Kaua'i, Days Two and Three

One of the things you learn quickly about Kaua'i is that it is infested with feral chickens. And being springtime, there were lots of mother hens with their little chicks wandering behind them. The chickens have no natural predators on the island (for some reason there are no mongoose on Kaua'i which have kept the chicken populations on the other islands under control). But I liked roosters the most, who have beautiful colored feathers and like to crow at all hours of the day.

Why is that that male birds are always so much more beautiful than the females? This rooster was the only one who didn't run away when I tried to get a close-up.

It was fun to see chickens where ever we went. But it's still weird to see chickens sun-bathing out on the beach.

Well, on Day 2, David and I rented a kayak in order to kayak down Wailua River. Kaua'i is the only Hawaiian island with a substantial river that runs through the island.

We kayaked for a few miles down the river, and then parked our kayaks at a little island.

And we crossed to the other side and hiked a mile to a gorgeous waterfall, Secret Falls.

It was absolutely breathtaking. And there was a little pool in which to swim.

David swam in it, hence why he's all wet, but I didn't. That water was cold.

But here I am. After we hiked back to our kayaks and kayaked back to the landing dock (our arms and shoulders were quite sore by the end), we ate at Bubba's Burger, which have absolutely delicious hamburgers and then drove to a few other waterfalls in the area.

Like this one. I believe this is the waterfall that used to be featured on Fantasy Island.

On our third and last day, we woke up early and drove to a secluded beach to go snorkeling. David isn't much of a snorkeler and I tend to freeze up from time to time under water too, so we didn't spend a long time there. Besides, there wasn't much to see either. The reef was pretty sparse and I only saw a few fish, sea slugs and a starfish or two.

After snorkeling, we went back to the hotel to clean up and check out and then headed into Lihue to visit Kilohana, a former sugar plantation which has now been converted into a restaurant and shops.


The house was built during the Great Depression and is a beautiful building.

They even have an old horse-drawn buggy outside. The restaurant, Gaylord's, named after the plantation owner, is outside on the back deck. We ate a delicious lunch there.

Here's the main sitting room of the house. It was very gorgeous and David especially liked the ceilings and wood panelings. If I were rich, I'd probably spend all my money on a beautiful home full of antique items and custom-built furniture. I'm a sucker for a beautiful home. Which is why I had to stop subscribing to Architectural Digest because it gave me unrealistic expectations. And made me salivate with jealousy.

After our dinner at Gaylord's, we drove to the western side of Kaua'i and drove up Waimea Canyon, Hawaii's Grand Canyon. I was only two when my family went to the Grand Canyon, so I really can't say how they compare, but it was very pretty, with lots of striking colors and cliffs. Unfortunately, it was also rather cloudy, so we didn't get to see much.

And when we got to the very top of the mountain, we had gotten above the clouds, so we could see even less. But it was gloriously clear and sunny at the top.

As we came down the 20-mile drive, we stopped at a few outlooks on the way to see if we could capture more of the canyon. Luckily, some of the clouds had moved away and a nice woman took this picture of us. David and I have so few pictures of us together because we always go places alone and then it's up to the kindness of strangers to snap photos for us and let's face it, they don't always do the best job. Also, it's not the most flattering photo. Goodness, I need to lose some weight.

After driving all around the island, David and I were quite sick of being in the car. So we drove back to Lihue, ate dinner and then returned our car and went to the tiny airport to wait for our 20 minute flight back to Oahu. Kaua'i was wonderful, but it was nice to get back home. At least, our home for the next 25 days. But at least now I can check off a few items off my to-do list.