Hawaii 2019 Day 16: Kilohana Plantation Train Tour

Dallas woke up early to go golfing with his dad. He wore his new Kamehameha Schools golf polo that I got in the silent auction at the luau!

Liz, Caroline and I planned to take the kids on the Kilohana Plantation Train Tour, which Makai has been on twice [2014 and 2016], but doesn’t remember. The entire family ended up joining us, which was really fun. I think they liked it!

I wanted to go shopping in Hanapepe afterwards. Instead of dragging Makai along, Jose offered to take him to Salt Pond with Grace, so I took him up on his offer! I shopped around a little bit at Koloa Rum. When I got to Hanapepe it was lunch time, so I ate at my favorite little cafe there, Little Fish.

After lunch I visited a store next door called L?.L?. I got a pair of earrings made from shell or coral? Not sure. I really liked another pair made of red coral, but I did not buy them. The reason I wanted to visit Hanapepe was to look at artwork for our house! I wandered over to Angela Heardley Fine Art. I really liked her work, but the originals were very expensive. I got excited when I saw the high-quality glicee prints on canvas. These prints sometimes run really high too, but she was selling them for $95. I loved a banana leaf print that was tropical, but not like IN YOUR FACE. I also liked a ginger, print but I wasn’t sure on it. In the end, I got it! I also got a bowl made from a coconut. I went to Banana Patch Studios and didn’t get anything. Then to Aloha Spice, where I got just a couple small things. AND THEN I went back to the first store and got the red coral earrings!

George and Kathy and the Korean relatives went to Kilohana for a Luau. The rest of us planned to go out for dinner that night, although Liz and Mahea ended up staying home. Liz is pregnant!! And I’m sure tired and besides that Mahea was on a power nap .. or maybe crash.. from travel and the time change! Caroline, Jose, Grace, Jordan, Dallas, Makai and I went to Keoki’s Paradise for dinner. Keoki’s has been around as long as I’ve been visiting Kauai, for 15 years. Love it. Always a solid bet!

After dinner, Liz and Mahea met us at Kukui’ula for ice cream at Lappert’s !! The line was SOOO LONG. As long as any of us had ever seen it! But that did not stop us from our mission!

Back at home, Makai and I went outside to look at the stars. Since the house is on a dark cliff, there were so many stars to look at. When we went outside we encountered this HUGE TOAD.

Hawaii Day 4: Kilohana Plantation, Wailua Falls, Kauai Ramen

On the fourth day Makai slept one hour later, so that was a little bit more progress. George and Kathy went golfing and Dallas stayed home to rest while Makai and I headed out.

We drove to Lihue to the Kilohana Plantation. While were in the store where the train tickets are purchased, the cashier heard me say Makai’s name and guessed he was hapa. We started talking about Dallas’s family being from Waimea and she says how she loves Waimea. She lives in Kalaheo and her daughter lives in Kekaha. Since, she says, we’re almost local, she gives us the kama’aina rate: $10.40 instead of $18.00.

I took Makai on the train ride the last time we were on Kauai, but he was so little, he didn’t really get it. I thought Makai would appreciate it more this time. He liked the train ride a lot and seeing animals from the train. He liked hearing about the orchards and fruits. But when we got off the train to feed some animals, he really was not into it. The boars were pretty much attacking the bread and making a ton of noise. The goats were really big and standing on their hind legs. I think it was a bit overwhelming. He did like the roosters, though.

He also enjoyed chasing this cat around the train depot area. The cat really did not like him.

Makai told me he wanted to see a REAL waterfall so we drove up to Wailua Falls. It was pretty cool. I’d never been there before. When we got home Makai told Kathy that he saw a REAL waterfall and that it was big like him. We grabbed L&L for lunch for everyone and headed home. We were joking that in the photo Makai was incognito to hide from the paparazzi!

Later on for dinner, George and Kathy took us to Kauai Ramen in Eleele. It was really good and Makai loved it too!

For dessert, we went across the parking lot and had ice creams at McDonalds!

Hawaii Day 4: Ze Train, Ze Train!

