Aloha Friends!

It's getting chilly on Kauai! Dare I say cold? Yesterday according to the National Weather Service, Lihue hit a record low of 55F! Brr...time to put on socks with those slippahs.

Aloha friends,

I hope that you all enjoyed a blessed holiday. Just in case you didn't get enough turkey on Thanksgiving, we found turkey Spam at the Kauai Walmart! I like Spam but this might be a bit over the top for me. Roasted Spam anyone?

Aloha Friends,

Driving on Kauai is so much more pleasant than driving in southern California! Enjoyable even! It involves a few things that make it different than what I'm used to. Friendly hand signals (shakas and waves), eye contact, flashing of lights, lots of pedestrians, Toyotas and something called contra flow.

Here's the basics...

You'll see shakas and waves after letting someone into traffic, usually followed by a smile. There can be heavy traffic at times, especially in Kapaa. Folks are pretty grateful when you let them in.

Drivers flash their lights to you as a signal that it's OK to turn left in front of them or that it's OK to pull in to traffic.

Always be on the look out for pedestrians, people cruising down the highway on scooters going 30 mph and bikes. Bicycle rental is pretty popular as we have an awesome multi-use path.

Contra flow isn't as fun. It can be confusing and down right scary! Contra flow is when they allow cars to drive on the wrong side of the road to ease congestion on Kuhio highway southbound leading into Lihue. They place cones along the route to indicate where you should be driving. The contra flow starts early every morning except Sunday and ends just after noon. If you drive during contra flow hours stay alert friends.

Lastly, Kauai has an amazing affection for Toyota trucks! Went to Costco the other day to fuel up and every vehicle in line was a Toyota...including ours.

Thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha Friends,

Have you tried Hamura's Saimin Stand yet? We tried it recently and loved it! All these years we traveled to Kauai and never tried it. I had the mistaken idea that it would taste like Top Ramen. Boy, was I wrong! This is totally different. These noodles are amazing! Served with chopped ham, fish cake and green onions in a tasty broth. It was so good! You can also order it with tempura shrimp, or the special saimin which has more fixings, meat and wontons. The menu is simple, they also offer udon, barbeque beef (tender and delicious) and chicken skewers.

Hamura's Saimin is a casual, mom and pop type of restaurant with a nice mix of tourists and locals. The prices are cheap! My saimin was $6, the bbq sticks are $2.50, and the special saimin was $9. They make an incredible lilikoi pie which is the perfect way to end your meal. It's a tangy, fluffy chiffon pie with a light, flakey crust topped with Cool Whip. Yummy! They also sell the pies frozen which would be wonderful for the flight home.

Hamura's is located at 2956 Kress Street (just off of Rice Street) in Lihue.

Aloha Friends!

I'm so happy to share with you that my mother-in-law's plumeria plant is blooming! Isn't it beautiful? This plant started as just a cutting last August. Her plant was far too large for me to bring home to San Diego but, I wanted to keep it in memory of her. So, we pruned off a small branch of it and I planted it in a pot. One year later and it's blooming! And the flowers smell wonderful!

 Plumeria are super easy to grow from just a cutting. When taking a branch from the mother plant be careful to not let the white milky sap touch your skin. It can be irritating. After the cut end has dried you can plant it in soil. I actually let Lola's cutting dry over a week and it didn't mind. I plant my cuttings a few inches deep in a pot to keep it stable. Water it when the soil looks dry an a little fertilizer once a month. It will take some time to sprout leaves and quite a bit more time to flower. But, these amazing flowers are worth the wait!

Thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha Friends,

With four kids this is definitely something I have experience with....how to have fun on Kauai with keiki! Here's a list of things sure to bring a smile to your kiddos....

1 Kamalani Bridge Playground at Lydgate beach park. Seriously one of the best playgrounds for at least 3,000 miles. It's nice to pack a picnic, go there early in the day, then spend the afternoon at Lydgate beach. Make a day out of it.

2 Go to Lydgate beach. Two huge boulder enclosed ponds allow fresh ocean water in but, big waves out. This is an excellent beach to swim and snorkel at. It's like swimming in an aquarium, lots of sea life to see here. The beach is lifeguarded and has full facilities.

3 Kayak the Wailua river and hike to Secret Falls. You can inexpensively rent kayaks and paddle your way up the Wailua river. A 1 mile hike through the jungle will lead you to a beautiful 100 foot waterfall that lands into a large pool of water.

