Rainy Day in Paradise

The weather has not been cooperating very well on this trip so far, we have had more rainy days than sunny. As a result, we had to spend more time in the car driving over to the other side of the Island where the weather is better.

We started out the day with breakfast at the Wake Up Cafe in Hanalei, which just happened to be across the street from where they are shooting the George Clooney movie, Descendants. I thought that part of town would be a mess given all the production trucks we saw moving in yesterday, but it was clear and easy access. So back to the Wake Up Cafe. It is a great little dinner with very reasonably priced food, which is saying a lot for Hawaii. I had the Hanalei Quesadilla, which was a breakfast burrito and Barbara had the Hang Ten, two eggs, bacon and toast. The food was great as was the service and for the first time we paid less that $25 for breakfast.


After breakfast we ventured in to Kapa'a to see a few sites. The first stop is a short drive inland to the Lacy 'Opaeka'a Falls in Wailua. This is a 151 foot waterfall that flows all year round and is a beautiful site. They have a turnout off the road with a lookout point so you can see the falls and the Kamokila Hawaiian Village, which is tourist trap you can avoid. However this is the river you can canoe along to get to the Secret Falls. We took a kayak trip that hiked into it last time we were here and it was well worth the trip to swim in the falls.


After the falls, we tried to go visit the Kauai's Hindu Monastery, but it is only open to the public from 9-12 AM. The temple is built from 4000 hand carved stones shipped over from India, some stones take up to seven years to carve. The monastery has been there since the 1970, but the temple is just getting finished this year. It is supposedly the only stone temple being built any where in the world.

After the tour, the sun came out for a little while and Barbara went down to Hanalei Bay for some snorkeling. She heard from a few people that a surfer had been attacked by a 15 foot Tiger shark that day, so she cut her time a little short. Sure enough, we saw the surfer on the news that night and he had a big chunk of his surf board missing. A marine biologist who was diving in the area said, he thought the shark mistook the surfer for a turtle he was tracking. Pretty scary stuff.

We finished the day with dinner at our favorite place, The Dolphin in Hanalei. It is a great restaurant with the best seafood we have had on the Island. The prices are not cheap, but the service and food is great. They have added a sushi bar since the last time we were there and the sushi we tried was pretty good. I would still recommend going with the charbroiled fish, preferable the Mahi-Mahi or Dorado; the Walu, a flaky Hawaiian white fish; or if you like a meatier fish their specialty is the Teriyaki Ahi. They also have a great salad and the civiche is a great appetizer as long as you are hungry.

Wake Up Cafe
Aku Rd., Hanalei
Kauai, HI
(808) 826-5551

Himalayan Academy
Kauai's Hindu Monastery
107 Kaholalele Road
Kapaa, HI 96746-9304
(808) 822-3012

Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant
5-5016 Kuhio Highway
Hanalei, HI 96714
(808) 826-6113