Hawaii 2017
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Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Ke'e Beach for sunset
Sunset sands
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Taro Farming
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Kilauea Lighthouse
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Anini Beach, Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Beautiful calm waters of gorgeous Anini Beach. Not sure how the snorkeling is here but it is an easy place to access the water and get comfortable using a snorkel and mask.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Anini Beach, Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Beautiful Anini Beach
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
One of the many very charming residences we encountered throughout Kauai
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Kilauea Church
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Below you can make out a roof of a working farm which tourists can visit to learn more about the indigenous Hawaiian people's way of life.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Drive south to Po'ipu, Princeville, Kilauea, and Wailua
Curiously we could not see any roads leading to this isolated farm far below us in the Wailua Canyon bottom so we figured there are either tiny unseen trails or the farmers come and go on boats via the river. .
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Tuesday afternoon we drove south for our three nights stay at the Sheraton. A whole different world from the laid back north shore. Everything immaculate, artistically designed and built. Upscale but still charming.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Sue modeling the lovely local landscaping at the Sheraton
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Thanks to a friend I can now name this plant as Crossandra infundibuliformis or Firecracker flower a member of the shrimp plant family, Acanthaceae. Not quite sure what that tongue twister of a specific epithet is describing but it must be fascinating in translation.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Why swim in a chemically chlorinated pool with this beautiful and healing salty ocean just waiting for you?
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Garden view from our room
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Throughout Kauai's landscapes there were a great variety of hibiscus gracing the hotel grounds and local's gardens. Here were a few beauties we found.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
One of our favorite views of this beautiful, upscale hotel, and with this bride and groom...perfect.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Hawaii 2017; Hilton Hawaiian Village. Oahu: Waikiki and Honolulu
Sue's "donut with a bite" sculpture. Stephanie and Michael. while not huge sculpture fans, thought it striking and attractive in this spot.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Lovely but feel free to compare this 'romantic' spot to Ke'e Beach at sunset.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Location, location, location. The Sheraton is set at a perfect spot with comfortable pathways to walk and enjoy the stunning evening sunsets.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
This striking popular ornamental tree near the hotel had beautiful flowers. The yellow being the curled back edges of the anthers.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Sheraton Hotel at Po'ipu Beach Park
Unidentified small tree from the landscape near the hotel
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
While Sue was indulging herself in the luxury of the Sheraton Stephanie and Michael ventured up the Waimea Canyon Rd. Here a picturesque irrigation ditch waterfall in the red rock is striking. During our cruise along the Na Pali Coast we saw many dry fluted channels carved deeply down the steep cliffs where waterfalls over eons used to plummet to the sea. According to our guides the water has been diverted for irrigation so many of these falls no longer exist.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Exploring 'upstream' or up ditch Michael found two orchid species
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Exploring 'upstream' or up ditch Michael found two orchid species
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Good read!!
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Stephanie at the entrance to the Iliau Nature Trail a delightful short hike with nice canyon views and native plants.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Iliau Nature Trail with some young graceful native Acacia koa framing the trail. Koa can grow to more than 100' in height and six feet in diameter. Because they grew to such great size they were the most popular wood the native Hawaiians used to build their dugout canoes.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Closely related to the famous silversword plants found on Maui's Haleakala volcano Wilkesia gymnoxiphium (Hawaiian iliau) is endemic to the island of Kauaʻi. The iliau, abundant along this short and picturesque nature trail, is one of three genera, with Argyroxiphium (silverswords and greenswords) and Dubautia that are believed to be descendant from a single species related to our 'California' tarweed. Greater than 2,500 miles away over a vast expanse of ocean. Imagine that.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Michael enjoying the beauty of Waimea Canyon
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Unidentified plant on the edge of stunning Waimea Canyon. Native or introduced? There are such a great many introduced plant species in Hawaii it is hard to tell which are native to the islands. A visit to any of Kauai's several botanic gardens should be part of any plant lovers travel plans however even with six days on Kauai we just ran out of time and did not get to one of them. Next time.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Michael in a happy place
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Another non-native and rather invasive introduced plant species we found along the roadside was Passiflora edulis, aka passion flower. Like many of the non- native plants in Hawaii this especially striking beauty is also from South America.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Passiflora edulis (passion flower)
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
Some canyon viewpoints were slightly obscured.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. visit to Waimea Canyon
View of the north shore along the Na Pali Coast from the last lookout point at the very end of Waimea Canyon Rd. Very much worth the drive and the short walk, once the clouds cleared.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Shaved ice at Jo Jo's in Hanapepe
For Stephanie's birthday we just had to experience shaved ice. Our guidebook recommended several locations as having the 'best on the island' and Jo Jo's in Hanapepe right on our route back to Po'ipu was one of them. Many others agreed as it was a bit of a wait and worth it.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Shaved ice at Jo Jo's in Hanapepe
Just FYI, when you come here, this is a small size.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Stephanie's Birthday dinner at Keoki's Paradise near the Sheraton
Stephanie and Sue at dinner with our very goofy and entertaining waiter who was possibly a wee bit overly effusive with his descriptions of the menu items. Great fun though.
Hawaii 2017; Kauai. Stephanie's Birthday dinner at Keoki's Paradise near the Sheraton
Entertainment and view from our table.