Aloha all,
Today is Monday, and I'm writing after most of today's events have finished. Our laundry is finally dry but is very musty because it rained so much yesterday that nothing really dried well, so we will have to prevail upon our hostess tomorrow to use her washer. :) The weather report in Kona is sunny and 80 for the next several days, so we could probably hang everything out in the sun and do fine.
Yesterday we had intended to try to find some local hikes, but the weather was very unpredictable and any trails we tried would likely have been too slippery and dangerous to attempt (especially without hiking poles), so we stayed local. We did hike to the beach associated with the condos next door (it's a public access beach), and that was certainly something, because it takes at least 15 minutes of straight hiking to get there. The trail begins on the lawns beyond the condos, and goes down a big grassy hill, then up through some bushes and around and down another quite steep hill, then winds up and down through more ground cover until one gets to a relatively straight walk through some woods. Don't ask me what kind of trees, because botany isn't my strong suit.
After the woods, there are some very steep slopes with steel pipes holding up boards to make some rough stairs (all mud by now); one goes down two of these staircases and over some rocks to a pine-needle-littered trail that runs next to the ocean. This is the north shore, so the ocean is on one's right, and the trees on the left. This trail, which has plenty of exposed roots, meanders around a corner after a few minutes and one can see the beach on the right. There are still large black rocks over which to clamber to get down to the beach level. Whew.
The beach itself is amazing - it's a very quiet cove with huge waves just north which must be mitigated by some kind of reef, because the waves which reach the shore are small. I have read it's a good beach for snorkeling. We didn't get in the water much, though yesterday I did wear my swim togs. This was good because the tide was coming in, so I got hit with several unexpected waves as I sat on the beach. The prime attraction of this beach for me is that it is basically composed of tiny shells, the like of which are made into necklaces on Ni'ihau, and those necklaces sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and rightly so, given the amount of labor that is put into them.
We also went to the Princeville Center to do some shopping; there is a grocery store (I think I mentioned that), and a few small shops. There was a guy at a kiosk selling these necklaces made of the tiny shells; he does the work himself, so it's not a genuine Ni'ihau product, but they were beautiful nonetheless. We talked shop a little because I do the ringweaving (chain maille) that is also very meticulous. He had never heard of it.
We made pasta for dinner in the nanokitchen, and then ate popcorn and watched Studio C videos on YouTube until it was time for bed. It gets dark so early here (comparatively) that I always want to go to bed at 7 PM. I think we are finally adjusting to the time change, and we will be going back home in 5 days, only to get used to it the other way (which is harder). But oh well, that's the price one pays. :) And the girls will have another several days to get used to it because they will be on spring break when we get home.
Today we went to the beach in the morning, since it was sunny, and then to Hanalei, the next town west of Princeville. It's a little coastal touristy town, with some nice shopping and places to eat, and a place called Havaiiki, part museum, part ship featuring Polynesian cultural art and jewelry. We spent a lot of time there (considering that the building is smaller than this apartment) and looked at everything. My older kid finally bought a book of tales about Kauai, and we took home a bunch of "handout" materials they had available.
We had lunch at a nice grille, and also had fun trying on clothes at a place called Tropical Tantrum, which specializes in batik shirts and dresses. I can never get the kids to try on clothes at home so I was impressed that they were interested, especially in the dresses. I ended up getting them each one for their birthday (even though the younger one doesn't have a birthday until June). They look great in them.
The road to and from Hanalei has a couple of scenic lookouts, and there is a single lane bridge on the way there; the way this works is that 5 - 7 cars go over in one direction, then 5 - 7 cars in the other direction. This keeps traffic flowing pretty well. It rained a little on and off - more of a mist, really - and we came home and packed some things to mail home to clear up the luggage. It will be nice to have packages waiting for us when we get home.
The kids are playing chess again - there seems to be a lot of dialog among the "pieces," consisting of playful taunting and banter. Time to make dinner and then pack to leave for the Big Island tomorrow.
Aloha and love,
wb
No comments:
Post a Comment