Hawaii 2019 Day 7: Kapa’a and Beyond

Dallas went golfing at Kiahuna with his parents. Makai and I started off our day at Espresso n Paradise in Waimea.

After fuelling up, Makai and I headed to Lydgate Park. I’d never been there, but read that it has a great kid’s beach and also an awesome playground. The swimming area was SUPER calm. Like a lake. Which made it easy for me to watch Makai while he swam. He was practicing his moves from swimming lessons there. There was also a lot of snorkelling. We didn’t participate, but I held Makai and went out about chest deep and we were able to see a needlefish and a group of parrotfish swim by. After a while I asked Makai to get out to check out the playground, but he opted to stay in the ocean longer and skip the playground.

For lunch I looked up something that looked quick, casual and close. I came up with Coconut’s Fish Cafe in the Safeway Marketplace in Kapa’a. Makai was hilarious here. He really engaged with the cashier at the counter. There were some kids books behind the counter that were for sale and right off the bat he let the guy know “I have all those books. Except the shave ice one. We sent that one to my cousin.” Makai also asked him if they had POG (they didn’t). The guy was really patient and told us that the restaurant was named after the owner’s cat, whose name is Coconut. Makai loved that. Makai also told the cashier that his favorite number is 5 because there are 5 letters in his name or else maybe 4 because there are 4 lines in the letter M. Then he told him “I’m Makai.” This guy must not have lived in Hawaii long because he didn’t know what makai meant, but you can be sure Makai told him. They totally bonded. We ate on the patio outside but before we left, Makai made sure to go back inside and tiell the guys “Mahalo!”

For lunch at Coconut’s I had some tacos made with a mix of ono and mahi, which were huge, but Makai just had mac n cheese. He was still hungry, so I went back in and got an order of fries, which was huge. We took into into the truck with us and hit the road. Speaking of the truck, Makai LOVED driving around in his grandpa’s truck. There’s no backseat, so he was using his booster on the bench seat. He loved being able to see the road and was constantly on “rooster/chicken patrol”. He was also amazed by the side mirrors. I don’t think he ever realized you can see behind you in them. I asked Makai if he liked driving around with me and he said “I love to see the earth!”. Then he nudged me to show me he’d polished off all of the french fries!

Makai was very interested in seeing Maniniholo Dry Cave, and was not that interested in seeing the Kilauea Lighthouse. Since we were going right past it, I made him stop at the lighthouse anyway. I think he was more interested in the sign that showed all the birds you could see on Kilauea Point.

We continued on our drive and somewhere in Hanalei I realized that the roads were still closed because of the flooding LAST YEAR!

We turned around to head back but I had to use the bathroom, so we stopped at the Princeville Shopping Center. And got iced coffee and ice cream at Lappert’s because when it’s there YOU MUST.

We also stopped at the Anahola Marketplace on the way home. I don’t know what I was expecting here. We got a few great photos, but I didn’t find it that interesting otherwise. We used the bathroom and walked through a thrift store and left. Makai did love the sign with his name on it!

It was a long ride back. There was a lot of traffic in Hanapepe because it was Friday night and they have the art walk. The Bon Dance was also going on. When we got home, we grilled steaks and pork chops for dinner.

Hawaii Day 2: Kauai’s North Shore

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On our second day in Hawaii, Dallas and his dad started to get to work on the deck they were going to rebuild on the house. We were staying in the house that his dad built and that Dallas grew up in. So, the deck was really old and needed repair.

After starting to tear off some boards, they needed to get going. Dallas and his parents were going golfing with Larry, so that left Makai and I do do what we wanted. The golfing was at The Prince in Princeville and I hadn’t been up to the North Shore for years, so I decided to go up with Makai too and then meet up after golf.

Makai was still a bit off from the travel and time change and he actually slept for the entire hour car ride. I was so so so thirsty and didn’t want to wake him so I went through the McDonald’s drive thru in Lihue just to get a soda. And I couldn’t resist a haupia pie! Note the other local favorites on the menu: Local breakfast sections with Portuguese sausage and spam, McTeri burger, Saimin.

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My first stop on the North Shore was in Anahola at Ono-Char Burger. I was hungry for lunch and had been wanting to try this place out, since it was one of our recommended North Shore restaurants when we got married, even though I’d never even been there!

Since it was my first visit to Ono-Char, I kept it simple and got a cheeseburger, a half order of fries and a soda. It sounds stupid, since it’s in the name, but the char was great. I thought it was interesting that the cheese was shredded cheese, but whatever, it tastes the same. It was great! I want to go back now and try some of the other kinds of burgers!

Ono-Char has outdoor seating next to the building and Makai and I found a shady picnic table to sit and eat. Me, the burger, and him, a bottle. While I finished eating, he sat back and watched some chickens and roosters run around. I also was talking with a local haole lady who was married to a local Chinese guy and was going on about how cute Makai is and how cute hapa babies are in general! She also thought Ono-Char Burger was the best burger on the island and since she’s so right about hapa babies, then I’ll have to agree with her about the burger too :).

