Day 4: Kuilau Ridge and Ke'e Beach

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Sandy is up early and heads out onto the lanai for some quiet reflection time – aka Facebook & ESPN Sports time. When I join her after some time she tells me she thought she had accidentally locked herself out, but she makes no move to get back inside after I opened the screen door ... (that wasn't even locked anyway ha ha).

A while later Tjitske steps out onto the lanai. I had assumed she was still sleeping, but she's been reading in her room. In her room! Silly girl! In Hawaii that's an outdoor activity.

Sandy tells us she has been watching a bunch of little kids pick fruit from the trees on the property, and that they have dropped several bananas and a piece of citrus fruit on the lawn in front of our condo. Unfortunately, the bananas are nowhere near ripe, but we happily rescue the mystery citrus fruit.

It tastes similar to an orange, except it's green and juicier. Yum!

Once I've finished painting my nails a cool ceil blue, we pack up for the day and drive down to Art Café Hemingway in Kapaa. Yes, I know .... we stayed up late to pick up breakfast essentials at the grocery store yesterday, but it turns out this is the only day we'll be able to go.

There's no parking right out front so I direct us to a lot in front of a … Surf shop? Last chance clearance?!? Hmm ...

The Hemingway has a fantastic menu with special indicators for gluten-free, vegetarian, ovo-lacto vegetarian, etc. Easy picking for Tjitske!

Sandy and I share our favorites; a ham and cheese croissant, and a cream cheese & herb omelet with a yogurt parfait. For dessert we tackle a banana nutella crêpe.

Tjitske is still in shock about how much we eat, but hey, we're on vacation and we're not going to have lunch today.

The two of them gang up on me and practically drag me into a shoe store in search of a new pair of flip flops, since the ones I brought with me are falling apart, but nothing speaks to me.

Convincing me to check out the surf store takes a lot less effort. In the end I spend $35 on two Hurley tank tops, and a Hurley Hawaii trucker cap. I have wanted one for the longest time, but was never able to find one that fit right, so yeah, this is super exciting!

Later than planned we finally arrive at the Kuilau Ridge trail head. The tiny parking strip is filled to capacity so we park down by the river where a bunch of locals are having a Sunday cook out.

I have a huge weakness for ornamental grasses. Not completely sure this is considered a grass, but it looks grassy enough for me to love it.

Tjitske looks suspiciously at the ankle deep mud that greets us as soon as we move past the fence. With a squeal and a pair of soggy sandals she makes it past. Sandy also seems less than enthused. Let's hope the other hikers were right and it only gets better from here on out.

One of the most tranquil places on the planet where all you hear are the sounds of the forest and your own footfalls.

 Jelly fungus. Might be edible, but I wasn't about to try it.

However, I have no qualms about supplementing my diet with some guava berries and guavas fresh from the tree. What a yummy treat! They are at the peak of ripeness and more often than not you'll smell the sweet flesh of the ones that have fallen and cracked open before you even see the tree.

The Kuilau Ridge trail is one of the easier trails where very little effort gets rewarded with out-of-this-world views.

Fortunately for you all, this blog doesn't deliver smell, because between the humidity and the heat, sweat is literally pouring down our bodies. Good thing I'm sporting my hot-weather do!

When we pause to lather more suntan lotion on our already slick selves, I spot a tiny green lizard in the grass. What a cutie!

Rain! Oh my does that feel good! We relish the whole 2 minutes it lasts …

Raindrops on 'roses' ...

One of my favorite points along the trail:

We've reached the picnic shelter.

Cattle Egret.

In my exploration of the area I spot the coolest spider in the universe. Behold, the Star Spider!

Did I mention the views are incredible?

After our snack break, Tjitske is taken aback to find out that we haves not yet reached the end of the trail. Nor does she particularly care to continue for fear of ended up crumpled in the mud, after a group of hikers returns with tales of a mud-induced tumble.

Happy to just veg, the two of them are fine with me taking a quick run down the trail. I shot a quick movie so you could come on my little adventure with me, but I got extremely queasy trying to watch it myself, so I'll spare you the shaky footage and stick to pictures.

See the ocean in the distance?

Running through puddles, not a good idea  ... what a pig!

Time to head back ...

 

Almost looks like a painting to me ...

Another lizard!

Posing with her favorite color flowers.

And back through the mud again. 'Luckily' for Tjitske I had my camera ready and was able to put together a short compilation of fun in the mud. Make sure to turn on your sound first!

Parking near the river does have it's advantages when you have mud up to your … uh. Well.

Tjitske is thrilled to get most of the mud out of her shoes.

