Kauai day 8

As I said yesterday, Cheryl and I found out that the Mahaulepu trail runs all the way from Poipu to Kawailoa Bay. So, of course we had to run the entire length... starting in Poipu. Here we are on the cliffs overlooking Poipu.



We ran along the cliffs...



...through stands of trees...



... down to the beach...



... through the Hyatt's golf course...



... and through an ancient hawaiian fishing village...



Then we discovered the Mahaulepu Caves. We decided to skip it and bring Jim and Chris back tomorrow.



On the way back to the room, we stopped for a rest at a Hawaiian Bus Stop.



After we get back to the room, the hunt for the perfect waves continue... We start at the beach on the way to Spouting Horn (next to the Beach House).



Then we hit:
Poipu
Kalapaki
Hanamaulu

And we finally end up at the beach across from the Coconut Plantation:





Not a surfing wave anywhere...
Today is not a complete bust, we head to Kilohana...



For RUM TASTING!!!



"Mom, stop taking pictures! It's embarrassing!"



The perfect MaiTai!



Then we hit the Hanapepe Art Night for dinner...



Jim stood in line for Kahlua Port Hot Dogs while Cheryl and I had Kahlua Pork Sliders...



YUM!!!
ALOHA!

Kauai day 7

So what do we do on day 7? Even before our shoes and socks have dried out from yesterday, we head out for another hike!



Actually, this is a surf check masquerading as a hike. Our destination... the cliffs east of Poipu. We learned later that this is part of the Mahaulepu trail the runs from Poipu to Kawailoa Bay (more on that tomorrow).



Chris made sure no to wear a hat... just in case it rains... :oD



Actually, there is no rain in the forecast today! It's a great day to be outside!



Who would have expected to find a pink wing-back chair?



It's a good enough reason for a photo-op as any!



Next up... Kayaking the Wailua River...



Do you think he did that on purpose?



We've been all up and down different branches of this river on separate trips, but we have never paddled it ALL in ONE day... until today, that is...

First stop the waterfall trail:







It's too deep to cross here, even with the rope... Time to turn back...



Next stop, the rope swing...



The rope is gone, but the kids still jumped from the cliff. The water was FREEZING!!!



Next stop.... The end of the river... No going any further...



We turn back around and pull in at the Fern Grotto... landing in knee deep mud.



It has sure changed a lot since we were here last... this is as close to the Fern Grotto as we can get.



When we got back to the marina, we were still early, so we took some of the little side tributaries. Here is one with a nice view of the Sleeping Giant.



Gondolier in training!



RAMMING SPEED, haha!



Hmmm... Is this a good idea?



Haha!... Maybe not!



This is kind of fun... I was waearing my Garmin, watch so was able to map our trail up the river. 7.4 MILES!



ALOHA!

Kauai day 6 - Kalaulau trail part 2

Are you ready for this? TONS of pictures!!!

So it's wet and drizzly, and we are on our way up the Kalaulau trail!



The trail is muddy with slippery rocks...



But it sure is BEAUTIFUL!!!



Cheryl and Chris on the top of the world!



The further we go the more spectacular it gets...





Here's Chris doing a Totoro impression... Poor Chris didn't have a hat, so the rain really got to him. It's like the Chinese water torture.



More slippin' and slidin' on the rocks...







And slippery mud...



This picture was more spectacular in person. We are standing on a cliff. This is one of the places where a helicopter can land to pickup stranded hikers.



Orchids growing right along side the trail:



The intrepid hikers!



Is this it? Is this the river where we are supposed to turn around?



There are lots of people crossing here, and the group of locals who told us to turn around at the river aren't here.



I guess we continue on...



Are we worried yet? The warning says 83 people have died on this beach. Keenan said the last time that he was here the sign was only up to 14.



Oh, there's the RIVER!



Can you see one of the people stranded on the other side?



On our way back, it started to rain seriously!



No more hikers allowed.



Chris was the first one in our group to get back to the trail head. He talked to a ranger and told him that there were four people stranded on the other side of the river. The ranger said that it happens every time it rains, and that they'd send a helicopter out to pick them up. There were 32 people in all!



So why are we in bathing suits in the rain? Because those are the only dry clothes that we had, haha!



ALOHA!