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Our trips tend to be beach/beach/golf/beach and more beach so trip reports tend to be a wee bit bland! However, here's a few scraps of info you might enjoy:
THE OUTBOUND FLIGHT: We left Phoenix on Hawaiian Airlines. Leg room was good, seats comfortable, flight was smooth and enjoyable. Snacks were available to buy--no money allowed only credit cards which actually makes it pretty easy, no making change by the flight attendents and faster service. They simply took your credit card, swiped it through a machine and handed you what you wanted. We didn't eat the lunch--had packed a couple of things to munch on. We did run into one MAJOR PROBLEM! We have often mixed and matched flights (Hawaiian versus Aloha) in order to get the best schedule and the best price--never a problem. Our interisland was on Aloha Airlines who refused to accept our luggage from Hawaiian Airlines. We had to hot foot it across the entire airport, wait for luggage to arrive, lugged it back across the airport to Hawaiian Airlines, rechecked, went through security again. Needless to say, we weren't really thrilled with Aloha who probably will be far down on our list of future Hawaii flights!
ACCOMODATIONS: We stayed in our timeshare in Princeville: Pahio at Ka E'o Kai which is now named Wyndom at Ka E'o Kai. We had three weeks and weren't able to stay in the same unit but they certainly made the transfers as easy as possible. We simply packed every thing up (things in the refrigerator and pantry were sacked), walked out and spent the day at the beach. Upon return we picked up our new keys, went to the new condo and all our things had been moved. Each condo had its resident roosters although one sounded as if it had a very sore throat or was being strangled (probably the latter but it seemed to get away each morning to be strangled again the next). Geckos were also supplied--we love the little guys and always enjoy hearing them chirp! NERVOUS TIMES: We mapped Hurricane Flossy's course. We were on Kauai about 5 months after Iniki--we've seen what a hurricane can do! At that time there were about 2 restaurants open, a couple of grocery stores, no regular stores, no hotels, etc. Over 90% of the island were still under tarps, many in tents by their ruined homes. We could see into the insides of homes, clothes in the closets, furniture sitting in ruined homes . Ching Young Shopping Center in Hanalei was in horrible shape--nothing open, roof off, etc. Thus we took Flossie quite seriously. We stocked up on bottled water, non-perhishable food, batteries, etc. We drove to the hurricane shelter so we would know how to get there. Thank goodness Flossy threw Hawaii a kiss and burned herself out!!!!!
RESTAURANTS AND THINGS:
**We have a tradition of a celebatory first meal at the Kauai Marriott's Duke's restaurant. I had the Caesar Salad and won tons--can't remember what Tom had. Great way to start a great vacation.
**We really enjoyed the Lighthouse Bistro in the Kilauea area. Excellent food served in a lovely tropical open air restaurant. Their steaks were excellent and if you arrive a little early you can hit the craft shops! I loaded up on Hawaiian made candles for friends.
**Zelos is no more--it's called Kalypso--yep, with a K! It's painted a totally different color (I thought it was a little gaudy). We looked at the menu and even though lots of people were eating there we weren't too enthused and opted to skip it this trip. The same group bought Hanalei Plate Lunch, now called Panda Lunch--we also skipped it for Polynesia Plate Lunch directly behind Panda. We were quite pleased with what we ordered and enjoyed eating on the gazebo.
**Bubba's Burgers--Ok, I have to admit, we're fans of theirs--nothing like a greasy hamburger now and then! We ate there twice--love eating on the picnic tables watching all the people go by.
**CJ's also had our business twice. Once out on the back patio and once on the front. Nice cool breezes, all of our dinners were good and their salad bar is small but wonderful! Wish they offered that as an entree! We request the Eddy Page table on the front lanai as Tom has an uncle by that name . **Paradise Cafe--is convenient to our condo so we did eat there a couple of times. Open air is nice, food basic but OK.
