Let Kauai happen
Aaaahhhh morning of Day Two…we started our day with a home-cooked breakfast in our timeshare. I have kitchen duties….all..the..time, and that’s exactly what I signed up for. I cooked bacon, and corned beef sauteed with garlic and onions and I topped it with diced potatoes. For the rice, I used the leftover rice from the night before and I fried it with garlic…voila, Garlic Fried Rice. I added a side of fried egg, and there’s my Kauai Aloha Breakfast plate.
Overcoming obstacles
As I have mentioned, this vacation was booked just two weeks ago. What were the obstacles that I had to overcome?
- Finding flight reward availability (check)
- Finding accommodations (check)
- Booking an SUV or minivan rental (check)
That’s it???? Yes, that’s it. Everything fell into place. Our timeshare had availabilities in different parts of the island, so although this was planned as quick, last-minute trip, it would’ve allowed us to be see different parts of the island without feeling rushed.
We had no itinerary
That is correct. We had no set plans. Our guidebook? Our own personal experience. We’ve visited Kauai over 5 times and we already have an idea where we want to go. We’re not looking to do big activities, we don’t need to go to luaus, or go on adventure trips. As long as we’re together, the adventure is the Pacific Ocean, and we’ve got lots of choices. Now that I’ve thought about it, we did have an itinerary
- Day One – Beach
- Day Two – Beach
- Day Three – Beach
You get the idea!
Free necessities
Upon checking in at the Kauai Coast Resort, I asked the concierge if there were leftover items we could borrow. He led us to a huge room with beach items (chairs, mats, body board). That’s all we needed and they were all free.
TIP: Before you go out and buy or rent these things, check with your hotel or condo, or AirBNB if these items are available for your use.
So, back to Day 2 and the fact that we had no itinerary. It was close to 11am when we left the resort. Our plan was to head over to Poipu Beach. From the resort, we needed to make a left to get on the highway, but it was traffic. And I know that traffic well. So, when you have no itinerary, you have to be flexible, and that’s how we were. We turned right instead. And we said….hmmmm…North Shore? Ok….the kids approved. Just. Like. That.
Lunch first, then beachI knew that it would take us about 25 minutes to get to the North Shore, so we decided to
eat at Pono Market.
The kids ordered Shave Ice at Ono Ono Shave Ice, while I stood in a growing lunch line. I’ve been craving Kalua Pig and that’s what I ordered, along with Sesame Ahi Poke. Maddie order Pork Lau Lau with mac salad and spicy ahi poke. We ate right outside Pono Market, and those two plate lunches were good enough for us to share, for all of us. We didn’t want to eat so much since we all knew that we’d be stopping along the way to get food.
We made our way to the North Shore, and our next stop was another favorite, Hanalei 
Taro & Juice Co. I had a plate lunch here a couple of years ago, but I was more interested in trying one of their baked goodies. TARO. MOCHI. CAKE. This was yummmmmm!!! So chewy, delicious, and filling. Nancy and I shared it, and it was gone just like that. We’ll be in the North Shore in a couple of days so you better believe that we’ll be back here.
Caitlin’s Beach
When we first took Caitlin with us to Kauai, she was just under 2 years old, and we headed to this beach (beach was on your right, and there’s a way that leads to what looks like a lagoon or river with a bridge from a distance). I found out years later, that this was Lumahai Beach.
Every time we go to Kauai, the kids would tell us that we should go to Caitlin’s Beach. A perfect sandy beach where you can play in the ocean and let the waves push you to the sandy beach, or, walk up the rocks and jump over the wash.
Kahalahala Beach
A normal trek would’ve been for us to head down to Tunnels Beach or Ke’e Beach, but we’ll save that for another day. Instead, we drove back up towards Kahalahala Beach. I remember this beach, it was a favorite of ours since we honeymooned in 2000. The walk “down” to the beach could be a little dangerous, so just walk with care. It’s all so worth it. If I had a favorite beach on all of Hawaii, this would be it!
After swimming at Kahalahala, we made our way back to Hanalei and stopped at Village Bakeshop for their Chocolate Haupia Pie. We ate this on the road. It’s the next best thing when I compare it with Ted’s Bakery on Oahu’s North Short. This was a close second. I shall return to Village Bakeshop in a couple of days, that I know.
Dinner at home
We made it back to our resort around 6pm and decided to jump in the pool once more. Shortly after, I prepared our dinner. We had Fresh Kauai Garlic Shrimp which I cooked along with Lilikoi Passion drink and shoyu. I planned this, I had envisioned this meal the moment we booked our trip. It was easy to cook. I sautéed garlic, added about 1 dozen shrimp (head on), added a little bit of salt n pepper, let it cook for about 4-5 minutes, and then I added about 1/3 of cup of Lilikoi Passion Drink and some shoyu….done! I served it over rice, and that was dinner in aloha heaven.
For the rest of the evening, we chose to watch a movie on Netflix. I had my MacBook Air with me, and I also brought my HDMI adapter with me so I was able to plug in directly to the TV. Sorry kids, the moment the movie played, I fell asleep. That was a good day.