Fish Out of Water

Musings and observations about life from an East Coast native now living on the Left Coast in the California State Capitol since 2004. This fish has made her home in Madison, WI (7 years); Portland, OR (2 years); Las Vegas, NV (7 months); Middlebury, VT (3 summers); Marne-la-Vallee, a small town east of Paris, France (6 months); Middletown, CT (3 years); and Marshfield, MA, the fish's coastal hometown 40 miles south of Boston (17 years).

Name:
Location: Sacramento, California, United States

3.24.2016

Kaua'i Trip (Day 3)

March 18 - Wailua River Kayak + Eastside Lunch Traffic + Luau
I managed to find enough sidewalk and side streets for a 35-minute run in the morning, although it wasn't terribly scenic as a chunk of the route went by the industrial port of Kalapaki Bay. We then headed off to find coffee and hopefully breakfast at Ka Coffee in Lihue but only wound up with Americanos and a blueberry scone. After driving past Wailua almost to Kapa'a, we retraced our path back to the McDonald's in Lihue for egg McMuffins as fuel for our planned kayaking adventure on the Wailua River.

Due to the breakfast challenge, we were a bit tardy for our 9am check-in of our "cheap-o" paddle & swim tour at Kaua'i Kayak at the Wailua River Marina, but our guide, Lucas, wasn't too concerned, particularly since we were the only people doing this particular tour today. Lucas gave us some basic instructions about how to paddle, and then we traveled about 2 miles up the river, past the Fern Grotto, to a little swimming hole, where we pulled out of the water for a rest and some snacks.



Given the cool temps and breezy conditions, we decided not to swim and instead continued a bit further up the river until Lucas gave us the signal to turn around. We had a rather challenging return trip, paddling against both the current and the wind, and even Lucas mentioned that it was a bit strenuous!

We were able to shower and change at the Marina facilities and then headed north to Kapa'a to find a place for lunch. Much traffic along Route 56! We found street parking near a little shave ice food truck and wandered around to find a good lunch spot. At Kai Coffee, Mr. E got some caffeine and I got a coconut biscotti (so yummy! fresh flaked coconut!), and then we landed at House of Noodles for lunch, where I got some delicious stir fried tofu with veggies and noodles, and Mr. E enjoyed a kalua pork sandwich.

There was no avoiding the nasty slow traffic on the way from Kapa'a back to Lihue, so we just had to be patient. We took a refreshing dip in the pool and did a bit of body-surfing in the ocean at Kalapaki Bay before getting ready to go out for the evening to the Kilohana Plantation for the Luau Kalamaku.

We browsed the wares of some local artisans and then took advantage of the free tasting at Koloa Rum Company. My favorite was the coffee rum, although the coconut and spice rums were also quite tasty. By the time the tasting was over, the buffet at the Luau had opened up, and it offered sufficient choices for both Mr. E and me, including several traditional Hawai'ian offerings, including poi "shots"! The purple mashed sweet potatoes were especially yummy, and we also enjoyed the open bar for mai tais and wine throughout the evening.

The main entertainment started at 7:30pm (we had arrived at 5:30pm) and told the story of a family that travels from Tahiti to the Hawai'ian Islands. The performance included singing, dancing, hula, and fire-dancing. Amazing!!!



Mr. E got some great video of the female and male fire-dancers, who were absolutely breathtaking. What also impressed and pleased me was the variety of body types among both the female and male performers -- there were two larger men in particular who were just as talented and athletic as their slimmer peers --  and it was great to see truly representative and diverse cast members. We got back to the hotel around 8:45pm and watched more of our Kaua'i travel channel before going to bed.

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