Da Beach, coffee, luxury villa, local eats, air pockets! - Feburary 17-19, 2011

Today was our last full day with Ed and Angela as they were returning back to the mainland the next day.  We headed to the northern-most point on Kauai, Ha'ena State Park and Ke'e Beach.  It took over an hour and a half to drive here from Poipu, with narrow roads and one-lane bridges.  The Kalalau Trail trailhead that takes you along the Napali coast starts at Ha'ena, but we didn't hike it this visit.  Ha'ena's parking situation had changed over the years...before, if the paved lot was full, you could turn right onto a dirt road into the forest and find some spots to park next to the trees.  Later, the dirt road access was closed and an overflow parking lot was built a ways from the paved lot.  When I was here November 2009, I was lucky to snag a spot in the main lot, but not this time, so I dropped everyone off, then parked in overflow.  It was only a few minutes' walk to the beach.

The waves weren't super high at Ke'e, but it was enough where the lifeguards posted a "No Snorkeling" sign and barked at people who attempted to get in with snorkel gear.  Some of the beach is protected, so we went swimming.  Much of it was captured on video, so I only have a few pictures to share.

After swimming in the ocean for a couple of hours, we packed up and did a little bit of sightseeing (Wet Cave, Hanalei Valley Lookout) on the way to Hanalei Bay.  I was hoping to run into a surfing school on the beach so that everyone could take lessons.  I didn't see any classes going on, though there were people renting surfboards, oh well.  We swam there for an hour, then grabbed "linner" at the nearby Ching Young Village strip mall, including picking up some shave ice at Shave Ice Paradise, which wasn't that great.  Should've gone over to the Wishing Well Shave Ice roach coach down the street.  We decided to call it a day since it was such a long drive back down to Poipu, plus, we had to check out of the timeshare the next day.  The timeshare was only until Friday, and we weren't leaving until Saturday afternoon.  I had hoped to find another week that would extend into Saturday, but no such luck, so fortunately, I saw a deal on Travelzoo at the Wyndham Koloa Landing at Poipu Beach.   It turned out to be even less expensive if I signed up for their free Wyndham Rewards card and booked their special member rates.  I reserved a three bedroom oceanview villa for $361 total, the price you'd normally pay for a hotel room without a view at a luxury Hawaiian resort!  The pictures of the resort looked fantastic.

Friday, we bade farewell to our home base at the Marriott Waiohai and did some sightseeing to burn time between checkout and check-in.  First stop was the Kauai Coffee Company, with free coffee tasting and a self-guided tour around the plantation.  There were many flavors to choose from, regular and decaf.  I don't normally like the taste of coffee, but gave in to peer pressure and drank some macadamia nut decaf (with lots of sugar and cream).  Then we took the tour (which for some reason, was called a "maze"), inspecting coffee plants and harvesting/drying equipment.

Afterward, we headed into Lihue town to grab some local grub at Hamura Saimin Stand.  I had wanted to try this place out for a while ever since reading about it in the Ultimate Kauai guidebook, but didn't get a chance to do it until now.  It was located on a side street in a shady part of town, next to motels offering rooms with no view for $75 a night.  The eatery was set up as diner service, where you find a stool and sit down.  The waitress throws you a menu that's seen better days, hand you a place setting consisting of paper napkin, disposable wooden snap chopsticks and plastic Chinese soup spoon, as well as a small glass of water.  Four of us ordered the "special" saimin and two got the wonton noodle soup.  Wontons here are not the same as wontons in California.  I think the inside was filled with unmarinated lean ground pork, nothing else, no shrimp, no mushrooms, or any sort of flavor.  Not a fan of these.  The other toppings were okay, nothing spectacular.  It was $6.75 for a bowl, so it was an inexpensive way to fill your stomach.

After lunch, we hit another farmer's market at Vidinha Stadium in Lihue.  The market was to start at 3pm, but tons of people were already milling about, looking at all the vendors' produce.  Sheri's mom selected a couple of huge ripe papayas to purchase, but the vendor told her that she couldn't pay until 3pm.   At around 2:58pm, a "grand marshal" of sorts blew a loud whistle, then everyone rushed the vendors!  I wasn't sure what people were scrambling to buy.  We picked up longans and starfruit in addition to the papayas.