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After lunch I wanted something sweet so I drove to Princeville to visit Lappert’s and get my favorite ice cream ever. We don’t really give Makai sweets at all, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for his first ice cream to be Lappert’s, so I gave him just a tiny taste. I think there was more on his face than in his mouth! I love the Kauai Pie ice cream, but I didn’t want to give Makai coffee ice cream, so I got the Heavenly Hana, which is dark chocolate ice cream with a marshmallow swirl and chocolate covered roasted almonds and white chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Yumyumyum. As we were enjoying our sweet treat, a little local girl was sitting with her mom nearby. She came over to say hi, looked at Makai and said “Your baby has a big head!” to me! No kidding, really, kid? 🙂

We walked around Princeville Shopping Center a bit and people kept saying Makai was so cute and commenting on his big cheeks! I couldn’t believe how much attention he was getting. Everyone was so friendly and open (and it was just the beginning, which I didn’t know at the time. Later on, people were literally stopping their car to tell us our baby is cute!).

We tried to stop by Ching Young Shopping Center, just to walk around and take a look, but it was so so so busy that we couldn’t even park anywhere. I remembered when I went with Cousin and Rob and Sarah, but it definitely was not that busy.

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So, finally, we went to Hanalei Bay where Makai got his first real, close up glimpse of the ocean. Well, he probably saw it from the house in Waimea, but it’s a bit distant. I couldn’t deal with the stroller and his stuff and the sand and water just then, so we just picked a grassy spot in the shade in the park and relaxed for a while. Then a funny thing happened. Some Japanese tourists walked right up to our blanket and were speaking to each other in Japanese and pointing to Makai. One of them knew English and asked me basic questions like how old he is and what is his name. And then they all spoke to each other some more. I have no idea what was going on. It was probably about six people crowded around our blanket. Mostly women. I think maybe a couple men. And then some of them started taking photos of Makai! One wanted to hug him, but I kept him close! It was time to go anyway. Dallas and everyone were done playing golf.

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We drove over to The Prince golf course and I didn’t know where exactly everyone was so I got out with Makai and went to the club house area. Just inside this was the amazing view (above). Wow! Makai and I sat outside and the host (? I don’t know what they’re called at a golf club) came over and played with and talked to Makai. Nice local guy. The breeze was awesome and it was such a nice day. I didn’t care if Dallas and everyone turned up any time soon!

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… but eventually they did. And they were hungry, so we went to the golf club’s restaurant, which was The Tavern by Roy Yamaguchi, who is a super famous and well respected Japanese chef in Hawaii. (You might know him from his famous chain of restaurants called Roy’s.) Anyway, it was happy hour so we had some pupus that were on special and a few drinks. Dallas’s parents had some errands to run in Lihue, so we took Larry home, since it was on our way anyway. When we got to his house Larry’s wife Eleanor rushed out to meet Makai!

Hanalei Valley & Lappert’s


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From Queen’s Bath, Jess, Ted, Richard, Amanda, and Stephanie went to Kilauea Lighthouse to watch the sunset. Paul Baker, Kate, Tien, Shannan and I decided to check out the Hanalei Valley Lookout….

…. and then, more importantly, stop for Lappert’s ice cream. As if there would be any doubt about it, I got the Kauai Pie, my favorite ice cream ever! It’s Kona coffee ice cream swirled wtih chocolate fudge, coconut flakes, macadamia nuts and vanilla cake crunch. Someday I will try another flavor, but not this day! This was my only Lappert’s on the whole trip!

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On the first day of the trip some friends made a Costco run and we had them pick of several bottles of white wine and several of red. We were buying the wine for our wedding and needed to know which to buy cases of. During the week we had wine tastings and chose a white wine, but somehow we never tasted or picked a red wine.

Well, Jen didn’t go ziplining and just hung out by the Ho’Onani pool all day, so I assigned her the task of tasting the reds and picking one! Tough day for her! So, Jen texted me her choices and on the way home from the North Shore we met up with Dallas, Matt and Ross at Costco in Lihue where we bought a case and a half of our chosen white wine (Menage a Trois California White) and our red (Mirassou Pinot Noir). Yes, everyone had a menage a trois at the wedding!

Zipline Dip


Lunch!

After the first 8 ziplines we stopped to take a break before the final line, King Kong. Our break included lunch – chicken and vegetable wraps, Maui chips and cookies. Lunch hour was also when we got to go swimming. There was a waterfall and swimming hole right next to our lunch area. The water was kind of muddy from the rains, but we were all so hot we didn’t really care. Also, there was a small ledge we got to jump from into the water.


Jeannette

Jeannette was the first to jump in. .. like immediately! Everyone else ate then went in the water.


Cat that lives on the ranch.

