Day 3, Wailua Falls

Here we go, day 3, Saturday.  The highlight of today was time spent with some locals.  We drove back to Wailua Falls so we could all see it this time.  Near the falls we discovered vendors who were weaving items out of coconut palm fronds; Don and Cheryl.

Cheryl is weaving a small basket which Carol is now the proud owner of. To the left of Don you can see an open-topped hat which he was working on as well as the bags which are holding the coconut palm fronds they cut fresh that morning.

This is a very cute fish on a rod which Don was able to make very quickly.  He offered to teach us if we came back in a couple days.  It was a deal we couldn't refuse.  We hope to be able to teach our students to make these fun fish.

Nearby, we found Don and Cheryl's friend, Wilson.  As Don said, Wilson doesn't talk much but he's a good listener.  He started out as an alternative Jack-o-lantern.  And of course the name Wilson is from the Tom Hanks movie, "Castaway."  We have discovered that several people here have their own form of Wilson.  We liked the lei and head scarf.







Oh, yes.  Nearly forgot something -- Wailua Falls.  Here they are!

If you're feeling ambitious, go back to Day 1 and see how much the falls have diminished in the last two days.  The first picture was taken after a couple days of heavy rain, just prior to our arrival.  This picture was after two days of only occasional rain showers.  We enjoyed noticing the difference.  By the way, these are the falls shown in the opening scene of Fantasy Island.  This is a view from the south while the show used a view more from the northeast, but they are the same falls.

This photo is of an acacia wood tree (acacia koa) at the top of the falls.  They originated in Africa but were brought here and have thrived.  They are now considered to be endemic.  The Hawai'ians are proud of their Koa trees, from which they make beautiful jewelry, bowls, hair clips, you name it.

When we headed back to our car, Don had gotten a coconut for us and is here seen opening it.

While Don worked at opening the coconut with his knife and machete', Cheryl showed us where they planted a baby coconut palm tree.  It is now two months old.

Deanne had never had fresh coconut milk so she's about to give it a try for the first time.  (Funny how Cheryl, who lives on the beach, now looks like the tourist while holding Deanne's camera, water bottle, coconut and palm frond grasshopper!)  Don is giving the sign for, "hang loose," which is the thing to do here while being photographed.  So far, the people of Kauai seem to be living up to that motto.  :)

 

Here is Deanne trying the coconut milk.  It was so fresh.  It was really sweet and amazing -- much better than what comes from a coconut on the mainland.

Day 2, Close to home

Today was our first full day here.  We started it with coffee and fresh fruit on the lanai (balcony) while watching the breezes blow the palms and listening to the ocean while watching surfers and snorkelers.  It is paradise!  We then walked around the resort and took many photos of the beautiful flowers.

Hibiscus are everywhere and in many colors!

 Roosters are also everywhere.  They were released years ago during Hurricane Iniki and have gone forth and multiplied.  You see them in yards, in town, in the country -- everywhere.  You hear roosters crow throughout the morning.

Bird of paradise are so beautiful and a common occurrence.

     


Not sure what this is but couldn't resist taking a picture.  :)

Everything wants to grow here, even out of the rocks.

Plumeria trees abound in yellow/white as seen here, but also various combinations of pink, yellow and white.

Typical detritus in paradise.  Poor dying flower -- yet so lovely.

This was taken at a little cove we found up the road.  You may notice it is the photo that makes up the background to our blog.  What an amazing scene!

A few years ago, Carol spent five days in Maui before finally seeing a sea turtle.  Here she got to see them the first day!  There are two shown here.  One is just left of center in the blue water and the other is to the left and higher up, at the top of the wave.  Sooooo cool.

This is the view across the street from another area of the resort.  Ahhh....

It's a little difficult to see but the tree behind Deanne has what looks like roots coming down from above her head, into the ground.  And do you see the size of the fern to the right of her?  Wow!

We spent more time later in the day watching the turtles up close.  Here, one very politely posed for us with his head out of the water.

More detritus in paradise.  Still lovely.  Actually, we were glad we weren't standing underneath when this fell.  It is at least 9' long and where the branch broke is quite hard.  This first day has been rather windy at times.

And here is the end of our first day in paradise.  The sunset was gorgeous.  Actually, the day was not over.  Sunset was at about 7:20 pm -- nearly two hours earlier than in Washington!

Day 1, July 7, 2011

The Kumu have landed!  (Before continuing, you may choose to read the Vital Information page first.)  This was a travel day for all of us.  After a leisurely slumber before their 10:25 am flight, Deanne and Carol traveled NON-STOP, 1st CLASS (seats 1A and 1C), while being treated like royalty with mimosas, macadamia nuts, fresh flowers, mai-tais, movies (on personal digE-players), lunch and most importantly, leg-room!

Meanwhile, no, actually, before, Kim got up at 4:00 am to travel in COACH class to her FIRST STOP in San Francisco which included 1 Sprite Zero (but hey -- there were at least 4 ice cubes!).  After nearly TWO HOURS in San Francisco, she boarded the plane and began her LONG trek to her COACH seat, 39A (For those of you who are not quite getting the full effect of what this means, lets just say the pilot was halfway to Kauai before she left the runway.), where she was graciously served 2 Diet Cokes, receiving a napkin with each serving.  (And not to be ungrateful, the flight attendant did provide headphones free of charge, which are still sealed in their original packaging in her backpack, hoping for the day she might fly FIRST CLASS.)  Two hours into her flight, the Diet Cokes were beginning to require a visit to the ladies room.  But being that exiting seat 39A was nothing short of extricating ones-self from a tightly-sealed sardine can, she waited until four hours into the flight, when the gentleman in seat 39C finally stood up, to request the woman in seat 39B to please allow her to make a trip to the ladies room.  Whew!  Because there is justice in the world, Kim landed nearly 30 minutes early while Carol and Deanne arrived nine minutes late.  :)

To make a very long story much shorter, Kim got the rental car and decided to explore while waiting for the others to arrive.  She found her way out of Lihue to Wailua Falls.

Beautiful!  There had been a LOT of rain the two days prior and the river was bursting over the falls with quite a roar.










The 4-mile drive to the falls provided a spectacular view of some of the mountains here and so many shades of green that this area must have been the inspiration for the Crayola Factory Green Department.

It was a wonderful first excursion -- while Carol and Deanne were STILL airborne in seats 1A and 1C. Score another point for Kim.  :)

We finally came together, stocked up on goods from Costco and enjoyed the lovely 20-minute drive to Lawai Beach Resort.  The rest of the evening was spent settling in, unpacking, eating dinner on the lanai and Carol and Deanne relaxed from a long day of travel while Kim relaxed from a VERY long day of travel.

P.S.  Here are a couple shots of Kim's first views of Kauai.

So blue!

Very rugged beautiful coastline!

Vital Information

Aloha!

Welcome to our blog: 'Ekolu Hau'oli Kumu in Kauai.  We have chocolate-covered macademia nuts to the first person who can figure out what that says!  (No small task since we made it up.)  =)

The three of us will be contributing entries when we are not swimming, snorkeling, sunning, sightseeing, shopping, sea turtle watching, snacking, story-telling, snickering, smiling, strolling, sunset-watching, showering or sleeping.  Looks like it will be a short blog since we are doing one or more of those at all times!

We would love to have you jot a quick hello when you stop by so we know you were here.  There will be a test when we get home.

Mahalo!

Carol (She Who Swims With Turtles), Deanne and Kim (earned titles forthcoming...)

P.S. The photo making the border was taken just down the road from us.  :)