Hawaii Day Two: Five Miles and Fish Tacos

When we drove to our place on the North Shore, we couldn't see anything but the road in the darkness. The next morning, our jaws dropped when we saw the gorgeous surroundings we had entered.

Hanalei Valley

One of the best parts of the North Shore is all its hidden beaches. Most of these beaches were at least a 10 or 15 minute hike to get there. The first beach we visited was Hideaways which is known for its snorkeling.

Hideaways Beach

The great thing about going to the North Shore in the summer is that the waters are very calm and you can easily snorkel off most beaches. We did snorkel that day but we didn't see that many fish. Bummer.

When Hurricane Iniki devasted Kauai in 1992, many roosters and hens were freed and many wild roosters and hens roam the island still today. (That was for free.)

Wild chickens at Hideaways Beach

view from trail to Hideaways Beach

After our jaunt to Hideaways Beach and a nice lunch of chili fried chicken, Jonathan & I decided to hike the Hanalei 'Okolehao Trail. Here's a quote from the guidebook:

So you've been especially gluttonous since you've been here, and the guilt is keeping you awake at night. Here's your chance to work off that lu'au you attended. This trail is a puffer. It gains 1,250 feet in less than 2 miles. That means the grade is steep, tiring and unrelenting. It will seem much longer than it is.

The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook

Taro fields on the way to the trailhead

Taro is grown is pounded to make poi. We never tried any while we were there.

View of Hanalei Bay from the trail

Here's another quote from the guidebook:

Just before the trail ends at the plateau, a different spur trail to the right leads to a separate ridge. Nasty, scary, hard core and death-defying make that a must-miss alternative.

Well, we forgot that part of the guidebook and I can testify to the scary part. Thankfully we figured it out after only 5 minutes, two repelling sections and 1 scary slip. We were promised an expansive view of 1/5 of the island from the top. Well.... the writers must have hiked this trail before the vegetation got very tall. Even though the top was disappointing, the views along the way were well worth the hike.

End of Hanalei 'Okolehao Trail

Waiting for fish tacos at Hanalei Gourmet

We capped off the night with Fish Tacos at Hanalei Gourmet recommended to us by Ryan & Heather Thompson. They were excellent. We wish we were there for Fish Taco Thursdays more often.

There's Day Two. I really did try to pare down. For those of you that are related to us or just have an obsession with Hawaii, I will be putting lots of photos on the web in a Picasa web album. But not tonight because I'm tired. Unless I'm up till 2am with jet lag. Again.