**Bali Hai Restaurant located in the Hanalei Bay Resort--I love this place! Prices aren't exactly cheap but the views are breath taking and food is excellent. We were there twice for dinner--loved it but breakfast was kind of a let down. My SIL and I both ordered the scrambled egg/bean Mexican breakfast burrito. Beans were not warm and there were lots of them. Eggs were kind of skimpy--both of would choose something else next time! **OLYMPIC CAFE in Kapa'a. We didn't eat there but our friends did at our suggestion. They were as pleased with their breakfast as we were with our last year. This one is a winner.
**Happy Talk Lounge also at the Hanalei Bay Resport. Again views are breath taking, menu a little easier on the purse. I ordered a kalua pig sandwich (they were out of it--no problem,it happens). Food was OK, service was fine, views--sigh!
**Shave ice from the place next to Bubba Burgers--great!
**Lapperts ice cream--ohhh yeah!
**Since I love Jamba Juice, Kapa'a got my business twice--yummy! **Probably our favorite meals were at Sukothai's which serves several kinds of Asian meals! Not a fancy place--located by the Shell Service Station and by Big Save grocery store in Kapa'a or Waipoli. This place is immaculate, the spring rolls are the best I've ever had, sweet and sour chicken is scumptious! Our friends stopped two more times than we did--couldn't get enough.
**Eggberts in the Coconut Marketplace--wasn't impressed this year! Mac salad was served warm--I've had food poisoning twice in Hawaii--both times with mayo. Needless to say, I didn't touch the stuff. I'd give this one a D. **The food trailer at Hanalei Bay had an interesting menu--think next year we won't pack a lunch and buy something there. The food trailer at Ha'ena Beach also had a varied menu and is a possibility.
BEACHES: We pretty much stuck to our favorites: Anini Beach is always such a treat--warm warm water, we enjoy watching the kite sailing and scenery is nice. Met Baily, the dog, who loves the water and tourists. We spent one day at Haena for snorkeling--for some reason this year the sand was HOT--burned our feet! We haven't been on Kauai in August so not sure if it's always that crowded--not my cup of tea. Hanalei Bay--sigh--views don't get much better than that one! We enjoy the Bay as you can walk out a long way and still be only waist deep (summer months). We had fun playing with several local dogs (especially one named Canoe) who loved fetching thrown items from the sea. One of the days we enjoyed watching a outrigger race with about 16-20 being paddling as hard as they could. Friends and family were screaming and hollering--fun day! BUT, our most cherished memory is of a little boy, 2 years old, named Hanalei. This little guy was an absolutely FISH! He rode a full sized surfboard all the way in and then jumped off with a huge grin. What a charmer that one is--I have a feeling we'll see him again in about 15 years at the surfing matches!
ACTIVITIES: Tom and I didn't do that much--have done most of them several times. Kauai is our down time--long slow tropical days. Our nephew and wife enjoyed tubing the irrigation ditch trip. Of course, golf is always high up on Tom's list. He golfed: Prince course twice during the cheaper twilight hours and Wailua Municipal course. Tom and friend, Richard, also golfed the Marriott Lagoons playing the Maile and Kealia ocean nines due to some construction--really nice.
THOSE WE TRAVELED WITH: My brother and SIL also have timeshares on Kauai so we have such a wonderful time with them! Their son and daughter-in-law flew in from California for about 5 days and our friends Rich and Shirley joined us for about 10 days. Lots of dominos tourniments at night! :O)
LAST DAY: We called Hanalei Elementary School and asked if they had any teachers or families of students that could use the left over hurricane bottled water and food supplies we had purchased. They were delighted, so we took that down and then headed to the beach. Sigh--last day!
