Hanapepe Fridays

The "biggest little town in Kauai" comes alive Friday evenings for their weekly "Art Night". Just about every shop in town is open on the old main street just mauka of the highway, as well as on the highway. Today they managed a vibrant rainbow over the hills to the east to boot.

Bobbie's had fresh Ahi tonight so I had the lunch plate for dinner. Good sized portion of fresh, well-cooked fish with lemon-caper sauce, macaroni (or tossed) salad, and two scoops of rice. Bobbie's is not fancy at all: order at the counter, sit in folding chairs at the tables outside, and dinner is served in styrofoam. Authentic Hawaiian lunch plate through and through. On Fridays they do Huli Huli Chicken (grilled outside, it looked very popular) in addition to the regular menu.

There are other food stands up and down the street. Midnight Bear Breads sells not only a variety of fresh breads but also hummus and other spreads, and their pizza is terrific if you can get a slice. Don't miss the Mango Pie at The Right Slice near the bookstore. And more...

Well over a dozen art galleries, crafts, and many other stores and stands to explore.

Arrive between five and six to get a good parking spot. You can try going late but the favorite pies and pizza will probably be gone.

You may recognize Hanapepe as the town "Lilo & Stitch" of Disney fame was set in.

My Kauai: North

Swinging around the Na Pali cliffs going clockwise around the island takes us to the other end of the road at the north shore. This area is where the Kauai surfing community is centered.

Since you will be driving around be aware that this place is famous for one-lane bridges, seven or eight of them to get all the way to the end of the road. As always, yield to oncoming traffic, but after no more than seven cars cross in one direction local custom dictates stopping to let the other side come through. (This works surprisingly well and the locals are dead set against any "modernization" widening any of their bridges.) Also, it's a gorgeous drive so if you are gawking please get safely off the road and let local traffic go on ahead at any turn out.

Ke'e Beach is at the very end of the road. It's a nice beach that's fairly well protected and when the waves get big you always need to be extra careful on the north shore. When the water is calm this is a nice place to snorkel with rocks and reef protecting the inner waters. Parking is limited to 30 or 40 cars and fills up early (get there well before 8am is best) or there is more space down the road but a good hike back.

The Kalalau Trail begins off the parking lot at Ke'e taking you down the Na Pali coast.  (For all these hikes, the only way back out is retracing the way you came. Start plenty early, bring plenty of water, and avoid wet conditions unless you like playing in the mud.) Very briefly:

• First portion of the trail is worth hiking even a mile in an back for some nice views down the coastline. Even the first part of the trail involves a lot of climbing, uneven surface, and can be slippery in wet weather.
• Hanakapi'ai beach [link] is two miles in and gives you a taste of what the coast is like. The stream running down the valley and out to sea can rise suddenly, plus the surf is notoriously dangerous here. Sadly, someone lost their life attempting to cross back from the stream just yesterday, and over fifty people spend the night on the beach unable to cross back safely until Rescue showed up.
• Hanakapi'ai falls [same link] is another two miles up the valley (that makes a tough eight miles round trip) and is a great hike if you are up for the effort and the elements allow it.
• Beyond Hanakkapi'ai you are going to be doing a very long day hike or camping, which will require permits. The rules change frequently so check with Hawaii state parks.

Limahuli Garden is the north shore NTBG location and a wonderful place to visit (entrance fee). This is where I have been helping to build a hale.

Beaches abound here of course all the way back to Hanalei, including Tunnels, Lumahai, and crescent-shaped Hanalei Bay.

Hanalei is a small town turning somewhat touristy but retaining some local color. See Local Grinds.

Up the hill from Hanalei is Princeville, a pricey, newly built community that looks like it belongs in California. I avoid it.

Kilauea is right where the coast begins to bend around to the east so I will arbitrarily make it the last outpost labeled "North". It's a tiny town with an up-scale shopping area now, including a good bakery/pizza place. The lighthouse is the signature destination here.

There are plenty good beaches (a whole other set of articles I need to write) all along here on both sides of Kilauea but I'll stop here and declare any further to be "East" coming soon.

The Simple Life

As much as I love Kauai, in no small part it also provides escape from some (but by no means all) of the daily annoyances of so-called modern life. Life is much simpler here for me now. You could say that it is artificially so in that I am traveling light, no job, solo, but it isn't hard to imagine converting my volunteer work to a modest real job sufficient to make my contribution to society.

This post by Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) about the routine indignities of a routine trip to the supermarket is an excellent example of what modern life has become. It's a rambling piece but I think worth reading through as the most important points are in the closing section.

Driving this trend is the supermarket efficiently maximizing profits from the customers which may or may not involve actually being a shopping experience. I very much concur with this rant on maximization by Jason Fried that maximization isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be.

You really can only maximize something that is precisely measurable: size, distance, time, or of course, money. Furthermore, these sort of things tend to be limited resources where more for me means less for everyone else. But the things in life that really matter aren't numerical and arguably attempts at maximizing are certain to fail.