4 Stop by the Kamokila Hawaiian Village for an education on ancient Hawaiian life and culture. See how Hawaiians lived centuries ago on the land they lived. For movie buffs, the village was used in the movie "Outbreak".

5 Rent a bike and ride the path. The Kauai Path is currently about 7 miles long. It begins at Lydgate beach park and ends just north of Kealia beach. What a fun way to tour Kauai's east side!

6 Check out Kauai Mini Golf in Kilauea. It's a combination miniature golf course and lush botanical  garden. Fun for everyone!

7 Who doesn't love chocolate? There is a chocolate farm tour on Kauai. Steel grass Farm is the island's largest chocolate farm. 3 days a week they offer a branch to bar tasting tour....yummy!

8 Go fishing! You do not need a fishing license for saltwater fishing anywhere in Hawaii. Pick up a pole and gear cheaply and spend a day waiting for that big catch! It's so exciting to get a fish! Feel good releasing him back to the ocean if he's not of size or if your unsure about how to prepare him.

9 Learn to surf! Some of the best big wave surfers start in Kauai! Your keiki can too. There are plenty of surf schools on Kauai to choose from. They all offer a fun filled day with the thrill of riding a wave and teach safety and respect of the ocean.

10 Explore a farmer's market. The Kauai Community College farmer's market has lots of tropical fruit and vegetables. Try something new. You can also purchase a liitle friend from Kauai Bettas to take home. Liz of Kauai Bettas is one of the top betta fish breaders in the world. She's happy to share her knowledge of fish care with you. Betta fish are easy to transport through TSA for your flight home.

Most importantly, enjoy your vacation with your children. Relax and don't try to do too much.

Aloha!

Aloha friends,

My two hibiscus plants are blooming! I thought I'd share a couple photos with you and some tips to keep them happy....

It's pretty easy to keep hibiscus happy. They like a lot of sunshine. They'll tolerate some cold in the winter but, try to keep them out of the frost. I water my hibiscus when the soil is dry. About twice a week in summer, less often in the winter. Once a month I give them some fertilizer. Also, I've had good luck with planting them in large containers...the sunset hued bloom is growing in a big pot.

One of my daughters holding a huge hibiscus at the condo in Kauai.

Thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha Friends!

I love having plants in my home that remind me of Kauai. Lush green plants with colorful flowers. It's fun to landscape those plants into a mini garden. Like my own little island for my tabletop!  Here's one I put together recently...

I used the old pot from my previous mini garden (check out my March 2016 post) and just added fresh potting soil. I picked up a few new house plants and a beautiful orchid. I kept the orchid in the plastic pot it came in so it wouldn't be directly in the soil. After I had the plants arranged where I wanted them in the pot, I covered the surface with a light layer of orchid bark.

Here's a photo of a previous mini garden I made in March 2016....
It had maiden hair fern as well as a bromeliad flower which I love for their super long lasting bloom. Maybe next time I'll use an orchid and bromeliad...that would be pretty :)

Happy Spring to all our friends! Thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha Friends,
My hubby and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! Surely a honeymoon to Kauai was in order! We had a great time on our little honeymoon. It was short and sweet, just 4 nights. Perfect getaway with my sweetheart.

As I was looking through our photos I noticed a lot of them were of food! You can tell we like to eat! LOL! I do enjoy cooking at the condo. The photo of the fancy looking tuna steak was from a dinner we had at the Hukilau Lanai. It was delicious. The grove of coconut palms is across from the condo on the mauka (mountain side). You can't see them too well in the photo but, there's a heard of tiny goats that graze there. They're pretty cute. All the beach photos were taken at the beach in front of the condo. We love that beautiful beach! Oh, and we saw whales breaching from there! Apparently whales love Kauai too!

Aloha and thanks for reading my diary!

Aloha Friends!

Here's the beautiful new whale wall! Wyland did an incredible job on this painting. It looks very similar to the old painting except the whales are now facing towards the north shore and it's a night sky with a luminescent full moon. I love it! I'll take some photos when we visit next month and share then with you. Mahalo Wyland...what a wonderful gift you have given Kauai! Also, thanks to Sherwin-Williams for supplying all the paint!

Speaking of whales, there's plenty of them around Kauai this time of year. We've seen them from the beach across from the condo. You can watch the humpback whales from just about anywhere along the coast of the island. But, a lot of people say the best spot to view these amazing creatures is from the Kilauea Lighthouse. The lighthouse is a scenic 30 minute drive from the condo.

Aloha!