Waiting for the bus Ambiana and I looked at the waterfalls through binoculars while Colleen booked us an extra night at Lydgate State Park. The bus came and we took the 1.5 hour ride into Lihue where I ate my breakfast at the bus stop while the girld got poke bowls at the fish market and I chatted with a haole Trump supporter from Georgia who now lives here.
When the girls got back we walked to the airport where the resort shuttle picked us up and took us to our swanky resort. We got a room with 2 beds a balcony a big TV and a bathroom and the girls immediately hit the pool and hot tubs while I shaved my face before joining them. After 25 days camping it was luxurious to sit in a hot tub, the pool though was full of chlorine which really irritated Jakobi’s eyes.
Kaua’i Beach Resort
We mostly hung in the room, cooking on the balcony. Colleen and I got happy hour drinks and an appetizer in the bar and the girls joined us for birthday lava cake and ice cream because it is AMBIANA’S 14TH BIRTHDAY!
I really wanted her to celebrate in the breathtakingly beautiful Kalalau Valley but to be honest the Kauai Beach Resort is more her thing. We watched a movie til late then lingered packing up until checkout at 11am then hung by the pool until 1pm.
I checked the trail status and they closed it yesterday and it is still closed We definately made the right decision. Colleen was tired of walking around and taking the bus so she booked us a rental car for our final 3 days and the resort shuttle took us back to the airport to pick it up. We drove to the supermarket and saw a Dominoes Pizza and after seeing so many commercials for it last night ate pizza for lunch then spent $101 on groceries and drove to the mini storage to pick up the rest of our stuff.
Lydgate State Park
We then drove North to Lydgate State Park just South of Kapa’a and set up camp on an ocean front spot in the howling wind. We then went into Kapa’a because Colleen had seen a sign for FREE HULA ON FRIDAY at the Coconut Marketplace and we sat under a small pavillion as it rained with 20 other folk and were thoroughly entertained by 6th generation 89 year old Hawaiian Larry Riviera and his granddaughter. He played ukulele and sang while she danced beautiful hula. He told stories of performing on Fantasy Island, backing up Elvis in his Hawai’i movies, his 64 years at the Coconut Grove Hotel which sits gutted and abandoned across the street and of his 6 kids, 17 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. He pulled me out of my seat to do a hula and make fun of my hip swinging. It was fun and the music was good and then we walked through the tourist shops before heading back to our wind pummeled tent for the night.
There was a family with 4 kids setting up next to us but in the morning they taking it all down, just too much wind. Rainy and windy Colleen went for a run, the girls went to explore the playground and I stood on the beach watching the waves and the wind play havoc with each other. When Colleen came back she took the girls in search of a thrift store while I walked first to the hotel and then doubled back to the Waimea Golf Club to watch football. The 49’s beat the Rams while I sipped a Guinness and ate a burger. Only one game for me, I walked the beach back to find the girls just returned.
Kaala, Laeisha and family arrived around 4pm and we hung out for a few hours. They are heading back to Ani’ni because they find Lydgate too sketchy; lots of vagrant mentally unwell Hawaiians lurking about. We hung at the playground and I watched bts and pieces of the 2nd football game on a tv in a condo through binoculars.
One more night in the tent. Colleen got up and went for a run and when she got back we packed up and left. We took the road up the Wailua River and looked at one last waterfall then got gas and headed to the airport where we re-packed for he flight home. We returned the car and checked in. Our flight was rescheduled for an hour later (4:15 pm). There was a massive line at security but I scouted out another checkpoint and there was no line there so I quietly got the girls and led them (and about 20 others around us in line) back to it and we got through in 5 minutes.
We flew 6 hours to LA, had an hour before a 4 hour flight to Chicago, had 2 hours before our 3 hour flight to Logan. Slept a little, watched some screens and was in Boston by Noon. Silver line to Red Line to Porter, walk to John’s put macadamia nuts and coffee in his door start the car and drive 3.5 hours to the Coop for food and then home where we got the fire going, filled the water tank, put the tin back on the wood pile ate a past meal then took a bath! And 24 hours after we left Lihue we snuggled comfy in our own beds. Home again!