Here on this visit that is more than a vacation I have enough time that I don't have to maximize. On vacation it's easy to think of all the places you want to see and things to do and cram them into the short time at your destination. Even as my time for this visit is drawing toward an end I think I have managed to move past that mentality and take each day and each experience as it comes, trusting in an abundance of time.

Near the ends of the road where I like to be here in Kauai, it's predominantly small local businesses. These places don't have the sophistication or scale to attempt these sort of shenanigans and it just isn't their style. (Foodland supermarket did recently institute loyalty cards with a healthy discount surcharge for not using them, but this is the exception to the rule.) The cashier might talk story with you, or the person selling poke might advise you on what kind because they made it and they know. When they are out of something (which isn't unusual) they will be happy to tell you where to get it instead. As a shopper, this is the kind of extra effort I appreciate, instead of the overt manipulations. I just hope they can survive in an economic system built on maximization.

Aholehole

Tonight's dinner was a treat: aholehole.

Uncle Palani and I got the leftover fish after we put a couple of lehua under the hale posts today.

The local guys caught some of these highly prized fish this morning for the hale and of course we couldn't let the rest of the catch go to waste. Said to be difficult to catch these are a special treat.

Fried in a pan with oil and Hawaiian salt the made good eating: I had three of them myself. Instead of rice we had steamed taro from the garden paddies (lo'i) on site here.

I'm hoping some of the taro gets made into poi tomorrow...

Limahuli Hale 2 construction: O'a

Hale work continued here at Limahuli Garden with a smaller crew. The rain and wind continued, making the work difficult: much of Hawaii got hit today we later learned.

Before planting the roof beam support posts there was a simple ceremony to provide mana (hard to translate ... "good vibrations" perhaps) by placing a lehua (sacrifice: in modern times, a fish) under each of the two posts.

The roof ridge went up and we cut and placed several of the o'a that run up from the outside posts to the roof ridge.

With intermittent wind gusts and rain squalls sweeping through all day long the tarp tent that had been set up was threatening to blow away. Instead of that we tied the tarp up under the olokea (the scaffolding) and everyone ducked under there when the weather was too intense to work safely. Nonetheless, everyone got quite wet and muddy.

My Kauai: West

When I first visited Kauai I stayed mostly on the west side and have continued to feel most at home there. Of the two ends of the road that I like, the west side is the drier in terms of both weather and personality.

Here are some highlights of the Kauai West Side, working from east to the end of the road to the west. The tour begins in Ele'ele which is just before Hanapepe on the main highway going west toward Waimea.

Kauai Island Brewery [link] is the westernmost beer brewery in the country as well as this side of the International Date Line (there is a lot of that out here in the westernmost island, excepting Ni'ihau, which is private and off limits, of the westermost state). Dave opened the place a year or so ago featuring ten different brews ranging from pale to porter. Often I will swing by after working in the garden and lately the place has been doing a brisk business. Try the sampler to get a taste of several beers to see what you like. I like the Cane Red. There's a full bar for non-beer drinkers and grinds from the kitchen as well.

Hanapepe is on the highway just down the hill from Ele'ele. The old town main street is just off and parallel to the highway, and some businesses also line the highway. The Hanapepe River splits the town (the old bridge is one lane wide), flowing down out of the Hanapepe Valley to the north. Hanapepe Friday Art nights are the time to visit - all other times it's a very sleepy little town. On Friday you will see several restaurants, food stalls, and over a dozen art galleries all open roughly 6 to 9pm. The galleries and restaurants are open at other times but not late and hours may be spotty.

• Taro Ko makes thinly sliced crispy fried chips from taro (kalo), breadfruit (ulu), & potatoes, too. The whole operation from slicing to frying to packaging to sales runs out of a little old house on the east end of the main street off the highway. Every morning they cook until ingredients run out. If he's there, tell Stanley I sent you.
• Little Fish Cafe is a tiny place just around the corner on the main street on the east end of town, open early mornings through lunchtime. Best coffee in Hanapepe hands-down and great bagel creations (I like The Hippie and The Veggie) and the rest of the menu of light fare looks promising. One a nice day eat out in the back patio area.
• Talk Story Bookstore (the westernmost independent bookstore) is a nice, funky local book store, mostly used books run by a friendly fellow who knows his books. Often on Friday nights they feature local authors.
• Kauai Kookie is a local baked goods factory specializing in cookies, of course. The factory store has quite a variety of their non-cookie goods as well and offers free tastes. 
• Da Imu Hut is a funky local grinds place right on the highway that does very good lau lau. Their Chicken Lau Lau plate is the one thing that tempts me to go back to eating meat: chicken wrapped in taro leaves baked until tender, lomi lomi salmon (salmon with tomato and onion), macaroni salad, and two scoops of rice. The non-meat selection is very limited. This place is hard to spot (the name is written on the window perpendicular to the road, very hard to spot and only visible from one direction): it's right along the highway in front of Kauai Kookie, across the street from Wong's chinese.