RETURN FLIGHT: Again excellent flight! Seats were comfortable and the dinner was actually quite good which was a surprise to all of us! Tom, Richard and Shirley had the ravioli, I had the chicken with potatoes and green beans. Yum--didn't think I'd ever say that about airline food the last few years! We arrived back in Arizona--darned, we missed the record breaking heat--over 20 consecutive days of over 110--wow, we really are sorry for that! Now, we spend our time planning our July, 2008 trip. Me ke aloha pumehana, Juleen
THE OUTBOUND FLIGHT: We left Phoenix on Hawaiian Airlines. Leg room was good, seats comfortable, flight was smooth and enjoyable. Snacks were available to buy--no money allowed only credit cards which actually makes it pretty easy, no making change by the flight attendents and faster service. They simply took your credit card, swiped it through a machine and handed you what you wanted. We didn't eat the lunch--had packed a couple of things to munch on. We did run into one MAJOR PROBLEM! We have often mixed and matched flights (Hawaiian versus Aloha) in order to get the best schedule and the best price--never a problem. Our interisland was on Aloha Airlines who refused to accept our luggage from Hawaiian Airlines. We had to hot foot it across the entire airport, wait for luggage to arrive, lugged it back across the airport to Hawaiian Airlines, rechecked, went through security again. Needless to say, we weren't really thrilled with Aloha who probably will be far down on our list of future Hawaii flights!
ACCOMODATIONS: We stayed in our timeshare in Princeville: Pahio at Ka E'o Kai which is now named Wyndom at Ka E'o Kai. We had three weeks and weren't able to stay in the same unit but they certainly made the transfers as easy as possible. We simply packed every thing up (things in the refrigerator and pantry were sacked), walked out and spent the day at the beach. Upon return we picked up our new keys, went to the new condo and all our things had been moved. Each condo had its resident roosters although one sounded as if it had a very sore throat or was being strangled (probably the latter but it seemed to get away each morning to be strangled again the next). Geckos were also supplied--we love the little guys and always enjoy hearing them chirp! NERVOUS TIMES: We mapped Hurricane Flossy's course. We were on Kauai about 5 months after Iniki--we've seen what a hurricane can do! At that time there were about 2 restaurants open, a couple of grocery stores, no regular stores, no hotels, etc. Over 90% of the island were still under tarps, many in tents by their ruined homes. We could see into the insides of homes, clothes in the closets, furniture sitting in ruined homes . Ching Young Shopping Center in Hanalei was in horrible shape--nothing open, roof off, etc. Thus we took Flossie quite seriously. We stocked up on bottled water, non-perhishable food, batteries, etc. We drove to the hurricane shelter so we would know how to get there. Thank goodness Flossy threw Hawaii a kiss and burned herself out!!!!!
RESTAURANTS AND THINGS:
**We have a tradition of a celebatory first meal at the Kauai Marriott's Duke's restaurant. I had the Caesar Salad and won tons--can't remember what Tom had. Great way to start a great vacation.
**We really enjoyed the Lighthouse Bistro in the Kilauea area. Excellent food served in a lovely tropical open air restaurant. Their steaks were excellent and if you arrive a little early you can hit the craft shops! I loaded up on Hawaiian made candles for friends.
**Zelos is no more--it's called Kalypso--yep, with a K! It's painted a totally different color (I thought it was a little gaudy). We looked at the menu and even though lots of people were eating there we weren't too enthused and opted to skip it this trip. The same group bought Hanalei Plate Lunch, now called Panda Lunch--we also skipped it for Polynesia Plate Lunch directly behind Panda. We were quite pleased with what we ordered and enjoyed eating on the gazebo.
**Bubba's Burgers--Ok, I have to admit, we're fans of theirs--nothing like a greasy hamburger now and then! We ate there twice--love eating on the picnic tables watching all the people go by.
**CJ's also had our business twice. Once out on the back patio and once on the front. Nice cool breezes, all of our dinners were good and their salad bar is small but wonderful! Wish they offered that as an entree! We request the Eddy Page table on the front lanai as Tom has an uncle by that name . **Paradise Cafe--is convenient to our condo so we did eat there a couple of times. Open air is nice, food basic but OK.
