DDuring the mid-afternoon, we took a short walk down to Brennecke’s, which is a restaurant with a stunning view of the beach. On the way, we took some time to watch dozens of kids boogie boarding and surfing in some pretty good sized waves. We also started to realize that this island has quite a different flavor than Maui. The water seemed a bit bluer, the air a bit warmer and just a more tropical feel. After our lunch special Ahi, avocado wraps, we returned to the B&B just as Wayne was returning from his 70-mile bike ride. He is preparing for his next Iron Man triathlon coming up soon. We spent some time talking about training techniques and his experiences around the world while competing in this grueling 14 hour event that includes a 2.4 mile open ocean swim, a 112 mile bike ride and then a 26.2 mile run to the finish. I now no longer consider myself an athlete.
BBefore dinner, we had the chance to tour Helen’s Makanui Studio where she creates stunning watercolor and oil paintings that are displayed throughout the B&B. Later in the trip, we toured a local restaurant, Roy’s, that had some of her latest work on display. I’m no artist, but Kauai seems to be a never-ending landscape for things to paint and many of the views we saw in Helen’s work unfolded in front of us as we toured the island.
For dinner that evening, Helen and Wayne suggested we pick up a pizza at Brick Oven Pizza and come back to watch the sun set over the water. We drove up to Kalaheo to pick it up and it was truly a treat with whole-wheat crust that was brushed with garlic butter. Even the olives (which I usually dislike) tasted good on this pie. We returned to Poipu for the sunrise, but found the sun sets around the corner this time of year, so we enjoyed watching the surf smash against the rocks and stuffed our faces. We retired early that evening as we had planned a number of activities for the next day.
The next morning we awoke to try out the “breakfast” portion of B&B and we were not disappointed. We were treated to eggs, home fries and muffins accompanied with fresh coffee and fruit. We then headed north along the east coast to explore the island by car making a few stops along the way. Our first stop was a visit to one of the more famous landmarks on Kauai, the “Fantasy Island” waterfall. This was the shot seen when Tattoo yells, “De plane, de plane” during the opening credits. Unfortunately, the hike to the base of the falls was closed.
We ventured further up the coast to some other scenic views and an arboretum and weaved our way up highway 56 to Princeville which is home of some very wealthy, private communities on Kauai’s North Shore. We also checked out the local windsurfing spot in Kilauea on our way back. Although it is relatively windy on Kauai, it was no comparison to Maui and the person we saw out sailing was on a bigger sail than I’ve seen all summer. As we ventured back down the coast, we stopped for a quick lunch at Country Moon, “The mother of all juice bars”. It was quite good. Gena went for the Razzle Dazzle, a combination of starfruit, pineapple, strawberry, guava, papaya, mango and banana. I went for the “No Worries Smoothie” which was a combination of peanut butter, coconut, frozen banana and rice dream along with chocolate chips. Gena drank most of mine. We also enjoyed some sandwiches and some great cookies.
We arrived at Will Squyres Helicopter Tours at 2:00 for our 2:30 helicopter tour. I have never been in a helicopter before, so I was as excited about that as I was about the view. We watched a short safety video that basically informed us of our imminent death should anything go wrong with the helicopter and then boarded a van out to the airport. Gena and I got lucky and were placed in the front row of seating right next to the pilot who sounded exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger and described the view for the entire flight. Our lucky seating position gave me a perfect view for snapping pictures and shooting video. I think I spent half of my film on shots of the cockpit. We toured the entire island hovering at anywhere from 300 to 3,500 feet. Some of the cliffs were amazing and we did see the now famous waterfall from Jurassic Park as well as many canyons and the Napali coast, all that are inaccessible by land. This was without question one of the biggest thrills on the trip.
That evening we were treated to a fantastic Sushi dinner back at the B&B and joined Helen and Wayne at the Kahilu Theater in Waimea for a movie. We saw Insomnia with Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. The movie gets two thumbs up, as I was able to stay awake for the entire show even after devouring my usual allotment of popcorn and Raisinettes before the previews were finished.
On Thursday, Gena and I awoke to another fantastic breakfast and decided to hike up the coastline. It was an amazing 4 hour round trip with spectacular views. At one point we walked next to several steep cliffs with waves crashing below and also saw an amazing cave that was carved out of the rocks. Check out the pictures of this hike below as I hear they are worth a thousand words.
Gena and I would like to thank Helen and Wayne for a making our stay on Kauai so fantastic.
Overlooking the "Fantasy Island" waterfall.
A windsurfer at Kalihiwai Beach.
Gena and I pose with our pilot, Walter.
Many of these places can only be accessed by boat or helicopter.
Enjoying a great view.
The entrance to Poipu Ocean View.
The view from our room at the Poipu Ocean View Bed and Breakfast.
Some kids enjoying the big surf at Poipu Beach Park.
Our lunch-time view from Brennecke’s overlooking Poipu Beach Park.
A sample of one of Helen's paintings. (Note it is also used as the background for this section)
Gena faces off with the pizza character at Brick Oven Pizza.
View from Poipu cliffs during sunset.
The arboretum on our way to northern Kauai.
A great place for a smoothie and a snack if you are ever in Wailua.
Just one of the many great views from the helicopter tour.
Gena enjoying the view from 3,000 feet.
Gena, Helen and Jona at the B&B.
Below are some of the many views from our hike
up the Poipu coast line.
