Friday, January 6thToday - as you all should know by now - was another early day. Not so much because we happened to be up early but because we wanted to spend the day up North while still having to manage to be back for Shabbes in time. I didn't want to have to regret skipping stuff I wanted to do (and see) because I didn't manage my time efficiently so we got out and about early.
Thank G-d we hit the perfect day with sunshine wherever we looked and after putting down the roof of the convertible we were off to Ke'e Beach. I really wanted to do part of the Kalalau trail and while doing so my wife was going to chill at the beach for a little. My original plan was to hike all the way to the Hanakapi'ai Falls but being that that would take up a good 4-5 hours RT, that was not going to happen without my wife hiking with me (which she wasn't ever. ever. gonna do). So I decided that Hanakapi'ai Beach was going to be my goal for this trip.
Loving One-Way bridges so much more in the sunshineI also wanted to be like one of those cool Youtube adventurers and actually filmed my entire hike with my GoPro
with live commentary. I thought I was doing a good job until I uploaded all my content onto my laptop and my wife started laughing hysterically. What did I do wrong? Was the volume not working? Or the camera off the whole time? Neither. For the first 35 minutes, my camera was basically 3/4 covered by the 'not so skinny' lady's butt in front of me. #Fail
Either way the hike was very slippery with several parts being blocked off by construction workers that were actively working on the trail. Don't forget, there was heavy rain just days before which directly impacted the trail (obviously). As such I encourage anyone that wants to hike the trail to always check-in beforehand to ensure that the trail is open the day of the hike. While it was open the day I went, 20 minutes in, several workers did stop us all to tell us where our hike would end for the day (if we listened) as it wasn't safe for us to continue. Sadly that was before the beach and - what must be a surprise to you all - for once, I listened.
After taking a nice little dip in Ke'e followed by a snorkeling attempt which yielded zero noteworthy appearances, I dried myself off and we made our way over to Cannons Beach. There is no reef protecting Cannons so swimming - especially in the Winter - is a major major No-No. Many local surfers prefer the break at Cannons over the one at Tunnels (plus more seclusion as less tourists hang out there) and you can watch some fun waves breaking and surfers getting nailed.
What a life. Just surfs all day.
This was a small one. Waves were in the 10ft. range that day
After that it was time to check out the Hanalei neighborhood. You can't miss it. Just make sure your window is down and you'll know you are there as soon as the smell of fresh pot takes over the air.
Hanalei Beach
Hanalei Peer
Kids having fun. All day every day.From there we went to check out Princeville. What a beautiful area. I would totally get myself a second home there if it wasn't for the ridiculous prices which remind me a lot of Long Island. Can't find a single 4BR for under $1MM
Princeville Golf Course
After finding parking it was time to head down to Queen's Bath. PSA: Either you use real hiking shoes or go barefoot. With anything else such as sneakers and/or flip flops, you run a real risk of hurting yourself due to the very slippery terrain. If you are within a day or two of rain, the mud makes it even more insanely slippery.
Major Flooding ahead
This commercial was partially shot on my way down to Queen's Bath. Boy did they hold us all up. Youtube Fame
After watching the craziness unfold a bit it was time to make my way back to the car. While I would have loved to jump in, it didn't take more then 2 minutes of wave watching to see how that would have ended. Now I have to make sure to come back in the summer at one point to swim in there.
It was starting to get late and we thus decided not to actually enter the light house but to merely spend a few minutes by the observation area checking out the views and enjoying the breeze.
Kilaeua Lighthouse
We also ran into a bird watcher who showed us some stunning pictures but after displaying these man's tools to Something Fishy,SF wasn't very impressed.
It was finally time to head home but not before stopping off at Banana Joe's. This place is THE happening joint. And their Frosties are sooo good. Basically a champion juicer they only use for fruit and take frozen fruit (when we came they only had pineapple) and throw it in there creating an ice cream like consistency which is delicious and refreshing. They also have a variety of local fruits such as Rambutan and Egg fruit which looked delicious.
This was it for our day. We finally got home with around an hour to spare before shabbes. Enough time to shower and watch a bit of TV before our food - that we had sent to be warmed up while on the road - was delivererd to us. Finally my wife got what she wanted: A full day with me just hanging out around the hotel.
While on the topic of North-shore, here is my take on staying there for a few days while in Kauai:If you are into lush nature, great hiking, lesser tourists and many amazing secluded beaches along the way, I would encourage you to stay up North for 2-3 days if you are in Kauai for at least a week. If I came to Kauai again with my kids or by myself I would do exactly that because I feel like there is so much Id like to do up North without feeling rushed or making multiple trips up there. Day Trips are - without traffic - at least 90 minutes each way. That already cuts into your day severely and you will right away feel a certain sense of "rushing" as opposed to fully enjoying it knowing that time is way less of the essence. You can AirBnB it if you don't want to spend a lot of money on hotels and can really take in a completely different side of Kauai. Again, that is my opinion and is very heavily pegged to the fact that I really enjoyed the North and could spend a lot more time up there.
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