"Mind Trip" to Kauai

It's really cold outside.  How about a little "mind trip" today?  I know just the place to go.  How does Kauai, Hawaii sound to you?  I thought so... c'mon!  Let's go....  Now, before we get started just be aware, this is a short trip.  So, we will be packing a lot of activities in.  You might not get as much time for relaxation during this mind trip as you might wish for, but hey... it's only the second day of the year so how much relaxation do you really need anyway, right?

We are going to start our 5 night trip off with the short 6 mile drive from the airport to our hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott in Kapa'a.  Kapa'a is the largest city on Kauai with a population of roughly 10,000 so you can see that it is a thriving metropolis.  My only concern might be the horrible traffic and noise pollution created by so many people.  But seriously, Kauai is the 4th largest of the Hawaiian islands in land mass, but the 3rd largest in population with a whopping 67,000 residents compared to Oahu with nearly 1 million residents.  So, as you might imagine, the pace of life is quite a bit slower everywhere on Kauai than at anyplace on Oahu.  The hotel is located on the "Coconut Coast" which gets it's name because it was the site of an old coconut plantation.  It's been a long day of travel from Dallas and it is after 6 p.m. locally, so we're just going to have a relaxing dinner tonight at one of the hotel's two restaurants.  Tonight we'll try out Cook's Landing.  The hotel features two open air restaurants.  The other, The Voyager Grille is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Dinner in Hawaii isn't really dinner unless there is a Mai Tai involved, but you're going to have to get your own because the one in the picture is mine.  After dinner, we'll have an early night and get started tomorrow with seeing all that Kauai has to offer.

Good morning!  It's Friday and our first full day in Kauai.  I've decided that today we need to visit Waimea Canyon.  This place is really amazing!  It's all the way on the other side of the island, so the drive is going to take us nearly an hour and a half.  But it may be the most scenic hour and a half of our year!  We'll take Hwy 56 south down to Hwy 50 and drive along the coast for several miles before turning north on Waimea Canyon Dr. to head into the state park.  Once there we will get to see the amazing view from the main lookout like this one from Mrs Mike.

It's called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and is 14 miles long and 3,600 feet deep.  Think about that.  We drove 41.3 miles from the other side of the island to get over here.  We crossed the island and quite frankly, we went a round about way, not a straight shot and it was only 41 miles.  This canyon is more than 1/4 of that distance long.  Basically, this island is a big hole surrounded by mountains.  So anyway, while we are at Waimea Canyon we may as well do a quick hike and get a little exercise in for the day to work off the Mai Tais we'll be having tonight.  Here's a 3.6 mile hike that looks a little challenging.  Waimea Canyon Hike

After the hike, we'll head back to the hotel using the same route because there aren't a lot of other options.  It's probably going to take us a few hours to recover from the hike so, we'll spend the rest of the day on the beach near our hotel or maybe by the pool.....

or we could just sit on the balcony....

 but then again, what about the hammocks????

Looks like it is going to be hard to relax in such a stressful place.  But I'll see what I can do to get a few winks in before dinner.  For dinner tonight, I've decided that the best option is going to be Hukilau Lanai which is the #1 rated restaurant in Kapa'a according to Trip Adviser.  It's only .3 miles from the hotel, so we can walk it in about 6 minutes.   Gazing at the menu, I've decided to have the Hukilau Mixed Grill with the Soup O' Da Day.  You really can't go wrong with a sampling of fresh grilled fish in Hawaii.

Tomorrow is going to be another busy and fun filled day.  So, it's time to head back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.  I hope I can sleep.  Those beds didn't look all that comfortable and with this nice island breeze blowing in and all those waves lapping at he shore, I just don't know.....

I think so far, my favorite part of this trip is still the price.  At $1,041 per person for 5 nights and air leaving on February 21st, it's such a bargain I can afford to spend the week in luxury.  Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you what we are doing for day two of the "mind trip".  Enjoy your day on the cold and dreary mainland.