20140613-153913-56353246.jpg

In the morning Dallas and his dad kept working on the deck some more. Taking boards off every day, waiting for the new materials to be delivered. Dallas and his parents were going golfing again with Larry, this time at Kauai Lagoons in Lihue, so it was Makai and mommy day again.

Our first stop was in Koloa town to go to the post office and mail some postcards to my parents, my brother and his family, and to my office. Then we headed across the street to Big Save. They’ve really remodeled this location since the last time I was there. There was even a big area with a ton of different poke. I wondered if they were trying to compete with Koloa Fish Market, which is awesome and located right next door. I was disappointed to ask for cone sushi and be told Big Save does not carry any sushi any more. What the heck?

My main reason for going to Big Save was to get more formula and diapers. At this point we were starting to realize just how much Makai goes through while he’s at daycare! Makai rode in the shopping cart for the first time and loved it. Everyone in the store, employees and customers, were commenting on how cute he is. I don’t know if Hawaiians and those visiting Hawaii are just especially friendly and in love with babies, or what, but everywhere we went people stopped to say hi to him or make comments to us on how happy and cute he looked.

In the souvenir aisle I saw some haku leis (leis worn on your head) and thought they might be a good size for kids to wear around their necks. I tried a couple on Makai, but his head is so big that they fit right on his head! He had fun trying them on, though.

20140613-154020-56420963.jpg

At the Poipu Shopping Village we walked around a little bit. I stopped at Papalani Gelato and got a small shake and then went by Puka Dog for a sausage snack. I ordered my dog spicy but it was so mild. Makai was sampling the mango relish and lilikoi mustard. But that’s how mild it was… a baby could eat it. It was fun to visit Puka Dog, although I’m always a little disappointed in the bread to sausage ratio. Also, being there reminded me of John, which was kind of sad, but he was so happy that day we went together, that it was kind of nice too.

20140613-153913-56353506.jpg

Next we drove to Lihue to the Kilohana Plantation. I bought one ticket for the train ride (Makai was free) and waited at the depot. I asked the ladies in the shop if it was safe to leave my stroller there during the train ride or if I should put it in the car and they pretty much laughed at me. Of course it was safe, they said. I guess I’m just used to the city! Before the train ride started, Makai was entertaining all the passengers by smiling and laughing and squawking and blowing raspberries.

The Kilohana Plantation is a working farm and has a ton of different plants and vegetables and fruits and nuts and animals on the property. Makai didn’t care too much about the train ride. I think he did like the wind in his hair, though.

20140613-153913-56353876.jpg

The train stopped in an area that had a bunch of boar, goats, chickens and roosters. Everyone got off the train and you could feed bread to the animals. I didn’t know if Makai would even register that there were animals running around, but every time I looked down at him he was smiling and laughing and kicking. He loved it. Note to self: Go to the zoo soon!

After a while we got back on the train and rode back to the depot. A few fun facts from our tour guide: 1. It takes a pineapple two years to grow to a marketable size. 2. Raw cashews are poisonous. 3. Boar hunting season on Kauai begins January 1st and ends on December 31st. 🙂

I stopped in at Koloa Rum just because it was right there on the property. We’ve had this rum before and it’s pretty good. We even have a bottle of it in Chicago. I didn’t buy anything rum-related, but did get a cute pair of earrings.

20140613-153914-56354240.jpg

I picked Dallas up from golfing, since we were both in Lihue, and then we went back to Poipu for a late lunch at Keoki’s Paradise and old standby of ours. We visit at least once every time we’re on Kauai. Makai was flirting with all of the ladies at the surrounding tables. I’d see him looking behind me and smiling and laughing and then I’d look over and there’d be some person waving or smiling or talking to him! One little girl who was about 10 years old was especially drawn to him and spent about half of our lunch standing by him! And on the way out of Keoki’s, a woman literally stopped her car to roll down her window and tell us how cute our baby is. CRAZY! Even the waitress was playing with him. Later on we were all joking that Makai is running for Mayor of Poipu, the way he was carrying on and getting love from everyone! Note: This was also the first time he sat in a restaurant high chair.

20140613-153916-56356481.jpg

Back in Waimea, we crashed while Dallas’s parents went out to Port Allen Sunset Bar & Grill with Larry and Eleanor.