Waimea Canyon, Napali whale-watching, Smith Family Luau - February 14-16, 2011

For Valentine's Day, we headed up to Waimea Canyon, known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific".  It was on the west side of the island, with a winding, narrow, twisty road.  I was surprised no one got car-sick on the way there, though I made an effort not to take the hairpin turns too quickly.  We met up with Ed and Angela at the first of several lookouts.  This one was called the "Waimea Canyon Lookout".  There was some fog here; I did not have high hopes that we'd get a good view at the Kalalau lookout.

We were able to see some sights at the next lookout including a little piece of Ni'ihau island, however, as suspected, the other lookouts were fogged in.

Had it not been fogged in, we would've seen this:

taken during Nov 2009 Kauai trip

Afterward, we drove back into town and hit the Farmers Market in the Kukui Grove shopping center.  It was a bit hard to find as it was hidden in a sunken parking lot next to Kmart.  There were lots of vendors selling fresh vegetables like eggplant, bok choy, squash, tomatoes, lettuce, and also fresh fruit such as papaya, rambutans, longans, and citrus.  We bought some fixings for salad as well as papaya and longan.  This was Valentine's Day 2011...not exactly romantic, but it was good to spend time with family.

Tuesday was a lazy day in paradise.  We just relaxed at the Waiohai; Sheri and I spent some time at the shore laying out, with the parents playing mahjong in the villa.  Sheri had been very good during this vacation and waking up every day at 7am to work out.  I slept in as usual. (though I kept waking up at 4am due to jet lag)  Ed and Angela did a helicopter ride this morning!  They had won a 2-for-1 discount at their timeshare meeting.  According to them, it is a "must-do".  I'll try it out one of these days.

view from my lounge chair

On Wednesday, Sheri and I woke up real early to drive over to Port Allen to meet up with Ed and Angela for our 8am Napali snorkel sail with Holo-Holo Charters.  The tour included continental breakfast, deli lunch, beverages (including beer and wine).  During the sail would be opportunities for whale watching.  Maui is apparently the best place to whale watch in the Hawaiian islands, but Kauai gets some whales too.  I was looking forward to this as I wanted to see whales breaching.  The parents stayed behind since they didn't want to get sea-sick, not that they didn't mind playing mahjong all day anyway!

There were reports of sea-sickness in reviews, and I also read of people getting sick from taking Dramamine itself, so I was wanting to try my luck with not taking any meds, as the worst I had ever felt was a terrible headache and slight nausea on a very rocky ferry between the UK and Ireland many years ago.  But Ed convinced me and Sheri to pop a pill, so we did.  I didn't get sick, so I cannot say if the pill worked or not.  I only saw one kid get semi-sick, but he recovered pretty quickly and was found riding the trampolines on the way back to the harbor, bouncing up and down.  Not bad that 1 out of 35 got sea-sick.  I was expecting more.

no lack of food here, even with 35 people on board

I wasn't sure how the food situation would be, if there would be enough for 35 folks, but there was plenty to go around.  Either that or people were afraid to eat in case of sea sickness.  The blueberry and cranberry scones were really good, as well as the banana bread.  I think I inhaled 1 of each scone and 3 pieces of banana bread.

The nice thing about this tour was that we were on a catamaran that could truly sail.  It used motors for a while to get out of the harbor, but once the sails were up and the motor turned off, it was quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the waves.  The Ultimate Kauai guidebook did not recommend this boat ("Leila"), but I thought it was perfect.  Even Ed and Angela thought this boat was good, compared to the "recommended" bigger catamaran they took to Ni'ihau, which did not have a sail.  I also liked that you could lay or sit on the "trampoline" portion of the catamaran and watch the boat surf on the waves.

Thanks goes to Sheri for crowning me the "Holo Ho"

We sailed to the Napali coast, with scenery that cannot be seen on land unless you hike the Kalalau trail the whole way.  I've only hiked as far as the waterfall.  (the picture at the top of my blog was taken from the Kalalau trail)  The views were breathtaking and we saw several whales breaching, along with a mom and calf too!  We also saw a school of bottlenosed dolphins approaching the boat head on, as well as spinner dolphins popping out of the water.  It was hard to take pictures of these events, not to mention that my camera battery died halfway.  :(

The waters were calm enough for the catamaran to approach the cliffs really close.  Sometimes, it was so close that I thought we'd hit shore!  Angela was really happy that we were able to get close, as their last sail on the big catamaran could not approach the shore.  Thanks to Ed and Angela for the next couple of pics as my camera had died:

