Kaimana Klassic 22 - Kauai day 2
I conducted some web research while I was blogging last night trying to find the best nightspots in Kauai. Rob's something grill and the Nawiliwili Tavern came up 1 and 2 on one website and they were both in Lihue, 10 minutes from my hotel. So I sparked up the GPS around 9:30 and started at Rob's. It was pretty lame when I started, but a sports bar with LOTS of TVs. What is interesting is that NOTHING is live at this hour. It would be tough to follow sports living out here. The only thing I caught live was the Knicks/Clippers overtime (in LA of course).
Had chili and rice with a side of fries (more Kaimana training) and a beer. Then more GPS to get over to Nawiliwili Tavern. This place had more potential but less action. Rob's was sort of crowded when I left, but mostly locals. So asleep by 11.
The next day I set my alarm for 6:30. Dress, put together a backpack for the North Shore. Walk out to the lobby and find out it is POURING rain outside. Ugh. Regardless, get in the car and start my way to the Na Pali coast.
Pretty incredible light for the shot above. I made my way up the coast, hitting some of the tourist things that I had specced out before I got here, including a scenic road, Kilauea pt lighthouse, another one lane scenic road which was in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately I didn't run into any cars. Maniholo Dry Cave, and then I was at the end of the line. Before then I had stopped in Hanalei at a grocery store to buy the breakfast/lunch of champions, a small bag of salt & vinegar chips, a banana, and a bag of peppered beef jerky. Mmmm. I pulled into a secluded beach and stayed there for awhile, waiting for the rain to stop. No luck so I drove to the trailhead, parked, pulled out my book and read for about 25 minutes until the rain stopped and the sun came out. Got my bag ready and onto the trail. It was a two mile hike to the first beach, Hanakapiai. I made it there in about an hour with numerous stops along the way for pictures. Incredible views of the upcoming cliffs including the Kalahau cliffs that I showed the picture of in my previous entry.
I had camped at this beach 25 years ago with my parents. Back then there was an actual sand beach that I had body surfed on, getting slammed into the sand repeatedly. This time it was only rocks, although I was told that the tide was higher in the winter which was why no sand was visible. LOT'S of signs warning people not to even approach the water. Whatever... I took a lot of pictures so that I could try and match it up with a GREAT picture of my with my blond locks at that beach 25 years ago. Also at this point it started raining again. I started on the 1.8 mile trail to Hanakapiai Falls going straight inland. I made great time, although I only passed 2 people coming down from the falls and no one going there. I reached the falls in about 45 minutes, completely empty.
I settled in, put on my bathing suit and started swimming. Pretty cold but the falls were very approachable. I was actually able to reach them and swim under to the other side and look out. I also scouted out the landing area under a large rock to dive in. There ended up being a very narrow spot about 3 feet wide that I could dive into. After measuring it out, I climbed the rock and made the dive.
After swimming for another 10 minutes, another guy showed up. He was wearing a backpack that happened to have a frisbee attached to the back. I got out of the water and approached and mentioned Kaimana. Of course he was here for that. It ended up that it was Elijah Edwards whom I had partied with at Poultry Days last year! Apparently he is my bucket list buddy! We ended up swimming, taking pictures, and then walking back down together (it was very steep so nice to have company in case something happened). We eventually grabbed a couple of beers in Hanalei. He was staying locally so I bailed and went back to my hotel. After I'm done with this, I expect that I will try out Rob's and Nawiliwili again. Thursday night so maybe it will be a little more exciting. This will probably be my last entry until after the tournament as I expect that I will have no internet access.
Oh yeah, and saw a nice double rainbow! I guess there are some minor benefits to rain...
Had chili and rice with a side of fries (more Kaimana training) and a beer. Then more GPS to get over to Nawiliwili Tavern. This place had more potential but less action. Rob's was sort of crowded when I left, but mostly locals. So asleep by 11.
The next day I set my alarm for 6:30. Dress, put together a backpack for the North Shore. Walk out to the lobby and find out it is POURING rain outside. Ugh. Regardless, get in the car and start my way to the Na Pali coast.
Pretty incredible light for the shot above. I made my way up the coast, hitting some of the tourist things that I had specced out before I got here, including a scenic road, Kilauea pt lighthouse, another one lane scenic road which was in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately I didn't run into any cars. Maniholo Dry Cave, and then I was at the end of the line. Before then I had stopped in Hanalei at a grocery store to buy the breakfast/lunch of champions, a small bag of salt & vinegar chips, a banana, and a bag of peppered beef jerky. Mmmm. I pulled into a secluded beach and stayed there for awhile, waiting for the rain to stop. No luck so I drove to the trailhead, parked, pulled out my book and read for about 25 minutes until the rain stopped and the sun came out. Got my bag ready and onto the trail. It was a two mile hike to the first beach, Hanakapiai. I made it there in about an hour with numerous stops along the way for pictures. Incredible views of the upcoming cliffs including the Kalahau cliffs that I showed the picture of in my previous entry.
I had camped at this beach 25 years ago with my parents. Back then there was an actual sand beach that I had body surfed on, getting slammed into the sand repeatedly. This time it was only rocks, although I was told that the tide was higher in the winter which was why no sand was visible. LOT'S of signs warning people not to even approach the water. Whatever... I took a lot of pictures so that I could try and match it up with a GREAT picture of my with my blond locks at that beach 25 years ago. Also at this point it started raining again. I started on the 1.8 mile trail to Hanakapiai Falls going straight inland. I made great time, although I only passed 2 people coming down from the falls and no one going there. I reached the falls in about 45 minutes, completely empty.
I settled in, put on my bathing suit and started swimming. Pretty cold but the falls were very approachable. I was actually able to reach them and swim under to the other side and look out. I also scouted out the landing area under a large rock to dive in. There ended up being a very narrow spot about 3 feet wide that I could dive into. After measuring it out, I climbed the rock and made the dive.
After swimming for another 10 minutes, another guy showed up. He was wearing a backpack that happened to have a frisbee attached to the back. I got out of the water and approached and mentioned Kaimana. Of course he was here for that. It ended up that it was Elijah Edwards whom I had partied with at Poultry Days last year! Apparently he is my bucket list buddy! We ended up swimming, taking pictures, and then walking back down together (it was very steep so nice to have company in case something happened). We eventually grabbed a couple of beers in Hanalei. He was staying locally so I bailed and went back to my hotel. After I'm done with this, I expect that I will try out Rob's and Nawiliwili again. Thursday night so maybe it will be a little more exciting. This will probably be my last entry until after the tournament as I expect that I will have no internet access.
Oh yeah, and saw a nice double rainbow! I guess there are some minor benefits to rain...
posted by Alex de Frondeville at 12:45 AM
1 Comments:
Thanks for the DOUBLE rainbow and waterfall, Alex. You there, me here, life is great for some of us, although taking care of your twins is right up there, too! mom
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