Salt Pond Park is a short drive from the highway, turn makai just outside of town to the west and follow the signs. This is a beach many locals visit: plenty of parking, grass lawn with tables and benches, sandy beach around a well protected curved bay with rocky reefs around much of the outside. Safe to snorkel inside but not so much to see unless you venture out (where you really need to know what you are doing).

Waimea eating options in Waimea are good but limited.

• For early breakfast Obsessions Cafe (no idea about the name) is open from 6am: good asparagus-mushroom omelet, good macadamia-nut pancakes, and decent coffee (Black Mountain brand).
• Good home-cooked breakfast, lunch, and goodies at Yumi's (for more see Local Grinds).
• And for lunch I like Island Tacos (for more see Local Grinds).
• Ishihara Market has the best fish and makes lots of prepared dishes and lunches: bento, poke, etc.

Waimea walking tour [most Mondays: link] is a must if you are interested in the history of the west side.

Koke'e State Park and Waimea Canyon are both prime hiking destinations. Probably half of the hikes mentioned here are up here. On the west side of Waimea turn mauka onto the 550 just before the West Kauai Technology and Visitor Center. A prominent highway sign tells you to go several miles out of your way to the long way around via Kekaha: ignore that unless you want to also swing by anything listed below on the way. (I assume the local neighborhood prefers fewer visitors driving through the 25 MPH road.)

PMRF (Pacific Missile Range Facility) at Barking Sands (PMRF) is just beyond Kekaha, the last actual city on the west side before the end of the road. This military facility is a significant Department of Defense installation, "the world's largest instrumented multi-environmental range capable of supported surface, subsurface, air, and space operations simultaneously" protecting our western flank. PMRF is a major driver of the local economy and also occupies several miles of prime beach out before the plentiful Kekaha beach that lines the highway beyond town.

Polihale is the end of the road here. Take the highway all the way west, driving past the PMRF gates on the makai side, then turn left on a nondescript dirt road (that I hear is in decent shape these days; previously it was notoriously potholed). Several miles of sand beach run west and right up to a pile of boulders at the foot of an first impassable cliff. Swimming here can be dangerous - strong currents, and if you get in trouble out here there is nothing west of you out to sea for several thousand miles. Polihale is popular but it's a fair drive to get out there. Camping is permitted.

Beyond Polihale, further west and then curving north with the coast the Na Pali cliffs dominate the terrain. You can kayak out there in summer when the sea is calm but this time of year it's difficult. I sure haven't been around the bend or even out to Polihale though I hope to next week or so. The photo to the left gives you an idea of the terrain: it's shot from above the cliffs - I hiked down from Koke'e - showing Miloli'i Beach (look for the white surf just left of center) some 2000 feet below.

Kava

Today I tried kava here at Limahuli. A gentleman brought the bowl and we have kava from Fiji I believe.

The preparation from what I could tell is done from shredded, dried kava root. It looks like a dried herb and someone said it is related to pepper. The dry kava goes into a cheesecloth bag that is "kneaded" by hand in a large bowl called a tonoa (not Hawaiian, but from the South Pacific) of water. This produces what looks much like muddy water which is then scooped up (in the hand-made cups shown in the bowl) and repeatedly poured back into the bowl, I presume to dissolve any sediment.

Starting with the eldest (kupuna) and working down to youngest in order, the kava is served by the cup. Before receiving a cup you clap once, and after drinking clap twice and the server claps a few times - these rules I deduced from observation; I don't really know at all the proper etiquette. The drinking cups are made from coconut shells, hand carved, and between drinks the cups go into a water dish.

Kava has a delicate taste with a peppery touch and afterward your mouth may feel a little numb. It was pretty good, certainly compared to how it looked. I had 7 or 8 cups of about a half measuring cup each over a couple of hours as we nibbled on pupus (appetizers).

Kava is said to relax you and to loosen your joints. I am getting sleepy - not surprising at 10pm after a full work day - but do not note any particular effects.

It was great to sit around and talk story (chat) while drinking together with zero alcohol involved.

Limahuli Hale 1 construction: Olokea

The Limahuli hale project continued today with the construction of the olokea, the ladder system that functions as scaffolding for the construction of the roof.

You will see the hale just above the taro (kalo) paddies (lo'i) at the NTBG Limahuli Garden.

Before starting today the rock work foundation and perimeter posts were already completed from work started here last November. Reusing pieces from the Lawai hale olokea, so little cutting was needed, plus with the crew having experience of building that one, the work went smoothly and quickly.

The photo to the left shows the olokea as of the end of work today. After two roof support posts go in (one is in position ready to set, the other yet to be cut) tomorrow morning, the end supports that comprise the rest of the olokea will be added to complete it. From there the roof structure will go up, working on the olokea.

Today heavy rain interrupted work a few times and made the work site a fairly miserable mud hole. The olokea gets very slippery when wet so for safety work stops when a squall rolls through. Rain was frequent enough that we moved our tent for breaks up next to the hale so we can quickly step out of the rainfall as needed.

As always, the local staff took great care of us including a nice hot lunch of curry rice with a kale salad and a ginger-garlic dressing that was delicious, and Sugarloaf pineapple for dessert. Mahalo!