Day 12 - Our Last Day

It's our last day. : (

All good things come to an end. We had to check out of the condo by 10AM this morning, so we were running around the condo making sure we didn't forget anything and to make sure the condo was clean before we departed. Once we hit the road, we made our way down to the south side of the island. On the way, we stopped off in Wailua and checked out an outdoor fair. They were selling many of the typical goods one could buy in Kauai such as t-shirts, shell jewelry, and wood carvings. After looking around for a while, we weren't too impressed with anything, so we moved on. We continued down the road and we looked for a place to eat lunch. We tried to eat at a restaurant that was recommended to us called Burrito Head, but we couldn't find it. Instead, we ate at a restaurant called Verde. Alexis got a dish with shredded beef and a puff pastry on top and Shin got seared ahi tuna fish tacos. The food tasted ok, but Shin was a little disgusted when he went to use the restroom and found multiple cockroaches on the floor.

After lunch, we went back to the Coconut Marketplace, a popular outdoor mall in Kapaa. We looked around a bit, and we picked up a few little things to bring home. The shopping in Coconut Marketplace didn't take long, so we had a lot of time to kill before dinner and our 10PM flight. Shin continued driving down the main road and we checked out the Costco in Lihue. One may wonder why we would check out a Costco while on vacation, but it was actually recommended that we check it out because of the interesting local goods that they carry at this particular location. We walked around and we were amazed with all of the asian type food they carried such as packaged mochi, Japanese crackers, and lots of Hawaiian foods such as coffee, macadamia nuts, and chocolate. As we walked around the Costco, we walked by a station serving samples of food. This one was particularly interesting because she was serving spam hot dogs. It was yummy.

After Costco, we decided to stop by the Grand Hyatt in Poipu which is one of the two nicest hotels in all of Kauai (The other one is the Princeville hotel which is closed for renovations.). It was quite nice with a really nice pool area and they also house two of the nicest restaurants on the island, Donderos and Tidepools, and one of the nicest golf courses, Poipu Bay. We walked the grounds of the hotel and observed the koi in a pond and two black swans.

After the Grand Hyatt we drove over to Spouting Horn which is a rocky area east of Poipu where the water spouts up high in the error. We're not sure what makes the water go so high, but our guess is that there is water pressure build-up in the rocks which makes the water shoot up high in the air.

Our last destination was Brenneke's for dinner. It's a steak and seafood restaurant at Poipu Beach. We enjoyed a calamari appetizer and Alexis had a burger. Shin had a combination of sauteed ono and a medium cooked NY strip steak. It was a lot of food, so neither of us was able to finish the food. As soon as dinner was over, we watched the sunset right outside the restaurant. It was very nice and we'll always remember this trip (See left for picture of sunset).

Unfortunately, it's time to get back to reality and go back home tomorrow. We are brining back with us many memories and pictures. We'll also have this blog. Time to go to the airport.

Day 11 - Free Day

We have had quite a few activities the last 10 days, so we took it easy on our last full day in Hawaii. We ate breakfast at the condo, and then took a walk around Princeville. Shin didn't take the map, so we got a little lost, but made it back to the condo without any issues. The walk was about 1.5 hours, and we were wearing slippers, so Shin got a blister on his foot from walking.

After getting back to the condo, we rested for about an hour and then decided to drive around the Princeville area. We drove over to the Queens Bath where we watched a family playing in a natural pool with a waterfall. Then we drove over to the Hanalei pier and walked around the beach. We walked up the beach, and then went back to the condo. For dinner, we picked up food from a chinese restaurant in Hanalei. It wasn't anything special.

Day 10 - Golf, Football, and Kayaking

Shin got an early morning start this morning by taking his clubs out to the course this morning. He was out the door early for his 7:40 AM tee time at the Makai golf course. The Makai golf course that has 27 holes of golf comprised of 3 9-hole courses, the woods, the ocean, and the lakes. The Princeville resort is undergoing a major renovation, so only the 9-hole woods course is open. Because of the renovation and the off-season, Shin was able to pay only $35 for a round at the woods course. He was paired up with a retired man from San Diego who happened to be a seasoned golfer. The retired man seemed a little disappointed to be paired up with a beginner golfer, but he was still nice and gave Shin some nice tips throughout the day. Unfortunately, the range wasn't open, so Shin wasn't able to get any practice swings in before playing. It was a pretty tough day, and Shin scored a 68. Hopefully, he'll eventually become a decent golfer.

Shin got home just in time to watch most of the Cal game. When he got back to the condo, Cal was down 6-0 after only about 2 minutes of game time, but they got it going and ended up winning 26-16.

