August 10, On to Kauai

 Monday, August 10  Kauai

We set our alarm for 5:30 this morning, but are both awake at 5:00, so start the day. Repack everything and begin the drive back across the island to the Kona Airport.  Part of the road is known as the Daniel Inouye highway, after the late senator.  The watercolor sunrise is uplifting.

We return the rental car and arrive at our Hawaiian Airlines gate with plenty of time for a light breakfast. 

The flight is on time and we have just enough air time to be served a complementary beverage before descending to the airport at Lihu'e, on Kauai, which is known as The Garden Island.   A Kia Soul is our rental car here.  So glad that our phone GPS works well!

Since our check-in at the ISO (Island, Sky and Ocean) hotel isn't until 3:00, we set out to explore up highway 56.  Our first stop is the Poliahu Heiau, and a Wailua River State Park Overlook where we are greeted by a large number of chickens.  (Greg counted 44!) Surprising number of roosters, but there are hens as well as some little chicks.

  Greg says he has seen locals feeding them, so they seem to congregate at likely "people" spots.

 The Poliahu ruins are low lava rock walls of an old temple.  There is also a large rock which is said to be a birthing rock, where island royalty gave birth.

The Wailua River is one of Kauai's largest and home to our next stop, Opaekaa Falls.  We can only observe from this lookout, as there are no trails down to the falls.   There are a number of white birds flying around and through the falls - I think they are Hawaiian tropic birds. Next is Wailua Falls.

We continue on the road towards the interior of the island and arrive at Keahua Arboretum. It is a large area with a few trails, which are a bit muddy today.  Nice bridge artwork from a local high school, but not much in the way of signage or information.

 The coolest trees are the rainbow eucalyptus with their colorful smooth bark, which I only know because a man visiting with his young family shared.

 

We head back out toward the coast and the town of Kapa'a where our hotel is located. It is warm but the breeze makes it quite comfortable.   We walk along the beautiful ocean and stop for a shaved ice matcha drink before going to the hotel.  It is fluffy and uses condensed milk as well as, I guess, green tea?  Kind a mix between shaved ice and ice cream.  We choose the pineapple and mango, with large chunks of fruit.  Yum!

At 3:00, we check into the ISO, room 211, which has a nice lanai (balcony) with a beautiful view of the pool and the ocean beyond.  This hotel seems a little more laid back and friendly.  They have free bikes to use and a complimentary grab and go breakfast.

After unpacking we head out to find dinner and end up at Paco's Tacos, which serves some very tasty

 carnitas and fish tacos. There is quite a mix of restaurants, several mexican and several asian, along with quite a few food trucks, but Mondays are apparently days off for many of them.

The town of Kapa'a is working on building a walkway all along the coast.  They have finished about 5 miles of it - mostly paved, though it worms around a few resorts.  We walk for a while, enjoying a constant breeze, beautiful flowers and assorted birds including occasional chickens. There is a bit of a breakwater wall right in front of our hotel, but nice sandy beach further along.

Wonderful hot shower.  They don't do maid service except every 5 days, but do provide a nice supply of towels and such.  No phone in the room, but they say just come on down to the main desk if we need anything.