Road Trip 1

An interesting fact about Kauai is that you cannot circumnavigate the very small island by car.  From where we were staying (approximately 5:30 on an analog clock), one could drive west to approximately 7:30 and then take a windy highway straight up north, almost (but not quite) re-connecting with the coast at 10:00 with a distant view through the canyons to about 10:30).
Or one could also choose to drive east and drive around the coast reaching somewhere between 11:45 and 12:00.  But the space between 10 and 12 has no navigable roads and is what is known as the pristine Napali Coast.  A view to die for (maybe quite literally if done by foot, helicopter or boat--your only options).  The waters were too choppy for us to take a boat tour (and by us, I mean me. Tiago was too young and Nate had no desire to get on a boat for 5 hours).  Since we were based in Po'ipu (5:30), we did two separate day trips. See next post (Road Trip 2) for our east coast trip to Hanalei.

The 1st road trip took us west and up north through Waimea Canyon and Koke'e state park.

First stop Waimea Canyon Lookout.  (AKA: The Grand Canyon of the Pacific)

 (If you look hard, you might spot a tiny helicopter flying by those waterfalls)

The red soil of the land is no joke (well, except that many tourists buy the famous, organic, "Red Dirt Shirt" which will later stain your laundry in a lovely red mud color, if you don't follow the directions.  Nate decided to get wear his bright orange shirt instead.)

(Above: selfie on the cell-phone. No reception but still good for taking poor-quality pictures)

  

And, below, where the earth seems to end...and what a glorious ending!

At Koke'e State Park one feels like you are approaching the edge of the world.  Then, the mist clears and you see the breathtaking Napali Coast (the only peek of the peak you'll get unless you venture onto a boat, helicopter or serious hike--like out of the LOST series).

Guilar Generation 3.0

(Above: Tiago is missing his shoes after an earlier hiking trek back at the Waimea Canyon stop)

Wai'Ale'Ale (seriously, Hawaii is a dyslexic person's nightmare.  You can't even fudge your way phonetically through these names or you're likely to be correctly naming an entirely different place!)  Here, as I watched Nate and Tiago walk across this mountain ridge into the mist, with dramatic drops on either side (or at least that's what I imagined because I couldn't really see anything for sure), I suddenly found myself yelling after them to stop.  I couldn't help but feel like they were about to disappear into the clouds forever.  Nature, I respect it and sometimes fear it.

Above, not accurately captured on camera, is a metallic-teal-blue, miniscule ladybug in the palm of Tiago's little hand.  It was floating atop Tiago's hair, sparkling like a beautiful sequins.  I plucked it from a strand of his hair, and it opened its little wings to reveal that it was indeed a beautiful bug and not a creepy tropical tick.  Wheew!

Last stop on the Kauai west-coast tour: JoJo's Anuenue Shaved Ice.  It's served over macadamia-nut ice-cream! The kids went for the bubble-gum, rootbeer flavors served over vanilla ice-cream to which I scoffed.  But, as it turns out, the Liliko'i (Hawaiian Passion-fruit), mango, and guava flavors kind of taste like an amazing bubble-gum!  In fact, the bright yellow Liliko'i reminded me of the Peruvian soft-drink Inca Kola.  Hmmm, passion-fruit, who knew?
(Click on "Older Posts" to see the final installment of the Hawaiian blog series!)