There were a couple of beaches along the coast, and as they are very hard to get to without hiking the trail, we had the pleasure(?) of seeing a naked man walk back to shore from the water's edge.  How appetizing!   The boat stopped at one point, allowing us to do a 20-30 minute snorkel, for swimmers only.  All equipment was provided, except life jackets, though they had "pool noodles" for people to float on.  Ed and Angela brought their own lifejackets and gear.  I forgot my snorkel gear at the villa, but the equipment provided worked fine.  I didn't see a ton of fish, but saw a sea turtle.  After snorkeling, we turned around and sailed back, stopping after a while to have a deli lunch.  There were baguettes and whole wheat bread to choose from, as well as different meats such as ham, roast beef, turkey, and all the fixings, including pasta salad.  There was plenty of food for everyone even with sandwiches being piled high.  The booze came out, so people were interested in imbibing beer after beer after beer.  We also got home-baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The trip back to the harbor was pretty bumpy, as the sails went down and the motor was running full steam.  I think some people started to feel slightly sea-sick from all the ups and downs, but no one blew chunks, at least that I saw (or smelled).  We returned to the harbor 1.5 hours later than I expected (the tour was supposed to be from 8am to 1pm) so we would have to scramble to get ready for the Smith Family Luau that night.

The Ultimate Kauai guidebook recommended Smith's and the Luau Kalamaku at the Kilohana Plantation.  Smith's was more "traditional" and Luau Kalamaku was "Cirque"-like, so I went for Smith's, as a few people in our party had never been to a luau before.  We got a $10 discount by purchasing the tickets online, and as an added bonus, if you stayed at a property near Smith's, they'd come pick you up for free.  The Pono Kai was on the list, so I decided to meet Ed and Angela there and let Smith's take care of us.  We were a few minutes late to the Pono Kai lobby as there was rush-hour traffic, but I had overtaken the Smith's bus (plus it had turned into the parking lot of another property) on the main road, so I knew we'd be able to make it.  Even if we missed the bus, we could drive the few minutes to the luau.  But it was a good idea to take the bus, as it dropped us right at the front of the entrance, and there were hostesses stationed there to cattle us into the right lines.  The operation was pretty efficient and seamless.  Since I bought online, I waited in a very short line to sign a receipt.  We were informed that we had our own reserved table as we were a party of 6 or more, cool!  We then were directed to the photo line, where we received nicely made shell leis (not the usual ones you get) and took a picture with two hula dancers before getting herded into trams which took us on a short tour around the property.  There were peacocks abound as well as different kinds of foliage and floral displays.  The tram dropped us off at the front of the imu ceremonial area where kalua pig had been roasting underground for 6-7  hours.

After a brief introduction by one of the Smith family members, two young men blew conch horns and then proceeded to dig the pig out of the ground.  After the ceremony was over, we made our way to the dining area.  There was live music going on.  One by one, tables were directed to hit the six all-you-can-eat buffet lines off to the side of the dining area.  It was also all-you-can-drink, with stations where you could grab watered down mai-tais, fruit punch, or water.  There was a bar in the back if you wanted beer or hard liquor.

The buffet consisted of starters such as cold salads, lomi-lomi salmon, poi and breads.  No ahi poke. :(  There was purple Hawaiian sweet potato, regular mashed potatoes, fried rice, and stir-fried vegetables as sides.  Entrees included kalua pig (what was cooked underground), teriyaki beef, sweet and sour mahi mahi, and chicken adobo (which I didn't have, but was not a favorite amongst the group).  Desserts included haupia (a coconut milk jello-like pudding), rice pudding (which was apparently also cooked underground with the pig), fresh fruits including papaya, and coconut cake.  I always give poi a chance when it is available, and surprisingly enough, I really liked the poi at Smith's as it was very fresh!  Usually when I have poi, it has the consistency of thick purple paste with a sour flavor (old poi).  It went well as a dip for the teriyaki beef and also the kalua pig.  After the feast, we moved to the theater to watch hula dancing, plus performances based on Tahiti, Philippines, China, Japan, and ended with an exciting fire dance.  We took the shuttle back to Pono Kai, and drove back to Poipu from there.  What a long day!  Tomorrow, we're headed to the north side of the island for beach time and possibly surfing lessons...