There are 3 wild cats that hang out by the zipline lunch spot. Well, wild, as in they don’t have a home, but at least one of them was tame enough to let you pet and feed it. Keiki, our guide, told us that the zipline manager once tried to adopt one of them. She took the cat home, to the vet, got it shots and everything. And as soon as she opened the door the cat ran out. No one saw it for a few days and then it reappeared at the lunch spot! They figured if it was determined enough to walk several miles and return then it deserved to be left living there. Keiki said not to worry, those cats eat several times per day, every time a tour comes through people are always feeding them. I’m sure the zipline manager leaves food out, too.


Amanda jumping in.


Stephanie jumping in.


Paul Baker jumping in.

After our lunches were finished, the rest of us jumped in. The water was…. refreshing. Which is to say, very cold! But jumping off the ledge was so much fun.

Ziplining in Princeville


Jeannette & Paul on the truck driving through the ranch to the zipline area.


Cows (and Chickens!) on the ranch.


Jessica & Rachelle (The Pose)


Amanda going down the first line.


Kate


Ted


I tried to take a video while ziplining. Mostly all you see is blue sky and my hair in the wind!

Since we had so much fun ziplining with Donna and Dustin on Maui, Dallas decided early on in our vacation and wedding planning that he wanted to coordinate a zipline tour for our friends. I didn’t want another thing to plan, but Dallas was all for it, so I let him take it and run with it.


Paul & Jeannette on the suspension bridge.


Shannan. The guides told us to run across the bridge and not use our hands to hold on. It was ok til they started shaking it like crazy!.


Stephanie. The ravine was really deep and you could see straight down it between the bridge slats. Scary!

Dallas did all the research and found that Princeville Ranch Adventures would best suit our needs. We were interested in the Zip ‘N Dip Expedition which lasted 4.5 hours, included 9 ziplines, a suspension bridge, lunch and an hour at a hidden swimming hole. Dallas sent an email to all of our friends and within less than a day we had 34 friends interested, which worked out great because we could do 12 people per time slot so, including us, we’d take up 3 full time slots (out of 4) that day.


Ted


Tien


Stephanie


A short hike between lines. Richard, Amanda, Tien, Jessica, Shannan, Kate.


Jessica


Shannan

Dallas split everyone up into the following groups: Team Discovery Channel: Caroline, Tammy, Limey, Kristin, Chad, Brian, Jill, Jess G., Trent, Loden, Allison, Herm. Team Packerrific: Rachelle, Richard, Amanda, Stephanie, Paul, Kate, Tien, Shannan, Jess B., Ted, Jeannette, Yvan. Team OG Kush: Dallas, Jordan, Liz, Cousin, Ross, Matt, Adam, Christine, Brian, Sara, Todd, Kelly. So, needless to say, all of my photos are of Team Packerrific.


Paul


Richard


Jeannette


Guide Taylor showing off!

Our guides were Keiki and Taylor. Keiki was a local guy, born and raised in the Princeville area. He said he lived about ten minutes away from Princeville Ranch. Taylor was a transplant, I think. Keiki was super jokey, teased me a lot for being the bride, and also told our group about local culture. Taylor was fun, too, but more straight-laced.

Most of the people on our tour had never ziplined before. Maybe no one, except me, I think. And even though I’d done it before, I still had a few moments of panic! It’s so fun, but can be freaky too. I thought Amanda was going to have a heart attack before the first line, but by the 4th one she was running off the platforms. You can run if you’re brave, but most people just step off and let gravity do its thing.


Ted and Jessica racing down the last line, a double line called King Kong.


Richard and Amanda racing down King Kong.


King Kong is 1200 feet long, the longest line of the day.


The ladder up to King Kong is 26 feet tall.


Looking down from the King Kong platform.


Guide Keiki getting Kate locked in.


Paul and Kate racing across the King Kong line.


Paparazzi at the end of the King Kong line!

The last line is called the King Kong and it’s 1,200 feet across! This zipline actually had two lines and you were supposed to race. Most everyone in our group was coupled up so the couples all raced against each other. Leftover was me and my niece Stephanie, so we raced. I thought I’d beat her for sure, just because I weigh more, but when the guide said “1, 2, 3, GO!” I hesitated and Steph ran off the platform when he said go. So I lost!


Back: Ted, Jeannette, Richard, Paul, Tien, Yvan, Shannan. Front: Jessica, Kate, Rachelle, Amanda, Stephanie.


Riding in the truck back to our cars.

Golfing on Kauai

Dallas and John went golfing 4 times in Hawaii. These are some photos from their time on the courses.

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KAUAI LAGOONS GOLF CLUB: Kiele Course

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John

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Dallas

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Dallas

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John

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Dallas

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John

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KAUAI LAGOONS GOLF CLUB: Mokihana Course

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Dallas, John, Koa, Uncle Dee, Jordan

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John, Jordan, Koa, Dallas

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PRINCEVILLE GOLF COURSE

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Koa, John, Jordan