Catching Up On Kauai - Part Deux

I didn't like the post I made yesterday.

I started playing catch-up and it just kept going and going.  I had to finally stop because the post was getting tedious.  The reason I didn't like the post is because it was just facts and pictures--No anecdotes.  I like to put little stories, thoughts, and experiences in my blogs when I'm sharing stories.  The reason I wasn't able to do that is because too much time had passed since the events I covered took place and I wasn't able (or didn't want to stretch it out even further) to recall all the stuff that took place on each of the trips.  When you play "catch-up" you do a lot of, "What day was it that we did that so-and-so?"  That's why I kicked myself for not keeping up.  There's not much of my vacation left, but I'll try to be better.

Okay, let's resume this time-tunnel thing and take up where I left off:  Wednesday.

Wednesday we had a full day planned out.  It was a day-long event that took us all the way to the top of the island (going clockwise as you look at it).  Here's a screen grab of the distance we covered during the whole day (which was 150 miles if you must know).  Click it so you can see it full size:


We had just gotten out of one of the heavily-populated town/shopping area of Lihue when I saw a road that caught my eye.  I turned around and we drove up the road.  As soon as I turned around Suzie acknowledged that there was actually a waterfall on that road too, called Kipu Falls, so it was a good place to turn.  The main reason I wanted to turn up that road though was the scenery.  The trees and the farmland screamed at me to take their picture:


While we were stopped, a couple of ladies stopped for the same reason and we talked for a bit.  Apparently, the area we were standing in was some sort of preserve.  I just know I loved it.  A little ways up the road took us to the falls.  We walked a little ways to get to it, through the tallest grass I've ever seen.  We watched for a few minutes, taking pictures of people having fun with a rope swing.  We couldn't stay long though, because the bugs were hungry.


Our next stop was a ways up... In a little coast town called Eleele.  After throwing a Subway sandwich into our cooler, we proceeded to a little road that Suzie knew of.  Past a refinery (not a glamorous part of town), we stopped at a beautiful overlook just above the water.  The whole coast was old lava formations, and the waves were crashing pretty high when they hit them.  There were also lots of blow holes and arches.  The blow holes made some pretty strong hisses and moans when the right waves hit.


Right next to this beach was a strange sort of thing.  Apparently the edge of the beach was at one time a junkyard.  There are lots of old, rusted car parts down at the water.  To give it a "warm, fuzzy feel, they named it "Melted Metal" Beach.  You can tell it's old car parts by the nature of them.  I saw old straight-8 engine blocks and flatheads, neither of which have been made in 50 years or better.  Right behind that was an old, decrepit Japanese cemetery too.

Hitting the road again, we stopped in the city of Waimea and visited a beautiful place called Waimea Plantation Cottages.  We got some killer shots!  Here are a couple:


Next stop: Waimea Canyon!  I never would have dreamed that the island of Kauai would have something like our Grand Canyon on the mainland.  After all, it's only an island!  Truth is, it really is a huge and beautiful canyon, and like the Grand Canyon, pictures don't do it justice:


Not far up the road we got to see the most awesome sight of the island.  Off the ocean side is a huge, huge canyon that is breathtaking, called the Kalalau Valley.  The thing is so huge that when a helicopter flies into it down below you can hardly see it.  Like the Waimea Canyon, pictures can not capture the immensity of it.  At one point, a raincloud drifted towards us from the far side and I was blessed with a small rainbow!


The final stop of our day was the most relaxing.  We drove a long, dusty, washboard road to Polihale State Park to watch the sunset.  While we didn't experience a very colorful sunset, it was most definitely a memorable one.  What a pretty beach!  It's no wonder they made it a state park.


What an exciting day... And a busy one!

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