Post Trip Report - Day 6
LJ-Cut for those who don't care.
Today was our big excursion day out to Waimea Canyon. We started off with a big pancake breakfast (which was delicious BTW), and once everyone was settled and ready, we headed off.
In a bit of irony, the end point of our journey was about 30 miles from our house going west. But we had to go east, then south, then west, then north to reach the start of the canyon run. The reason for this is that the distance between our house and the canyon terminus has absolutely no roads whatsoever. This is intentional, as the island of Kauai wants to keep at least one section of the island pristine from human encroachment.
So we took the long way around, and that was fine. We stopped along the way at an outdoor market selling all sorts of neat stuff. They had an art gallery, a henna artist, great clothing and jewelry, as well as very tasty Thai ice teas. I ended up buying only a hat (because I forgot to take one with me, dur). It one of those ventilated hats with a flap that covers your neck to keep the sun off. Not exactly stylish, but its supremely functional.
Before reaching the canyon proper, we stopped for lunch at a little place that sells fish tacos and other semi-mexican food. We also played a spirited game of 'where's the bathroom' with the locals. I had the pulled pork quesadilla, because the idea of having fish in something like a taco or quesadilla seems a waste me to as its harder to actually taste the fish. Once sated we resumed our exodus.
The road along the canyon was long, sinuous, and in terrible condition in some places. But there were lots of stops along the way, and the views of the canyon were simply exquisite. The deep red of the Kauaian soil combined with the vibrant greens of the local flora, the small white birds drift lazily on the updrafts from far below, all made for an image that I just cannot describe in words. I can't wait to get the pictures developed. Each stop we made along the route just got prettier and prettier, until on reaching the outcropping from while we can view the Na Pali coastline, we were suffering from pretty overload. Early on we couldn't stop babbling about how pretty it all was. By the end of the trip, it simply didn't need to be spoken aloud any more. While we were overlooking the Na Pali coast, the quiet was both amazing and comfortable. Along the way we spotted lots of beautiful birds, and even a NASA research facility and an outpost for the Air National Guard.
That being said, there were a few points along the way that could be described as somewhere between 'bizarre' and 'epic fail'. First, in one of the parking lots, there was the recently burned-out husk of an SUV, complete with yellow caution tape all over it. Tourists were flocking to this thing like it was made of candy or something. Second, in the same parking lot, was a sign labeled 'Buses Only' with an arrow pointing to the right. This sign was then in turn pointing to the handicapped access ramp up the hill to the vista point. Thinnest bus ever. Third, and again in this very same parking lot, was the men's bathroom. Now one would typically expect said bathroom to be covered in various graffiti, and it certainly was. Many of them were quite ornate and artistic. But one of them simply read "Mine Mine Mine". Kids, if you're going to mark up public property with graffiti, at least put some effort into it.
At another vista point, was of course the ubiquitous chickens of the island. Several of these chickens then decided to follow after one of our party as she was walking away. Within seconds this sedate pace turned into a near Benny Hill routine with our friend running back to the car with a bunch of chickens in hot pursuit. We all had a good laugh at that one.
Then there were the 'Trout Checkpoints'. Please read that last sentence again. Yes, I said Trout Checkpoints. After some debate we determined that these checkpoints were most likely for restocking the local fish population. Getting to that conclusion did end up going off on some very amusing tangents.
*Stern-looking Federal official approaches the stopped car full of tourists*
"Sir, I need to check your car for trout."
"Wait, what? Trout? I don't have any trout."
"That's what you think sir. Check your back."
"What the...holy crap, where did that come from?!"
"Merde! We've been dizcovered! Flee my fishy brethren! Flee into the woods! Revolucion!"
"We got runners! All units we got runners! Set loose the vicious dogs!"
I don't know why I made the trout french in that last scene.
Anyways, after having our fill of pretty, we worked our way back down, and made our way to the Waimea Brewing Company for dinner. Its one of the only brewing companies on the island, and we all figured the bride and groom would enjoy going there. The guide book we used referred to the location as having bad food and mediocre beer. We found neither of these to be true, the food was very good. I had Thai vegetable rolls with a spicy peanut sauce (yum) and an order of garlic fries (good, but needed more garlic). I did not try the beer, but those who did found several to be quite good.
After dinner, we broke into two groups. One headed back to the house to recover from the day, and the other (including me) went to the LIH airport to pick up one of our party that had gone to the main island. His involvement with the wedding was part of a working vacation. He had been giving some seminars over on the big island and was coming back to complete the rest of his vacation. We picked him up without incident and took him all the way over to the Grown-Up house, then made our way back to the Kid's House. By then, it was well after 10, so I crashed hard once I got into bed.