First class to Kauai, iPhone retrieval, waterfalls and blowholes, Merriman's - February 12-13, 2011

February 13, 2011 was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and I wanted to do something to celebrate.  A Caribbean cruise was considered, but my parents had just gone on one last November, so I suggested Kauai.  They had never been there, so Kauai it was!  I snagged a last-minute timeshare week at the same place I stayed at two Thanksgivings ago with Babe, at the Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club.  I got my dad a first class plane ticket with United frequent flyer miles, and hoped to get my and my mom's ticket upgraded via "UDU".  I had fallen in the ranks to "Premier Executive" status, but elites usually have no problem upgrading leisure routes like Hawaii.  That fact still didn't stop me from counting open first class seats and how many people were seated in the exit rows (an indication of elite status), making sure that indeed there were more seats in first than people in exit rows.  We ended up being upgraded on our outgoing flights at 100 hours, which is the "1K" window...I think since I bought the tickets when I was 1K, the window still stuck, otherwise I'd be upgraded at 72 hours.

Joining us on the trip was my cousin Sheri (a frequent "regular" on this blog!) and her parents Tony and May.  They were also staying with us at the Waiohai.  My brother Ed and his wife Angela were also able to work out a vacation to Hawaii (two nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, then six nights at the Pono Kai) with the Kauai portion overlapping most of our week there, yay!  My brother Allen, his pregnant wife Lisa, and their daughter Alison weren't able to join us due to busy work schedules plus the airlines have rules and restrictions on air travel while in the last month of pregnancy.

Our flight departed Saturday at 6am from San Jose International Airport, headed for Los Angeles, where we transferred planes to head to Lihue, Kauai.  The first plane was a CRJ-700 jet, with a tiny 6-seat first class cabin.  I assigned my dad my favorite seat 2A just in case we didn't get upgraded.  My mom and I ended up upgraded to 1B and 1C, bulkhead seats which I don't really prefer because I like under-seat storage, but I'll take the seat anyway!  Nothing special was served in first class, just a bag of pretzels.  I don't think coach got any snacks.  Then we landed in LAX and transferred to a 757 for our flight to Lihue.  It was the first time my parents have flown domestic first class, so they were looking forward to it.  Sheri and her parents were in coach (seated in the exit row!) not too far behind us.

Mom and Dad enjoying first class..."I can't go back to coach!"

The hot breakfast choice was eggs with sausage, country potatoes, croissant, yogurt and fruit plate.   Replace eggs/sausage/potatoes with cereal for the cold breakfast option.  We all got the hot breakfast.  I washed mine down with a bloody mary.  The flight was non-eventful for us, but was somewhat exciting for Sheri...on United flights to Hawaii, they play a game called "Halfway to Hawaii", where passengers guess the exact time to the second when the plane passes the halfway point of the route.  The captain provided useful information such as distance, head/tail wind, and air speed.   I didn't play this time (as I always lose), but Sheri submitted entries for all three of them, and her mom's entry won!  The prize was a Hawaiian music CD.  Yay for Sheri!

The flight was pretty smooth, and we landed in Lihue early.  Ed and Angela were also landing around the same time, though coming from an inter-island flight.  I thought I'd give Ed a call to see if we would intercept each other at baggage claim.  That's when I found that I lost my iPhone and iPod on the plane.  I had placed them on the side of my seat when electronics had to be turned off for landing.  When the plane landed, everyone was in such a rush to get off, I had forgotten to put my electronic items into my bag...very unlike me!  I had already passed the "point of no return" at the security checkpoint, so Sheri accompanied me to the ticket counter to ask for help.  One of the ticket agents radioed someone and responded back that lost items would be returned to baggage claim.  So we went to baggage claim and I waited in front of the un-manned baggage assistance window while Sheri rejoined the rest of the family to wait for luggage.  At least five minutes passed until someone came by.  The gentleman radioed to the "clean-up crew", asking if they had gotten to my plane yet.  It was the next plane to be cleaned.  I told him what seat I was in and description of my items.  Then he asked, "Can I get your cell phone number to reach you when we locate the items?"  Uhh...my cell phone was one of the lost items!  I flagged down Sheri to give him her cell number.  He suggested I go get the rental car while the clean-up crew was working.  Fortunately during this debacle, our luggage hadn't come out yet, so it was all happening in parallel. :)

