on the hunt for Li Hing powder and Hawaiian Coconut Pudding (Haupia).  Found it!

Love how the little town of Koloa lights up night.

Day 6 ~  Kayaking the Wailua River to Secret Falls

There are several kayaking guide companies here on Kauai.  We chose to go with Wailua Kayak Adventures.  So glad we did!  I highly recommend them.  The owners were very helpful and friendly.  I didn't get the lady's name that shuttled us to/from the river, but she was so friendly and informative!  During the course of our casual conversation, we ended up receiving a very informative history lesson about the Hawaiian islands.  I really enjoyed listening to her and her points of view!

Our guide for the day was Kathleen.  She was a wonderful and the perfect guide!  I loved her energy level. She had calm but assertive way about her and was very knowledgeable about the island.  We would stop many times on the trail for Kathleen to share either a story or historical facts about what we were seeing.  She was also very aware of our surroundings and making sure everyone was together and  ensured we were all able to traverse the trickiness of the trail safely.  At no time did we feel rushed.

The trail itself is a tricky one to find.  Unless you have a guide, I don't know how you would find it.  It is also important to wear proper shoes.  Three of us wore Teva hiking sandals and Michael chose to go barefoot.  Many wore tennis shoes.  Honestly, it's not so much what you wear, its all about foot placement.  The trail is slick because of the packed dirt and moisture.  There are several areas where you have to traverse the tree's root system and cross a few streams.  Kathleen also provides great  walking sticks that most of us used.

The waterfall was beautiful and peaceful.  Most everyone got in and swam around. I chose not to.
About the time our group prepared to start our hike back, the other guided groups started showing up.  I'm so glad we were the first group there!  Kathleen guided us back to our kayaks using a slightly different trail.  She again took the time to show and tell us about some of the ancient ruins from long ago.

This was a great excursion.  The boys told me several times how much they liked it.  If you have the chance,  I highly recommend Wailua Kayak Adventures and ask for Kathleen!

This gives you an idea how it looks on part of the trail.

If I haven't bored you to tears yet, and you're still with me..... Here is where we stopped for lunch.
Mark's Place in Lihue.  By far, the best plate lunch this trip.  So much food, that three of us ended up bringing leftovers home.  Unheard of with teenage boys!

Mark's Place

"That's some good stuff right there." ~ Michael

It may not look like it, but this is packed full!  Took half of it home.

We returned home and relaxed the rest of the day.  Thanks for reading about our journeys!!