Kauai - Day 5

Nice lazy morning.... coffee and a little walk on the beach. Our plans today included the drive up Waimea Canyon and taking in the outlooks and then meeting up with our friends from home, (both our trips were planned before we knew each other was going... wild) we have a 2:15 check in for our Sunset Dinner Cruise with Capt. Andy.

First stop Hanalei Coffee Roasters. Waffles anyone! I ordered the kid size which is one half of a regular one and just perfect. Fresh fruit and the coffee is awesome. A look up into the mountains and I'm not sure if we are going to see anything when we get up there... but are going to give it a shot.

Driving around the island is just beautiful and the traffic was never an issue. Throughout our canyon visit we had sun, rain, mist and fog. We found you could just wait a bit and the conditions would improve. I would say take notice if there are folks at the side of the road - there are some outstanding view points outside of the major ones.

It is a beautiful drive and each outlook is worth a stop.

 

We made our way back down and as we were passing through the town of Waimea there was a little roadside market set up - we were both ready for a little something to eat. There was a food booth with pineapple sausages that they put pulled pork on top of..... yum. While Mr. H was waiting on the food order I looked around at the booths. My favorite - the sweet ladies from the local senior citizens center. They had beautiful shell jewelry and I could not resist getting a bracelet. They are only at the market on Thursdays. They are adorable! The lady on the left in the picture helped me and she was so sweet to right down the names of the different shells in the piece I picked and what those names meant. Full of the Aloha Spirit!

We meet up with our friends and head out on the cruise. This is a four hour tour so you get lots of time on the sea. You get to see Poihale Beach and Barking Sands.... which were barking as we approached.... like they were setting off stuff... which was interesting even to the captain! We saw some critters while we were out... A turtle and a monk seal... sticking his tounge out at us! Excuse the awful picture... wrong lens on.... but you go with what you've got in a moment like this.

I had a great conversation with Jon, a crew member. He came up and commented on the bracelet I had purchased earlier this day. He told me about his Grandmother who had lived on the "forbidden island" - Ni'ihau and she had done the shell work during her lifetime. He had wonderful stories and was so passionate about her story. A special addition to the trip. Here is Jon... Full of Aloha Spirit!

Onward we went and they warned us to prepare for the turn North as the waves would get bigger..... hello! The waves gave us a pretty good ride - we stayed up top and got a little wet and it was fantasic! The view.... my goodness..... Looking up into the valleys that we had looked down on earlier that day. Fantastic!

Once they raise the sail and turn around for the trip back south, it gets very smooth and is a nice calm ride. We ate dinner up top and the sweet thing... if you stay up top at the front... they serve you. So there's a tip. The food is cooked on the boat and I can say all 6 of us were amazed at the quality of the food... this is a really good meal. Beautiful boat, very sweet and interactive crew that we all had great conversations with, outstanding views and close proximity to the coast, great dinner and a beautiful sunset.

Everyone had a great time! A beautiful Day!