Mom and I went to rent the minivan; shuttle buses picked up from the back of the rental car shack.  Rental cars can be very expensive...I had checked all the official rental car websites and applied all the discounts I knew of, but I ended up finding the best price through Hawaii Car Rentals.  It still booked through official car rental sites, but at their special discount rates.  We got a nice minivan from Budget that had automatic side door openers (too bad no automatic trunk open/close) with less than 3000 miles on it.  I drove it up to the curb at baggage claim; Sheri comes up to the van holding up my iPhone and iPod, proclaiming that I was so lucky!  I had high hopes that I'd get my stuff back because we were in Hawaii where everyone's relatively nice, and it'd be easy to find as things don't drop through those bucket seats.  It would've been sad to have lost them, but I'm glad it all worked out, hooray!!!  We loaded up the van, then met Ed and Angela at Costco for some lunch and to stock up on food.  Then we were off to the timeshare.  The exchange paperwork claimed it was "oceanview" so I was stoked, but view was "not guaranteed".  We did end up getting an oceanview villa, though you had to be on the balcony/lanai to see the ocean. :P

I didn't take pictures of the inside of the villa, but here are some photos stolen from the Marriott web site (and it does really look like that):

The villa was 2 bedroom; the parents got the bedrooms while Sheri and I slept on the sofabed in the living room, which left much to be desired.  Putting the mattress on the ground helped some.  Mom cooked dinner and we just stayed in for the rest of the night.

On Sunday, we went out sightseeing to a couple of waterfalls.  The first was Wailua Falls, always an impressive sight, and we were able to get some nice rainbow shots.  It looked almost a twin to Yellowstone's Lower Falls.

Uncle Tony and Aunt May

Yellowstone Lower Falls, taken last July

compared with Wailua Falls

The second waterfall was Opaeka'a Falls, with its twin falls.  The flow was kind of weak, so it wasn't as impressive.  We also walked across the road to look at the Wailua River.

We grabbed some lunch at the Korean BBQ restaurant in Kapa'a.  The food was rather salty that day, but prices were cheap.  We met up with Ed and Angela at their timeshare, the Pono Kai.  It was ideally situated in Kapa'a along the eastern coastline, with lots of shops and restaurants within walking distance.  Here are some pictures stolen from the Pono Kai website.  I especially liked the herb garden and the koi pond.  There was a gargantuan one which I pretty much hand-fed since his open mouth was at least 3 inches wide.

Then we all drove back to Poipu to view the Spouting Horn blowhole.  The ocean wasn't very choppy, so it took a long time to wait for a good wave to activate the blowhole.

We returned to the villa to rest and freshen up before the anniversary dinner at Merriman's tonight.  It was tough trying to find a restaurant to celebrate.  Yelp reviews were mixed for many eateries.  It was either dine at a local place, with reasonable prices but not an atmosphere for a celebration, or go to a nicer place, knowing that the prices would be $$$, but better atmosphere.  I chose the latter, and selected Merriman's, as I had a great experience eating at their original restaurant on the Big Island and it's known for farm-to-table cuisine, so the food is all local.  Roy's was nearby, but as we have many Roy's in California, I didn't want to eat there.  The restaurant presented my parents with a couple of leafy leis for the occasion.  (no free dessert :( ) 

Of course, the requisite food photos. :)

shared "pupu" taster: crab cake, ahi poke, lobster mac 'n cheese, tomato papaya salad

my scallop entree, over "creamless" creamed spinach and asparagus

shared "chocolate purse" a la mode

This Merriman's was a lot different than the one on the Big Island, as there was hardly any red meat offered and no chicken; the entire menu was mostly seafood.  The Big Island is known for cattle, so there were more meat choices there.  At this restaurant, the ahi poke is to die for, silky smooth with good flavor.  The lobster mac and cheese was also superb.  I could have eaten a bowlful as my entree.  A bunch of us had their signature Mai Tai, using local Koloa rum.  I think mine was heavily poured as I did a little number with the drink umbrella.  (what happens in Kauai stays in Kauai)   My scallop entree was a bit salty, and the scallops a little overcooked for my taste, but I think Gordon Ramsey may have let it through the pass.  Angela really enjoyed her shrimp risotto.  The other fish entrees were a bit overcooked, but was still soft.  Dessert was very rich...it was basically chocolate mush encased in puff pastry, a sweet ending to the anniversary dinner.  Happy 40th anniversary Mom and Dad!

Tomorrow, we head to Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific"...