The flight was uneventful – aside from the small child who was having a complete screaming tantrum because he didn’t have a window. He was right behind me, and I could blot out the shrieking with my ipod, but couldn’t ignore the kicking of my seat back at frequent intervals throughout the flight. WHY ME??? I had already had to suffer a shrieking child at the airport having a tantrum over something. Not sure what, but it may have been something to do with the fact her parents had named her Swallow…I mean, that would make me want to have a tantrum right there!
The hotel is lovely – just outside Lihue. It’s very lush and tropical with views over the beach to the crashing surf. It’s quite hypnotic watching it – its BIG surf! The hotel also does a Mai Tai hour where they give them away for free at the pool bar. We had a couple – pretty potent they were too!! We were pretty exhausted last night so didn’t stay up too late (it’s a 6 hour time difference from DC and we definitely have not acclimatized yet!). We sat in the bar listening to a guitarist/singer who was recording a loop and building up a backing track as he played through each song (think KT Tunstall and you’ll get what I mean). He was excellent, and had one particularly cute little female fan who was dancing about and was absolutely entranced. She got a special rendition of “wheels on the bus” dedicated to her which she seemed to enjoy a lot!
This morning I hit the pool for a bit whilst Stephen listened to the Rangers v Celtic match on radio Clyde via the internet. He was sitting in the lobby, so I can only hope that he kept the shouting and swearing to himself! He then went down to the airport and sorted out picking up the hire car. After I’d got changed we headed off down to Lihue for some lunch, then went on an expedition to Poipu. It wasn’t far actually, just down the coast. There is some really stunning scenery…huge mountains, tropical rainforest, white sand beaches…gorgeous!
They also had Starbucks in a little mall, so we were compelled to stop. I know where all the surfer dudes seek employment now! It was staffed by a team of blonde dudes whom, without any stretch, you could imagine catching a wave down on the beach! I had popped into the restroom and was washing my hands (or rather trying to!). I was well lathered with soap and trying to make the tap work. It was a sensor thing and it had already gone off once when I walked in, so I knew it worked…just not the way I expected it to! I was waving my hands about all over the sink trying to get water out of the faucet to no avail!! I was doing this for minutes!! I got to the stage where I thought “Sod it, I’m going to have to wipe the soap off with paper towel” and had turned away when the tap came on!! It was a mad dash back to the sink before it stopped again. I guess the sensor was set about 3 ft from the basin…or I’m going to be on Candid Camera shortly!!
After our coffee fix we headed along to the Spouting Horn, a blowhole just along from Poipu. The sea rushes under a shelf of lava and forces the water up through a hole, causing a geyser of water to erupt from the rocks. It can shoot as high as 50ft. There was lots of “Ooohs” and “ahhhs” from people watching. There were also sea turtles swimming about. We’ve seen quite a lot today, and it was fascinating to watch them making their way along in the surf. It must have seemed like the turtle equivalent to a thrill tide at Busch gardens as it was definitely “surfs up” today!
Kauai could also be known as the poultry isle! There are loads of chickens and roosters roaming about the roads, parking lots, shopping malls and hotels. I’m very glad the crowing didn’t start until about 7:30 this morning…otherwise it would have been chicken soup for lunch! At the Spouting Horn there were lots of little chicks being herded about by their mommy. Stephen was actually stopping traffic at one point to ensure that they had safe passage across the parking lot!!
We only got slightly lost on the way back – just a small detour!! We dropped into Hilo Hatties to have a look at the Hawaiian goods on offer. I got a really gorgeous pottery dish and Stephen got a shirt!! Yes, he is now the proud owner of a loud floral patterned shirt! I was trying to talk him into getting a pair of funky, loud Jams (swim shorts), but he wasn’t so keen. I also picked up a cute little shirt and short set for my little nephew. It was very cute and reasonably tasteful – well it didn’t immediately induce a migraine anyway!!
We’re planning on going out to dinner tonight as there is a production of South Pacific going on at the hotel tonight. Much as I love “I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair” I’m not sure I want to watch it whilst eating dinner!! We’re got lots more exploring planned for tomorrow, and we need to find out how we get to a Luau – after all you can’t come to Hawaii and miss out on grass skirts and hula can you?
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