**Bali Hai Restaurant located in the Hanalei Bay Resort--I love this place! Prices aren't exactly cheap but the views are breath taking and food is excellent. We were there twice for dinner--loved it but breakfast was kind of a let down. My SIL and I both ordered the scrambled egg/bean Mexican breakfast burrito. Beans were not warm and there were lots of them. Eggs were kind of skimpy--both of would choose something else next time! **OLYMPIC CAFE in Kapa'a. We didn't eat there but our friends did at our suggestion. They were as pleased with their breakfast as we were with our last year. This one is a winner.
**Happy Talk Lounge also at the Hanalei Bay Resport. Again views are breath taking, menu a little easier on the purse. I ordered a kalua pig sandwich (they were out of it--no problem,it happens). Food was OK, service was fine, views--sigh!
**Shave ice from the place next to Bubba Burgers--great!
**Lapperts ice cream--ohhh yeah!
**Since I love Jamba Juice, Kapa'a got my business twice--yummy! **Probably our favorite meals were at Sukothai's which serves several kinds of Asian meals! Not a fancy place--located by the Shell Service Station and by Big Save grocery store in Kapa'a or Waipoli. This place is immaculate, the spring rolls are the best I've ever had, sweet and sour chicken is scumptious! Our friends stopped two more times than we did--couldn't get enough.
**Eggberts in the Coconut Marketplace--wasn't impressed this year! Mac salad was served warm--I've had food poisoning twice in Hawaii--both times with mayo. Needless to say, I didn't touch the stuff. I'd give this one a D. **The food trailer at Hanalei Bay had an interesting menu--think next year we won't pack a lunch and buy something there. The food trailer at Ha'ena Beach also had a varied menu and is a possibility.
BEACHES: We pretty much stuck to our favorites: Anini Beach is always such a treat--warm warm water, we enjoy watching the kite sailing and scenery is nice. Met Baily, the dog, who loves the water and tourists. We spent one day at Haena for snorkeling--for some reason this year the sand was HOT--burned our feet! We haven't been on Kauai in August so not sure if it's always that crowded--not my cup of tea. Hanalei Bay--sigh--views don't get much better than that one! We enjoy the Bay as you can walk out a long way and still be only waist deep (summer months). We had fun playing with several local dogs (especially one named Canoe) who loved fetching thrown items from the sea. One of the days we enjoyed watching a outrigger race with about 16-20 being paddling as hard as they could. Friends and family were screaming and hollering--fun day! BUT, our most cherished memory is of a little boy, 2 years old, named Hanalei. This little guy was an absolutely FISH! He rode a full sized surfboard all the way in and then jumped off with a huge grin. What a charmer that one is--I have a feeling we'll see him again in about 15 years at the surfing matches!
ACTIVITIES: Tom and I didn't do that much--have done most of them several times. Kauai is our down time--long slow tropical days. Our nephew and wife enjoyed tubing the irrigation ditch trip. Of course, golf is always high up on Tom's list. He golfed: Prince course twice during the cheaper twilight hours and Wailua Municipal course. Tom and friend, Richard, also golfed the Marriott Lagoons playing the Maile and Kealia ocean nines due to some construction--really nice.
THOSE WE TRAVELED WITH: My brother and SIL also have timeshares on Kauai so we have such a wonderful time with them! Their son and daughter-in-law flew in from California for about 5 days and our friends Rich and Shirley joined us for about 10 days. Lots of dominos tourniments at night! :O)
LAST DAY: We called Hanalei Elementary School and asked if they had any teachers or families of students that could use the left over hurricane bottled water and food supplies we had purchased. They were delighted, so we took that down and then headed to the beach. Sigh--last day!
RETURN FLIGHT: Again excellent flight! Seats were comfortable and the dinner was actually quite good which was a surprise to all of us! Tom, Richard and Shirley had the ravioli, I had the chicken with potatoes and green beans. Yum--didn't think I'd ever say that about airline food the last few years! We arrived back in Arizona--darned, we missed the record breaking heat--over 20 consecutive days of over 110--wow, we really are sorry for that! Now, we spend our time planning our July, 2008 trip. Me ke aloha pumehana, Juleen
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