Highlights: scenery that looks like Jurassic Park, a green version of the Grand Canyon, short hikes to vistas like and unlike home, snorkeling, first (and second) fresh coconut devoured, sunrises, sunsets, and Le Le. I'll get to Le Le in a minute. I drove my rental everywhere and was eventually able to find everything on my list as well as a few things that I didn't know needed to be on my list. There's one main drag and for a good portion of it you can only go 25 mph. It fits the lifestyle and it took me a couple of days to relax into it. None of my pictures do the scenery any justice so just google Kauai and know that it looks better in person.
I went on two hikes, Nounou Mountain (Sleeping Giant) and the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail to Hanakapi'ai Beach. Both were more challenging than I anticipated but still weren't too bad and had very nice views all along the way. There are signs on each trail listing dangers and "please do not go here" type of warnings.
I was told they're present due to hikers not being aware and dying in various ways, like walking off a cliff or being swept out to sea. I used common sense and heeded the high surf warnings and made it through unscathed. Le Le accompanied me on Sleeping Giant.
Snorkeling was interesting. I had purchased some snorkel gear before leaving because I'd had issues with mask fittings in Australia when I'd attempted my first underwater adventure. I made some friends at the resort hot tub and headed out to Tunnels near Hanalei with them. The reef was mostly dead (sad) but still had a number of very colorful inhabitants (yeah!). I can't find pics of my favorite fish online. It was brilliant with a bright pink outline. Second to pinky were any fish with polka dots. I was pleasantly surprised with the variety and how easy they were to access. Though it only lasted for a couple of hours, the experience robbed me of all my energy for the next day and a half. I didn't go again.
My new friends implored me to eat a coconut, specifically a young coconut, and spam musubi. I was successful in the former but not the latter due to gluten presence. I had tried coconut water before, packaged, and declared it to be the most vile liquid to pass my lips. Fresh is always better so I watched with mild trepidation as the vendor brandished her machete and made quick work of the coconut shell/husk/thing. I must pause to vent here. In every depiction of a coconut I have ever seen the image is wholly inaccurate. When searching for a coconut to try a farmer's market stall vendor told me about a stand near where I was staying. She said, "You can't miss it. She has a little trailer that is completely surrounded by coconuts." I almost drove by it because, it turns out, I don't know what a coconut actually looks like. I was expecting a brown, fibrous round ball about five inches tall. Instead, they are green/yellow and wonky shaped, vaguely seed like, and huge! I guesstimate eight inches minimum. Inside there lies the brown hairy sphere of goodness. False advertising is terrible people! But back to the awesomeness that is fresh coconut. The water is great, has a mild flavor and is tingly like soda pop on your tongue. There's quite a bit in there, even in the small ones. I would guess three cups worth. Once you're done with the drink it's back to the machete to access the meat. The young coconuts have soft meet. Mine was like gelatin and had almost no flavor.
For comparison's sake I got an old coconut the next day. The meat layer was thicker and was somewhere in-between dry and moist.
I loved it. This will come as a shock to my closer acquaintances as I have detested coconut my entire life. It's a texture thing. Like little insect legs that get stuck in your teeth and refuse to swallow with the rest of the food. But I had only had dried coconut to this point. It's still icky by the way. Fresh coconut however, I will eat at any time. Bring it.
The condo I was staying in was in Kapa'a and had a glorious view of the sunrise each morning. I watched several of those, either from the comfort of my balcony with a partial view or down on the beachfront for a full view. It was cloudy every day which I think actually made for a more interesting greeting of the new day. The fact that my internal clock was three hours ahead helped me get out of bed at 5:30 in time to watch. The timing was never great for catching a similar sunset view so the closest I got was walking the beach east a few hotels and catching the pink sky descend behind the mountains. Still pretty sweet.
Le Le. A couple of days in to my vacation I learned that you can take a shelter dog from the Humane Society on a field trip! I went to check it out and ended up choosing Le Le.
She's a pit and wasn't my first choice as pits make me nervous but she was the calmest animal in the whole place. Even when an employee walked by with a leash and all the other dogs were freaking out on a level I certainly am not used to, Le Le was calm and happy, wagging her tail with a big smile. I ran her a bit in a dog park next door in the hopes her energy level would be closer to mine when we hit the trail. She was in heaven. We practiced leading (me) and following (Le Le) in the parking lot and she learned very quickly how this arrangement was going to work. During the car ride she was super chill and lased in the back seat, not once whining, smearing slobber on the windows, or even standing up mid-ride. Once on the trail she was a champ. There were a couple of tricky spots where I had to scramble with all four limbs grasping for dear life and there was no way to hold on to her. I let go of the leash and she picked her way across like she'd been rock climbing her whole life and waited patiently for me to grab her leash again. By the time we summited I was completely smitten.
Strangers were confused by the "adopt me" vest she was wearing because she behaved like we were already a pair. I took a bunch of pics and lamented over our inevitable separation. I spent the rest of my vacation (and my first two weeks back home) trying to figure out how I could adopt her or convince someone else to adopt her. Luckily/sadly she was adopted a few weeks after I returned home. I fought the urge to interrogate the staff member about her new owners and if they were suitable. Sigh. Hopefully they are good people that fell in love as quickly as I did.
I didn't think it was possible to get used to ninety degrees with one hundred percent humidity but when I returned home I just about froze to death in sixty degree temps. I turned on the heat and huddled on the couch with a cat and blanket willing the air to heat faster. Heading back to work showed me that I had a very noticeable increase in stamina compared to before the trip. I'm still fatigued easily but do much better than before. As is typical for me, I felt amazing so I tried to get my life back all at once. Not the brightest idea but it felt right at the time.
My friend and I decided to go for a larch/mountain goat hunt (visually, no guns) before they lost their splendor and we'd have to wait until next year. We trekked up into the Enchantments and did an overnight at Horseshoe Lake. Amazing. Truly beautiful. I wish I could make trips like that happen every weekend. The hike was difficult, especially the last part where there was 1100 gain in a mile. Made worse of course with a pack. I think it took us five hours to do seven miles. Once we hit the top, all the pain was worth it.
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