Kauai Beach
By Barbara Stitzer for Boomeryearbook.com
You made it to Kaua’I and are luxuriously ensconced in either the Hyatt or Princeville Hotel leaving your wallet flapping in the wind. No Worries, Brah! Even a luxury lover likes to go check out the local flavor. If you plan to explore and rough it outside of your resort, dress in old clothes that you don’t care about. The beautiful red dirt on Kaua’I will not come out of your shoes, socks or clothes. And no matter how careful you are, you’ll be covered in it. So bring clothes and shoes that will allow you to dig in and get dirty, and then toss before you go back to the Mainland…notice I said Mainland, and not back to the United States. Hawai’I has been a state for almost 60 years, and nothing will make you feel more unwelcome than your saying it isn’t so with locals in ear shot. Most of the great parts of Kaua’I are unmarked, hard to find and totally worth it once you do. My favorite thing to visit close to Poipu is Glass Beach, a totally unmarked slice of nowhere in an industrial area of Hanapepe. It used to be the island dump, where they would burn all of their trash and then send it out to sea, but hurricanes brought back the little glass and pottery pieces, and the surf tosses them up on the beach where they glitter like diamonds. Salt pond is out there as well, and people come to farm Kaua’I’s famous pink salt known for its brine shrimp that give the salt its delectable flavor. It isn’t sold, as a rule, so if you’re lucky enough to have someone offer you some, grab it fast and run. Stop at Kipu Falls for a quick dip in pristine water…wear your hiking shoes, it’s worth it.
On your way back to the Hyatt, Go to Lapperts for Kaua’I Pie ice cream. Mr. Lappert is famous throughout Hawai’I, and after one lick, you’ll be hooked.
There are several great places to eat on Kaua’I, but my very favorite is Hamaura Saimin. Located in Lihue on a side street that you just have to find, it’s the quintessential Local’s Only spot. Order the special saimin and a stick of yakitori chicken and try not to look in the kitchen, or at the locals who are probably giving you stink eye for sitting in their restaurant, slap a huge dollop of hot mustard in the bowl and just inhale that saimin. It is a slice of heaven that will have you craving it years later.
Back up north, you absolutely must do the horseback riding at Princeville Stables. The horses fan out, not just nose to tail, and you can gallop them into a cloud and out through a rainbow. Walk across the waterfall and swim in the waterfall’s pool while your guides make you lunch. After lunch, grab your mask, fins and snorkel and drive past the buffalo farm, past the taro fields, past Hanalei to Haena, and go to the end of the road. Flop down in knee deep water and experience the most breathtaking array of exotic fish you’ll ever see north of the Great Barrier reef. Stop for a shave ice in Hanalei on the way back, or a fresh cut coconut and you’re ready to get back to your luxurious life at the Princeville Hotel.
Leaving you craving more exotic travel? Stay tuned at Boomer Yearbook.
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