After the game, we drove to Hanalei and rented a two-person kayak. The kayaks we rented were unlike the kayaks we used two months ago in Sausalito. Instead of sitting inside the kayak, we sat on top of the kayaks with a back rest. In addition, the kayaks we used did not have a rudder so we had to depend on our paddling skills to turn and to go straight. We started our trip by going up stream on the Hanalei river to a bird sanctuary. As we paddled up stream, we observed many bamboo trees and taro plants alongside the river bank. We also saw a number of small and colorful birds. After paddling about a mile up stream, we got to a very swampy area and it started to smell. We turned around and paddled downstream until it started sprinkling. We got back to the dock just in time before it really started to rain. We were quite wet and filthy when we returned to the dock, so we went back to the condo to shower.

After freshening up, we drove back to Hanalei for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Hanalei Gourmet. We ordered a fried artichoke appetizer and Alexis got a stir fry with udon noodles and Shin ordered a grilled ahi tuna sandwich.

It was a tiring day, especially for Shin...

Day 9 - Kalaulau Trail

We woke up this morning without a plan, so we got a bit of a slow start this morning. We decided to do a portion of the Kalaulau trail which is a trail that begins at the very end of the road that circles around Kauai. Similar to the other trails we hiked, the Kalaulau trail is considered to be a difficult hike. The entire trail is 11 miles, but we decided to do only the first and possibly the second segment of the trail. After eating a hearty breakfast at home, we drove out there and started on the trail around 11:30 AM. The beginning of the hike had a steep incline and was extremely rocky. We took our time stepping from rock to rock, and at times it got very slippery because the rocks were wet. After about only 20 minutes we were able to get a nice view of Ke'e beach and the water. As we walked, the trail seemed to get muddier with puddles all over. At first we tried to avoid the mud, but after a while it became inevitable that we were going to get muddy. Also, we crossed a number of streams. It took us about 2.5 hours to hike 2 miles which took us to the end of the first segment of the hike. The trail conditions were poor, so we decided not to continue on after lunch.

We enjoyed our packed lunches (salami and cheese sandwiches again) on the beach. While sitting on a rock, we watched a few surfers out in the ocean. After our break, we headed back to the car. Our pace on the return hike was much faster, and it started to rain which made certain parts of the trail even more muddy. Shin slipped on the trail and got mud all over his legs and shorts. We would share pictures, but we didn't bring the slr camera with us on the hike. Other than Shin's fall, we didn't have any other embarassing moments.

On our way home, we stopped off in Hanalei and rewarded ourselves by picking up some smoothies. Once we got back to the condo, we showered and started the laundry.

Day 8 - Another Timeshare Presentation and Waterfalls

We had to get another early start this morning because we had to drive to Kapaa for a timeshare presentation at a Shells Vacation Club Resort. It took about 40 minutes to drive down there, and we met Mark, our salesperson. They described the benefits of owning through the Shells network which is affiliated with RCI. The timeshare had a lot of interesting benefits, and the cost was significantly less than the Westin, but we had to pass. Unfortunately, the presentation took up 3 hours of our morning.

By the time we were done, we were ready for lunch. We drove down to Lihue to try Hamura Saimin which was another one of the restaurants on our list. The restaurant had about 3 large horseshoe shaped tables and the seating capacity is about 30-35 people. What made things difficult is that they had only one server waiting on the entire restaurant. When we got there, only two other people were waiting to be seated, and it took only a few to get our seat. It took about 10 minutes to order, and then we had to wait another 20 minutes to get our food. Shin ordered a large special saimin bowl and Alexis ordered a medium regular saimin bowl. We also ordered two beef skewers. The special bowl came with large kamaboko slices, pieces of chashu, and wontons (See right for picture). The saimin was very flavorful. The beef skewers were disappointing. The beef was well done and almost as chewy as beef jerky. If anyone is interested in eating saimin in Kauai, we would recommend this place.

After lunch, we checked out Wailua and Opaeka'a Falls which are two of the more popular waterfalls in Kauai. Both are just a few miles off the main road. It was pouring rain when we arrived at Wailua Falls (see left), but we managed to get a few pictures. It is a very grand waterfall with lots of water dropping into a small body of water down below. The raining stopped by the time we got to Opaeka'a Falls. This waterfall was much smaller, and we took pictures from afar.

Then we drove back to the Coconut Marketplace to do some more shopping. We walked through most of the stores and we picked up a sweatshirt souvenir for Alexis.

Day 7 - A Day of Leisure

We've had some very busy and tiring days, so we decided to take it easy today. We woke up in our condo with no food, so we drove up the street to pick up food from Foodland, a local supermarket. One of the first things we noticed is that that groceries were about 30-40% higher than what we would typically see on the mainland. Even though the groceries were expensive, we figured that it would be cheaper and more healthy if we cooked at our condo.

