Despite waking up at 4:45a, finishing packing, and checking out of the room by 5:45 we almost missed our bus. Luckily we caught it and were at the airport by 6:45a. Check-in was quick, mainly due to not only the boarding pass process but also weighing the luggage being completely automated. Maybe our Robot Overlords aren’t so bad after all! That done, Michelle and I had Starbucks — Michelle a sausage, egg, and cheese and myself a chocolate croissant with water. Not bad! While we waited for our flight I banged out a bit of the blog offline in good ol’ Notepad.
Hawaiian Airlines everywhere at Honolulu airport
Boarding commenced at around 8:40a and, in a further display of efficiency, we were in the air at 9a. We flew Hawaiian Airlines, founded in 1929 and pretty much THE airline for flying within Hawaii. We were treated to a beautiful view of Oahu and Diamond Head as we took off. The plane itself was a bit no frills (fiberglass-like seats instead of the normal cushioned affair, for example) but was clean and the staff friendly, maybe even a bit cheeky. I asked for apple juice but they only had orange passion fruit. I asked them to just give me water instead, but Genetta got coffee and it looked yummy. I changed my mind (for the second time!) and the steward says “Sir, you have trouble making decisions!” Haha!
No frills didn’t mean no fun!
To pass the time during the brief flight I read the Hawaiian Airlines’ magazine and an article about foil surfing and how it was really catching on and revolutionizing the sport. Landed at 9:42a (I said it was a brief flight!) to beautiful jagged vegetative peak and sparkling ocean. The airport was quite dinky compared to Honolulu. We gathered our luggage and went out to meet the friendly Alamo lady. We got suckered… er, persuaded… to upgrade to a Jeep, a silver Sahara Wrangler.
A few things stood out. First, everything was so very green! Trees were everywhere, often festooned with large orange flowers. There were lines of jagged cloud-shrouded peaks in most directions. Kauai was also much more rural than the part of Oahu that we had visited. And chickens! Chickens *everywhere*. In ditches, along the road, crossing the road, standing on benches, checking out trashcans. We had heard about this Kauai peculiarity but it had to be seen to be believed.
After heading west-southwest on “highway” 50 we turned due south on Maluhia Road. This stretch was remarkable as decades ago someone had planted rows on beautiful trees on either side. This formed an Oak Alley-like arbor corridor that was quite the treat to drive through.
Maluhia Road’s arbor tunnel
Addison convinced us to take a pass on a Mexican food truck and another Mexican establishment called Da Crack in favor of a place called Tortilla Republic in Poipu. We arrived about 11a and opened the joint. Addison had nachos with beef, Genetta the breakfast quesadilla, Michelle carnitas tacos and rice and beans, and myself carnitas street tacos (three of ’em). It was on the whole quite unremarkable.
Michelle and Addison at Tortilla Republic
Kukuiula Shopping Center taking full advantage of Hawaii’s lush greenery
It was quick, at least, allowing us to arrive at our resort, the Grand Hyatt Kauai, at 12p. The lobby surely impressed! Open air looking through a courtyard with parrots out past a performance stage, palms, and the expansive ocean beyond. Really swanky. As our room was not yet ready they “gave” us one with a King and Queen rather than two Queens. Same view too.
Jeeps (and convertible Mustangs) are VERY popular rentals it turns out!
Grand Hyatt Kauai’s lobby
Pleasantly surprised so far, we did discover that we had a LONG walk to our rooms — nearly half a mile. Kauai does not permit building up so a large-ish resort like the Hyatt has to sprawl, and how! We dallied — and rested after the long walk — until about 2p. Genetta, Michelle, and I then headed to the resorts’ swimming area. It was amazing! Multiple pools connected by a (very) lazy river complete with nooks in the rock. There were also a couple of hot tubs, a pretty long slide with a loop, and, at the bottom nearest the ocean, a large saltwater lagoon that was wonderful. Genetta and I floated down the lazy river together while Michelle stayed in the lagoon. Once we were done with the river we joined her for a bit and enjoyed the partly cloudy afternoon.
View from our room at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
The resort really blended in to the landscape, even partially underground
Water features and blossoms abound
A pretty common sight, especially at Shipwreck’s Beach
Shipwreck’s Beach in front of the resort
For someone like me that is amused by stick figure warnings this was a dream!
A bit of the resorts pool area with the salt water lagoon in the distance
More of the pool area
Beautiful flowers
We returned to the room between 4p and 5p. While the ladies showered Addison and I walked down to Poipu Beach a little over a mile to the west. It had a sandy stretch, a nice lagoon sheltered by a rocky breakwater, a rocky area with tidal pools, and the omnipresent stands of palms. Chickens were of course also present, strutting about like they owned the place! As we were leaving the beach we passed two built dudes narrowly avoiding a throw-down.
Poipu Beach’s rocky side
Tidal pools at Poipu Beach
Wave breaking at Poipu Beach
Never fear, Rescue Rooster is here!
Poipu Beach in the evening light
Poipu Beach’s lagoon
Amazing colors at Poipu Beach
Just across the street from the beach was a nice natural area with a couple of pools. We didn’t know it until a few days later but the site was an important native archaeological site — Kaneiolouma Heiau. Heiau meaning a temple. The site was used for religious purposes centuries before Europeans “discovered” Kauai. As we headed back to the resort we passed a surf shop as well as some beautifully tended gardens with abundant blossoms.
Kaneiolouma Heiau, an important native Hawaiian religious site
Palm with coconuts (I guess?)
Nukumoi Surf Shop in Poipu Beach, Kauai
We made it back to the room at 6p and showered before heading to Bubba’s Burgers in Poipu. While we awaited our food I snuck out and caught the beautiful sunset around 7p (so much earlier than at home due to being so much close to the equator). I had a teriyaki burger (with onions, mayo, and cheese) while the rest had more boring burgers. We had fries and onion rings with them as well. I thought it was a decent meal but Michelle was not as impressed.
Sunset in Poipu, Kauai
Afterwards we got some shave ice from Uncle’s Shave Ice and Smoothies. Michelle had strawberry, Genetta cherry, and myself green apple over vanilla ice cream — yummy! Addison got two scoops of banana fudge in a waffle cone from the adjacent Lappert’s (the same chain we had in Waikiki).
Green apple shave ice over vanilla, yummy!
We returned back to the room around 8p and watched a few minutes of The Empire Strikes Back before I headed out with Addison around 9p to watch him swim. It wasn’t as fun as during the day as the slide was turned off and the lazy river didn’t really run. Despite that and a bit of rain I think he still had some fun. On our way back to the room we saw a creepy guy looking for something on the beach so we took care to avoid that situation. Once back to the room I worked on summarizing the day in the blog (for eventual fleshing out) and was in bed by 11:30p.