June 11 - Beach Day

This was a beach day. We drove to the end of the road to Ke'e Beach. It was spectacular. A little crowded, but still beautiful. We snorkeled, walked and just relaxed. When it became too crowded for our tastes we drove back towards Hanalei...stopping at several other beaches along the way. After cleaning up we went into Princeville. Shopped, explored Puu Poa Beach and had drinks at The Happy Talk Lounge. It has a great view of Hanalei Bay. Before dinner we caught another wonderful sunset. Very nice day.

Ke'e Beach
Na Pali CoastHa'ena BeachLumaha'i RiverLumaha'i Beach (South Pacific was filmed here)Puu Poa Beach (Beach at Princeville Resort)Stan relaxing at Puu Poa BeachSusie at Puu Poa BeachSunset on Hanalei Bay

June 10 - Moving Day

We drove into Lihue and picked up our keys for our new house and then drove to Hanalei...what a beautiful place. We stopped at the overlook to the valley and then went into town. Had lunch at Panda Kitchen and saw Pierce Bronsan eating at another little restaurant. We spent the afternoon at the beach in Hanalei, the house is only a block away from the beach. We went back for the sunset...I can't think of a prettier place than this. We had a nice surprise when we got to our house...it does have the Internet. It is nice to be able to check emails and post a few pictures.

Puanani House, our house in Hanalei. Scenic Overlook
Hanalei Bay

June 9 - Kuilau Ridge Trail

We spent the morning hiking at Kuilau Ridge Trail. It was a nice hike...nothing extreme. Nice views, but could have been better if the weather was clearer. This afternoon we kayaked to the mouth of the Wailua River and relaxed in the shade of some trees. The weather has been wonderful.

Kuilau Ridge Trail

Looking back to our pierShady spot near the mouth of the Wailua River

June 8 - Lazy Day

We spent the day just relaxing. Paddled up the river a little ways this morning and then walked along the water in town and had lunch at Mermaids... which is a funky little walk up counter with a few tables on the sidewalk. We each had a wrap...they were so big we could have split one. We hung out around the house in the afternoon. Here are a few pictures I have been playing with on photoshop while Stan took a nap. There are chicken and roosters everywhere... hard not to take a few pictures of them.

June 7 - Waimea Canyon

Today we drove up to Waimea Canyon. We picked up some malasadas (Portuguese donuts) at Hanalima Baking Co. for breakfast on the way to the canyon. We hiked the Pihea Trail (3 miles) and looked at the Kalalau Valley. Then hiked to an overlook of the Waimea Canyon (1.5 miles), it is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Pictures really don't do either one justice. We stopped for lunch at Barefoot Burgers in Waimea...boy were we hungry. We stopped to look at Salt Pond Beach and spent a little more time at Glass beach on our way home.

Kalalau ValleyWaimea Canyon

June 6 - Sleeping Giant Hike

Just a few pictures of some of the things we have been doing. We hiked up a mountain called the Sleeping Giant...supposed to look like a giant laying down. This hike ended up being Stan’s favorite…nice views of the river and Kapa’a area (3.5 miles). Later in the afternoon we went to a couple of beaches, the first one is called Moloa'a. They filmed the opening scene of Gilligan's Island here in 1963. Later we tried boogie boarding at Wailua Beach. The waves were way too big and strong for us. We spent most of the time just watching the waves.

Does it look like a giant? Hint: The head is on the left.Views on the way upMoloa'a Sunrise Fruit Stand

Moloa'a Beach

June 5 - Secret Falls

We were up early again today and headed up the Wailua River to Secret Falls. It was a peaceful trip up the river. There is a little side creek off the river that takes you to a trail. It was about a mile hike through the woods to a wonderful waterfall. We were lucky to be the only ones there. By the time we started back...a lot of tours were heading that way. It was very nice to have the place to ourselves. We stopped by Fern Grotto on our way back...this might have been a great place years ago, but not worth much time now.

Secret Falls
Small falls on the way to Secret FallsFern GrottoAfter lunch we drove to the south side of the island and looked around. We shopped a little in Koloa, walked along the cliffs near the Hyatt, looked at Spouting Horn, went to a coffee plantation and found Glass Beach. The sand is made up of tiny pieces of glass. Very unique. We had drinks and pupus at Scotty's Bar-B-Que...their ribs were very good (melt in our mouth...but expensive) and we had a wonderful view of the ocean. We went home and had fresh fish for dinner.

Tree tunnel on the way to KoloaLithified cliffs of MakawehiSpouting HornGlass Beach