Kauai Day 4: Waimea Canyon drive

Fred and I wanted to spend a day seeing the island.  

Our Catamaran dinner cruise up the Na Pali coast was canceled due to rough waters, but at least we were notified early in the day and it ended up giving us much needed to time to explore other areas.  Originally I was thinking that we would have time for both the boat and the Waimea canyon drive but we would have had to have waken up way too early to accomplish this.

It was nice to relax and stop in areas that were not on the list.

The picture above was taken at a Hanalei lookout point that tourists are always at, so we stopped too.  

Opaekaa falls is just two miles off of the main highway that goes around the island.  

Opaekaa means 'rolling shrimp'.  The steam was named at a time when it used to be full of them.  

Right across the street from the Opaekaa falls lookout is a view of Wailua river, a 20 mile river that flows from Mount Waialeale, the second highest point on the island.  

Hanapepe has a long history.  The area has been inhabited for centuries before Chinese immigrants arrived in the mid 1800s to farm in the rich soil.  

Hanapepe is known as 'Kauai's biggest little town', named because it was a popular hang out during World War 1.  

Waimea Canyon is breathtaking, a gorgeous canyon carved by the abundant water that flows through the island.  It is not as wide or as deep as the Grand Canyon but it is intricate and lush, and according to Fred one of the amazing views he has ever seen.  

We look forward to returning and hiking all over this island in better weather.  (It looks like it is sunny but it was raining and very windy more often than it was sunny.)  

Waimea canyon is a magical place.  I cannot imagine a better place to see a rainbow.  

When we reached the coast it was completely socked in.  I thought I heard the ocean but I wasn't sure where we were or if this could possibly be right.  Suddenly, within one minute, all of the fog was blown away and we got the prettiest view of the Na Pali coast.  It was incredible.  Then five minutes later it began to pour again.  The weather in Kauai changes so dramatically so quickly.  

There is not much left of Russian Fort Elizabeth.  It is a reminder of the two year stint that Russia was involved with Hawaii.  

Kauai Coffee is the largest coffee farm in the United States.  It is a 3,100 acre plantation that has over 4 million coffee trees.  There is a coffee tasting area outside where you can learn about the process of harvesting coffee, and drink as much coffee as you want.  There was at least 15 different coffees brewed for tasting.  There were tours available but we would have had to wait for over an hour so we decided not to.  At this point in time getting a shave ice came first.  

Wow, we did a lot today!

We stopped in Kapaa for my shave ice and for a snack.  Fred really wanted to try a fish taco.

You cannot go wrong at el Taco Feliz!

There is only one size available at Ono Ono shave ice.  I ordered whatever the employee recommended.  It had coconut and guava and passion fruit among other flavors.  I had to go with the macadamia ice cream again, and since it was offered I got the sweet beans.  I did not like sweet beans when I tried it in Oahu but Hawaii is famous for shave ice, ice cream and beans so I felt obligated to try it!  I liked it much better than last time.  In fact, I wish I was eating this again right now!  

You have to love Kauai!