Our last night in Kauai, boo hoo!  (Ed and Angela had already boarded a plane back to the mainland)  We headed back to Poipu and arrived at the Wyndham.  I pulled the van up to the porte-cochere and went into the hotel lobby to check in.  The desk agent offered me a fresh flower lei!  She also offered to give leis to the rest of the group in the van, but I told her that they were all taking a nap after the long drive.  When I returned to the van, I mentioned that they could get leis if they wanted, so Sheri, her dad and my dad went in to get some.  The men were presented with kukui nut leis.

Our villa was on the 2nd floor in one of the buildings closest to the shore.  The elevators were "semi-private", meaning you pushed the button corresponding to your villa, and the elevator would move, and once it reached your floor, it would open to your private hallway that led to the villa.  (the opposite elevator door would open if you were going to the villa next door)  The front door was made of really nice wood.  Upon entering the villa, the "oohing and ahhing" commenced.  The place was decorated with rich dark woods mixed with a soothing neutral color palette along with tropical accents.  Plush duvets, fluffy towels and robes made it very luxurious.  Three bedrooms and three baths...$361 was a bargain, versus getting three hotel rooms and no kitchen. (though we could have saved money by checking into the $75 motel near the saimin restaurant...NOT!)  The "oceanview" portion of it was mostly a "filtered" view through the palm trees since we were on the 2nd floor, and the building had 4 floors.

king bed in master bedroom

master bathroom

master shower with Grohe fixtures

master walk-in closet

great room with wrap-around floor-to-ceiling glass doors that slid all the way open

gourmet kitchen with granite countertops, Wolf appliances and built-in refrigerator

one side of wrap-around lanai

other side of lanai

queen bed in 2nd bedroom

2nd bedroom's bath, which was also the "public" bathroom

two twin beds in 3rd bedroom

private full separate shower and bath in 3rd bedroom

walk-in laundry room

last day in Hawaii :(

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the on-site pool and hot tub, pretty much had it to ourselves.  Here's a picture that I stole from the Wyndham website:

Later that night, I read a brochure in the villa that gave contact information in case we were interested in "ownership".  Apparently, these villas were for sale, not as timeshares, but fully owned property that was managed by Wyndham if you wanted to rent it out.  There were more buildings to be built in the next year.  I looked it up on the internet, and to buy a place like the one we were staying at would cost close to $2 million!  I think I'd rather rent...

Saturday, we checked out and headed to the airport to catch our flight at 2pm.  My mom and I were upgraded on our flight from Lihue to LAX, yay!  The flight had started non-eventful, with a decent beef curry dinner but not-so-great movie ("Unstoppable").  But as we got closer to the mainland, a storm was going on, and we started experiencing turbulence, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Then we hit an "air pocket"...the plane probably dropped a few hundred feet.  People were a bit shook up, but we brushed it off.  The captain announced that the flight attendants should be seated.  Then we hit another air pocket; we dropped sharply again and I heard a loud crash in the forward galley and a flight attendant screamed.  I saw three flight attendants sitting on the ground in the galley, not knowing when it would be safe to stand up again.  The phone next to the exit door was ringing (near my seat), but no one was there to answer.  I turned around wondering if I should answer, but watched the passenger sitting in 8D take off his seat belt and grab the phone, probably the captain calling about status and did not know that most of the flight attendants were on the floor just right outside of the cockpit.  The plane shortly stabilized with little to no turbulence, and everyone was on their feet again.  What a scare!  It was probably my second worst flight ever in all my flying history...I actually cinched my seat belt tighter across my hips.  Eventually we made it all the way back to San Jose after midnight...an unforgettable end to our week-long stay in paradise.  Mom and Dad, hope you enjoyed your 40th wedding anniversary trip (minus the air pockets)!

Where in the world is Kat Kong going next?  I'm taking my 8-week sabbatical in the middle of April!  (so long overdue)  The only plans set in stone so far is a 9-day trip end of May with Babe to Machu Picchu, which includes a 4-day Inca Trail hike up in high altitude.  We're doing some practice hikes to prepare...last weekend, Babe and I hiked Picacho Peak again.  My legs are sore right now, but not as sore as they were when I first did it.  Does that mean I'm in better shape or a smarter hiker?  :)  Next, we'll hike Humphreys Peak after the snow melts, to get some altitude practice.  Stay tuned!

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"...