As soon as we got back, we made some coffee and had some yogurt and spam musubi for breakfast. Instead of doing anything too active today, we decided to drive over to Kilueau to see the lighthouse. We took some pictures from afar, but we didn't pay to go see the lighthouse up close. Then we did some shopping in Kilueau, and then headed up the highway to Anini Beach. Anini Beach is supposed to be a good spot for snorkeling. While we were there, we saw only one couple out in the water snorkeling. While walking around the beach, we got hungry, so we ate our salami sandwiches that we packed for lunch.

We continued on the highway to the end of the road. We stopped off at Tunnels Beach and we took some pictures of a very large dry cave. While walking around, we saw people buying coconuts from a vendor off the back of his truck. He was selling them for $5, and we decided to try it. He cut open one side, and then we drank the water out of the coconut. Then he cut it into pieces and put the white flesh of the coconut into plastic bags for us. Although the experience was kind of cool, the coconut water and the coconut didn't taste very good. Then we continued up the road until we got to the very end. We will likely come back to the end of the road again to do a hike.

After our trip to the end of the road, we drove to Hanalei to do some more shopping. We picked up a few things while we were there, and we also picked up some more shaved ice. Alexis had a grape and strawberry shaved ice with vanilla ice cream, and Shin had a special shaved ice called Bali Hai which was flavored with mango, ling hui, strawberry syrups, and macadamia nut ice cream. Alexis was disappointed that she has not had the opportunity to enjoy her shaved ice with azuki beans. Hopefully, we can get some before we leave.

Then we got back to the condo. Alexis rested and watched television, and Shin decided to take a jog around the Princeville area. It was a very difficult run because there were some steady inclines and the pavement was not flat. After getting back to the condo, we made spaghetti for dinner.

Day 6 - More Snorkeling and Time to Move On

Today, Alexis and Shin woke up at 5AM to get an early morning start. We signed up for a snorkeling trip with Blue Dolphin Charters out of Port Allen. We were out the door just in time, and we found the check-in station without a problem. The winter weather in Kauai is more unpredictable, and the swells have become increasingly larger. Because of this fact, prior to boarding the ship, the crew from Blue Dolphin warned us that if we went on the trip there would be no refunds and they couldn't promise that we would make it all the way to the Napali Coast. Because we don't have that many opportunities to take trips like this, we decided to go on the trip anyways. It was quite a bumpy ride out from Port Allen, but we managed to see lots of interesting things in the water. We saw flying fish, spinner dolphins, and a few sea turtles. After about 2 hours of choppy water, we made it to the Napali Coast. It's a beautiful sight, and it's only accessible by boat or by helicopter. We were able to see parts of the Napali Coast while we were on our hike earlier in the week, but it was also nice seeing it from the boat. As we made it up the coast, the waves got increasingly more violent, so after a few miles up the Napali Coast, the crew turned the boat around.

The boat took us back towards the south side of the island, and once we got to a calm area, we anchored and went snorkeling. We got in the water and looked around. A lot of the fish looked like the same species as yesterday. Alexis was able to see a sea turtle up close. Shin didn't see it while he was in the water. After spending some time in the water, Shin's arm started stinging, so he decided to get out of the water. Once back in the boat, he realized that he had a cut on his arm. Fortunately, it wasn't anything serious, but we still don't know what caused it.

After snorkeling, we had a deli lunch served by the crew on the boat. After our exercise in the water, it was a nice refreshment. They were also serving beer and maitais, but we stayed away from those because we didn't want to get sick and make a deposit back into the ocean. After lunch, the crew took us back to Port Allen, and then Alexis and Shin had to rush back to the hotel to shower, pack up, and to check out of the hotel.

As soon as we checked out of the hotel, we decided to get a snack at a local shopping center. We were both tired so we picked up some coffee from Starbucks. We also shared a sausage from Puka Dog. At Puka Dog, they bake a bun-sized loaf of bread and pierce a hole in one end and toast the bun from the inside using a heated rod. Then, they pour in a selection of unique Hawaiian or traditional condiments into the bun. Finally, a Polish or veggie sausage is slid into the hole in the bun. Puka Dog has been featured on the Travel Channel, and it seemed tasty, so we decided to try it. We both thought that the sauces inside the hot dog were a little overpowering and were unnecessary. Thus, we would have preferred the sausage without all of the extra condiments.


After our quick break, Shin brought Alexis back to the hotel for her spa treatment. She got a lomi lomi massage. For those of you who don't know what lomi lomi is, it is a rhythmical massage technique which was developed in Hawaii using thumbs, palms and elbows to loosen tissues and reduce tension in order to relax. A while later Alexis was done, and then we started our journey to Princeville. On our way to Princeville, we stopped off at the Coconut Marketplace for dinner. We ate at TJ's Grill where Shin had grilled ono and Alexis had a cheeseburger. Once we were done with dinner we got back on the road to Princeville. By the time we got back on the road, it was very dark. It was difficult to see the road, but we made it to the destination without any issues.

We're both very tired again, and we both got a little sun burned today. Tomorrow is probably a day to relax.