Today was our big excursion day out to Waimea Canyon. We started off with a big pancake breakfast (which was delicious BTW), and once everyone was settled and ready, we headed off.
In a bit of irony, the end point of our journey was about 30 miles from our house going west. But we had to go east, then south, then west, then north to reach the start of the canyon run. The reason for this is that the distance between our house and the canyon terminus has absolutely no roads whatsoever. This is intentional, as the island of Kauai wants to keep at least one section of the island pristine from human encroachment.
So we took the long way around, and that was fine. We stopped along the way at an outdoor market selling all sorts of neat stuff. They had an art gallery, a henna artist, great clothing and jewelry, as well as very tasty Thai ice teas. I ended up buying only a hat (because I forgot to take one with me, dur). It one of those ventilated hats with a flap that covers your neck to keep the sun off. Not exactly stylish, but its supremely functional.
Before reaching the canyon proper, we stopped for lunch at a little place that sells fish tacos and other semi-mexican food. We also played a spirited game of 'where's the bathroom' with the locals. I had the pulled pork quesadilla, because the idea of having fish in something like a taco or quesadilla seems a waste me to as its harder to actually taste the fish. Once sated we resumed our exodus.
The road along the canyon was long, sinuous, and in terrible condition in some places. But there were lots of stops along the way, and the views of the canyon were simply exquisite. The deep red of the Kauaian soil combined with the vibrant greens of the local flora, the small white birds drift lazily on the updrafts from far below, all made for an image that I just cannot describe in words. I can't wait to get the pictures developed. Each stop we made along the route just got prettier and prettier, until on reaching the outcropping from while we can view the Na Pali coastline, we were suffering from pretty overload. Early on we couldn't stop babbling about how pretty it all was. By the end of the trip, it simply didn't need to be spoken aloud any more. While we were overlooking the Na Pali coast, the quiet was both amazing and comfortable. Along the way we spotted lots of beautiful birds, and even a NASA research facility and an outpost for the Air National Guard.
That being said, there were a few points along the way that could be described as somewhere between 'bizarre' and 'epic fail'. First, in one of the parking lots, there was the recently burned-out husk of an SUV, complete with yellow caution tape all over it. Tourists were flocking to this thing like it was made of candy or something. Second, in the same parking lot, was a sign labeled 'Buses Only' with an arrow pointing to the right. This sign was then in turn pointing to the handicapped access ramp up the hill to the vista point. Thinnest bus ever. Third, and again in this very same parking lot, was the men's bathroom. Now one would typically expect said bathroom to be covered in various graffiti, and it certainly was. Many of them were quite ornate and artistic. But one of them simply read "Mine Mine Mine". Kids, if you're going to mark up public property with graffiti, at least put some effort into it.
At another vista point, was of course the ubiquitous chickens of the island. Several of these chickens then decided to follow after one of our party as she was walking away. Within seconds this sedate pace turned into a near Benny Hill routine with our friend running back to the car with a bunch of chickens in hot pursuit. We all had a good laugh at that one.
Then there were the 'Trout Checkpoints'. Please read that last sentence again. Yes, I said Trout Checkpoints. After some debate we determined that these checkpoints were most likely for restocking the local fish population. Getting to that conclusion did end up going off on some very amusing tangents.
*Stern-looking Federal official approaches the stopped car full of tourists*
"Sir, I need to check your car for trout."
"Wait, what? Trout? I don't have any trout."
"That's what you think sir. Check your back."
"What the...holy crap, where did that come from?!"
"Merde! We've been dizcovered! Flee my fishy brethren! Flee into the woods! Revolucion!"
"We got runners! All units we got runners! Set loose the vicious dogs!"
I don't know why I made the trout french in that last scene.
Anyways, after having our fill of pretty, we worked our way back down, and made our way to the Waimea Brewing Company for dinner. Its one of the only brewing companies on the island, and we all figured the bride and groom would enjoy going there. The guide book we used referred to the location as having bad food and mediocre beer. We found neither of these to be true, the food was very good. I had Thai vegetable rolls with a spicy peanut sauce (yum) and an order of garlic fries (good, but needed more garlic). I did not try the beer, but those who did found several to be quite good.
After dinner, we broke into two groups. One headed back to the house to recover from the day, and the other (including me) went to the LIH airport to pick up one of our party that had gone to the main island. His involvement with the wedding was part of a working vacation. He had been giving some seminars over on the big island and was coming back to complete the rest of his vacation. We picked him up without incident and took him all the way over to the Grown-Up house, then made our way back to the Kid's House. By then, it was well after 10, so I crashed hard once I got into bed.