Waiting for the bus Ambiana and I looked at the waterfalls through binoculars while Colleen booked us an extra night at Lydgate State Park. The bus came and we took the 1.5 hour ride into Lihue where I ate my breakfast at the bus stop while the girld got poke bowls at the fish market and I chatted with a haole Trump supporter from Georgia who now lives here.
When the girls got back we walked to the airport where the resort shuttle picked us up and took us to our swanky resort. We got a room with 2 beds a balcony a big TV and a bathroom and the girls immediately hit the pool and hot tubs while I shaved my face before joining them. After 25 days camping it was luxurious to sit in a hot tub, the pool though was full of chlorine which really irritated Jakobi’s eyes.
Kaua’i Beach Resort
We mostly hung in the room, cooking on the balcony. Colleen and I got happy hour drinks and an appetizer in the bar and the girls joined us for birthday lava cake and ice cream because it is AMBIANA’S 14TH BIRTHDAY!
I really wanted her to celebrate in the breathtakingly beautiful Kalalau Valley but to be honest the Kauai Beach Resort is more her thing. We watched a movie til late then lingered packing up until checkout at 11am then hung by the pool until 1pm.
I checked the trail status and they closed it yesterday and it is still closed We definately made the right decision. Colleen was tired of walking around and taking the bus so she booked us a rental car for our final 3 days and the resort shuttle took us back to the airport to pick it up. We drove to the supermarket and saw a Dominoes Pizza and after seeing so many commercials for it last night ate pizza for lunch then spent $101 on groceries and drove to the mini storage to pick up the rest of our stuff.
Lydgate State Park
We then drove North to Lydgate State Park just South of Kapa’a and set up camp on an ocean front spot in the howling wind. We then went into Kapa’a because Colleen had seen a sign for FREE HULA ON FRIDAY at the Coconut Marketplace and we sat under a small pavillion as it rained with 20 other folk and were thoroughly entertained by 6th generation 89 year old Hawaiian Larry Riviera and his granddaughter. He played ukulele and sang while she danced beautiful hula. He told stories of performing on Fantasy Island, backing up Elvis in his Hawai’i movies, his 64 years at the Coconut Grove Hotel which sits gutted and abandoned across the street and of his 6 kids, 17 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. He pulled me out of my seat to do a hula and make fun of my hip swinging. It was fun and the music was good and then we walked through the tourist shops before heading back to our wind pummeled tent for the night.
There was a family with 4 kids setting up next to us but in the morning they taking it all down, just too much wind. Rainy and windy Colleen went for a run, the girls went to explore the playground and I stood on the beach watching the waves and the wind play havoc with each other. When Colleen came back she took the girls in search of a thrift store while I walked first to the hotel and then doubled back to the Waimea Golf Club to watch football. The 49’s beat the Rams while I sipped a Guinness and ate a burger. Only one game for me, I walked the beach back to find the girls just returned.
Kaala, Laeisha and family arrived around 4pm and we hung out for a few hours. They are heading back to Ani’ni because they find Lydgate too sketchy; lots of vagrant mentally unwell Hawaiians lurking about. We hung at the playground and I watched bts and pieces of the 2nd football game on a tv in a condo through binoculars.
One more night in the tent. Colleen got up and went for a run and when she got back we packed up and left. We took the road up the Wailua River and looked at one last waterfall then got gas and headed to the airport where we re-packed for he flight home. We returned the car and checked in. Our flight was rescheduled for an hour later (4:15 pm). There was a massive line at security but I scouted out another checkpoint and there was no line there so I quietly got the girls and led them (and about 20 others around us in line) back to it and we got through in 5 minutes.
We flew 6 hours to LA, had an hour before a 4 hour flight to Chicago, had 2 hours before our 3 hour flight to Logan. Slept a little, watched some screens and was in Boston by Noon. Silver line to Red Line to Porter, walk to John’s put macadamia nuts and coffee in his door start the car and drive 3.5 hours to the Coop for food and then home where we got the fire going, filled the water tank, put the tin back on the wood pile ate a past meal then took a bath! And 24 hours after we left Lihue we snuggled comfy in our own beds. Home again!