She befriends some of the locals sitting in the back of their pick-up truck and gets to pet their miniature pig, Cookie and its big brother, Nacho, the dog.

We had planned to hike to Ho'opi'i Falls too, but that's probably not a good idea given all the recent rain; Sandy & I were already sliding all over the place last year. Time for plan B.

It's already a bit late in the day so we return to the North Shore. We have always wanted to check out Moloa'a Sunrise Fruit Stand, except it's already closed. The one time we actually try to go! Ha ha

Wai'oli Hui'ia Church is located in the heart of Hanalei.

And it's open! Wow! Tjitske and Sandy don't feel like getting out of the car so I grab my phone to snap a few quick shots.

Love this crazy picture facing the open door with the stained glass window above it. It looks like two separate pictures, but it's not!

Not quite sure what this building is, but it looks pretty with the trees and the mountains in the background!

We follow Kuhio Hwy until the very end at Ke'e Beach. The lifeguards have gone for the day and I'm a bit leery after reports of strong currents due to the crazy weather (many tropical storms in the area this summer). But when do I ever stay away from the water? I sit and watch for a bit, and satisfied that everyone else seem to be just bobbing around calmly, head out there myself.

Should've brought my snorkel set!

Sandy & I swung by for a brief glimpse of Ke'e last year after we had hiked the Kalalau trail, but never got to appreciate what a pretty beach it is; there is a wide swath of sand bordered by gnarly trees to one side and giant boulders backed by the towering sea cliffs that mark the start of the Na Pali coast on the other.

Check out Sandy & Tjitske chilling in the bottom left of the picture.

The pictures I have seen of Ke'e Beach sunsets don't add up to what we're seeing so I scramble my way across the boulders to see what is around the bend.

And there it is ...

Unable to contain myself I start boulder hopping my way back when I notice a local fisherman casually strolling down an unmarked path off to the side. Could it really be that easy?!

I rush back, gushing about my amazing discovery. Tjitske can't resist a good sunset either and decides to head back with me. There's a short section of boulders at the end of the path and Tjitske decides to play it safe and watch the sunset from the top, but I pick my way across the rocks until my toes are in the sand and I have a better view down the coast.

Camera, check. Underwater camera, check, Cell phone, check ... I think I'm ready! Now if only I had like 2 extra pair of hands ...

I made a short movie!

And my proudest accomplishment:

It's a GIF image I made by stitching together six separate pictures. First time I tried something like this and I really like how it came out!

One more wave picture, because I'm a surfer girl and I can't help myself

Now back to the pictures; they are all from the same angle because I was struggling to keep the sun from overexposing the whole right side. Sorry!

Catching the last rays ...

I pick up Tjitske on my way back, who for some reason was getting eaten alive where she was sitting (there wasn't a single mosquito down by the water) and we manage to make it back to the beach without tripping in the twilight.

Someone's headlights were illumination the dry cave so I seized the opportunity to get a nighttime shot.

Bar Acuda with its tapas style dining featuring many vegetarian, gluten-free options and glowing online reviews is the main contender for dinner, but unfortunately they require reservations. We'll have to think about that for later this week.

There's a Mexican place called Neide's Salsa & Samba in the same complex and after browsing the menu Tjitske gives it her seal of approval; she can have the grilled vegetable crepe without the crepe itself. Meanwhile I'm checking them out on Tripadvisor and getting nervous reading questionable reviews of people getting sick, and wait … of them refusing the serve the crepe without the crepe?! No way!

But, it's true! Our waiter tells Tjitske they can't make it without the crepe, which means they probably prepare their food in advance and then reheat it.

“Let's go to Kalypso!” I suggest. Kalypso is a chill beach bar type of place and I have a feeling they won't give Tjitske a hard time about fixing her something special.

Phew. Tjitske loves her vegetable burger minus bun with a mango vinaigrette side salad, while Sandy gets the Hawaiian BBQ burger on a taro bun and I have grilled mahi-mahi with pesto penne.

So glad we came here and not just because of the food. Check out this cool lamp:

Before I go to sleep I have a confession to make: I was texting during dinner. And I can't stand phones at the table! I had good reason though: I was setting up a surfing lesson for tomorrow morning!

Update: it is now past 1:30 and I have finally fixed whatever was ailing my laptop. Sigh. Maybe I'll take a nap on the beach tomorrow ... 

♥

Snack: fruit 

Breakfast: Art Café Hemingway
Snack: fruit and assorted snacks

Dinner: Kalypso
Hotel: AirBNB Casa Pau Hana at Mauna Kai Resort
Mileage for last 2 days: 160 miles