An Epic Hawaiian Adventure. Sightseeing Edition!

A couple of things that I don’t like about Hawaii. Specifically the island of Kauai. First, I don’t think there is a speed limit over 40MPH on the island. Granted, there is no real highways either. Thank goodness for cruise control in the rental cars. It’s sometimes hard to keep it under 40. The one lane bridges can be a pain in the arse, too. Especially when oncoming traffic isn’t feeling the Aloha Spirit.

Second, the selection of radio stations on the island isn’t good for someone that doesn’t like Top 40/Pop type of music. I’m not in to that genre at all, and it made for some rough radio days. Thank goodness it was Christmas and there was a station playing a lot of Christmas music. Next time I’ll be sure to bring my XM Radio with me. A side note, the Mazda 6 we rented while on Kauai did not have an auxiliary jack for me to plug in the iPhone to listen to music there, either.

Other than the roosters at 5:00AM, I cannot really think of anything else that I don’t like about Kauai. I’m not going to get started on Oahu, though.

We are creatures of habit, my family and I. Seems like we stuck to the same routine this time as we did last, visiting all the same spots again. But let’s face it, who doesn’t want to see Waimea Canyon, Wailua Falls and Opaekaa Falls every chance they get?

We did eliminate Fern Grotto this trip, but I think I’d like to add it back on to our next itinerary.

We stopped by Ke’e Beach, Hanalei Bay, Kauapea Beach, Lumaha’I Beach and Tunnels Beach. I think all but Hanalei Bay were closed due to high surf, but still breathtaking sights. We added Lydgate Park and Salt Pond Beach Park to our beach list this trip, having not visited them in the past. Both were great for our son, as they were protected from the high surf and had great snorkeling. We saw two Monk Seals at Poipu Beach. Never saw one at the beach in front of Lawai Beach Resort, as we did last trip.

Took the sunset dinner cruise to Na Pali Coast with Captain Andy’s. Fantastic time, but the large swells in the ocean got to me and caused me to recycle my brunch to the fish. We saw several whales, which was a highlight of our trip.

The Garden Luau at Smith’s Tropical Paradise can’t be beat. I’ve done that twice now, and it’s always going to be at the top my list of outings when we go back. Love the food, love the show and love the gardens.

There were some things we had hoped to do, but didn’t get to. Most notably the Christmas lights at the county building in Lihue. We drove past them on the way from the airport to LBR, but never got a chance to stop and see them up close and personal. One of these times I want to walk around Koloa, Hanalei Bay and some other towns to visit the little shops there. Maybe next time when I’m not traveling with a six year old.

Until next time, Aloha!

An Epic Hawaiian Adventure. Food Edition!

The trip to Hawaii is over and we're back home. One minute, Benjamin was on the beach in Waikiki making sand castles and the next minute he is in our front yard making a snowman. We left light rain and 80º in Honolulu and came home to snow and 28º.

It's not going to be possible for me to recap our entire trip in one blog posting, but I'm going to give it my best shot to provide you with some of our favorites from the trip. Favorite spots, favorite events, favorite eats and favorite people.

One of our favorite places to go on Kauai for a snack was Uncle's Shave Ice. This is located within The Shops at Kukui'ula Village, which was just around the corner from our condo at Lawai Beach Resort. More flavors of shave ice than you can shake a stick at! I personally recommend Passion Fruit, Pineapple & Tiger's Blood

When you go, be sure and tell Uncle Rick hello for us!

Another favorite place to eat was Shrimp Station. We enjoyed both of their locations, one in Kapaa and one in Waimea. The shrimp tacos cannot be beat! You'll notice that shrimp tacos became a staple of my diet on this trip. Loved each and every one of them.

Here is a list of my top eating establishments that we visited:

Shrimp Station

North Shore Tacos Sweet Pork Tacos are beyond description!

Puka Dog This place is so good we named our dog after it!

9th Island Sports Bar & Grill The burgers were amazing, but the prices were a little high.

Brick Oven Pizza We visited the one in Kalaheo and I very much liked the buffet. Although, at $14.95...

Scotty's Beachside BBQ Get the pulled pork nachos!!

Bubba Gump Shrimp I know... it's a chain, but I had never been there. The only reason it's not higher on my list was the cost. I got the shrimp tacos and loved every single bite. So much so that I might drive to Chicago just to get them again!

Hula Dog It's Puka Dog, but with a different name.

Hula Grill Great burgers, but the service left a little bit to be desired. I kind of got the feeling that our server wanted to be anywhere but there that night.

Of course there are a few places that we visited that are not on our list of places to try again. Poipu Tropical Burgers in Koloa is one. The food was good, but the service was awful.

Bubba Burgers in Koloa is another. We had heard quite a bit about this place, so we gave it a try. Over priced and under impressed. That's how I would describe Bubba's.

Finally, I didn't care for Savage Shrimp in Koloa. That could be my fault because of what I ordered. Maybe we'll try it again, maybe we won't!

I'd like to say we avoided McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and Denny's, but we didn't. They were great in a pinch or when we were in a hurry.

One of the things that surprised me most on the trip was the fact that McDonald's had a $1 Menu and $1 soda. The $1 Taro Pie was ono!

Well, that took a little longer than I had planned so I'm going to call it good. Next time I'll be back to talk about some other Hawaiian stuff. Until then, Aloha!!