Kauai Garden Island

The northern most inhabited island in the Hawaiian chain is laid back and quiet. Named the Garden Island, it is lush and lays claim to the wettest spot on earth, Mount Waialeale averaging more than 452 inches a year. Betsey and I have started to gravitate towards this magical place with the Princeville/Hanalei area getting most of our attention. If you visit, come to decompress and taste the best sushi on the planet at the Hanalei Dolphin!

Focus for this trip was the beautiful flora of the island, centered on Limahuli Garden & Preserve in Hā'ena, end of the road. It had been 13 years since we last visited and the preserve has expanded and brought under the National Tropical Botanical Garden umbrella. Enjoy!

Our winter 2024 trips were all about the birds. Specially, the Laysan Albatross chicks hatched sometime between November and February. I have included several side by side images so you can see the growth in just 2 moths. And in another 2 months (July) they will have fledged and off to a life at sea for the next 3-5 years. Enjoy!

2022's main focus was to find just the right investment/rental property that could be a future home. We lucked out with he help of our realtor and her army of pros to get it done. Kymry is the 5-Star pro to go to for Kauai. We spent most of our Hawaii time working on the sale (paperwork ugh!), remodeling and furnishings. It was not until 2023 we could start to enjoy.

February & May weather did not cooperate, but when we could venture out the Albatross's were in town (just down the road from our place) and provided us with a lot of amusement. Such gainly creature on land but when they finally take to the air, they soar with the best of them. One interesting sight, we caught a glimpse of a vacationing Snow Goose hanging with his/her cousins the Nene's. Smart bird!

We have one more trip planed this year in October to add to this section!

Well two years pass before we can get back to the Garden Island. Much has changed and much has stayed the same. We were glad to be back and made it thru all the pandemic checks and regulations. One side affect, rental cars costing more than our airfares combined! Luckily, one of my best friends is the Kauai station manager for United Airlines and he rolled out the aloha spirit lending us his car for our 2 week stay. Many thanks Weg!

Hurricane Olivia! Just our luck and we rode it out at the Princeville Westin.

Getaway time and where else would we go. Decompress time, good food, bit of snorkeling and those warm Hawaiian days and nights.

A great start to the New Year and a welcomed return after a couple years away.

End-of-the-year trip to celebrate my birthday and feast on sushi !!!

Back-to-back months. We took advantage of a great offer to one of our favorite corners of this world.

A good year with an anniversary celebration.

One great aspect of Kauai are the plentiful trails across the island, especially those available in and around Waimea Canyon and Koke'e Park on the eastern coast. Betsey and I have had some enduring memories exploring this wide open area. One instance after getting to the end of a trail out on the Kaanapali Coast, as we rested under a shady tree, we could hear a whale tail slapping 1000ft below us. This trip we explored the Alaka'i Wilderness, Waimea Canyon and the Kilauea Lighthouse. So much to do !