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I wanted to finish posting pics from our anniversary get-away.  It was a fun way to celebrate 33 years of being married to a wonderful woman who is simply a beautiful person through and through.  Heading to a tropical paradise just as the grip of winter seems to finally be slipping seemed like a good idea and the following pics show off the beautiful island of Kauai where we visited for 2 days at the end of our vacation.

I experienced a downside to this though.  My work travels the next week took me to western New York where the temperature never got above 40 F and it snowed almost every day.  My blood had gotten used to the tropics so I think my suffering (and whining and complaining) were justified and I guess maybe a little amplified.  And my wonderful wife that enjoyed our get-away so much… yeah, all she could do was laugh when I would talk to her on the phone from NY.

Did I ever mention that 34 years ago I prayed for humility right before I met my wife….

Enjoy the pics.

The south shore of Kauai, also known as the Sunny Side.

The spouting horn doing what it is famous for.

Ferrel chickens were everywhere. While not endemic to the islands they have been there since the earliest people. The numbers increased greatly though when Hurricane Iniki blew over all the chicken coops and freed the entire population of caged birds.

Hanapepe Canyon

Caves that also served as burial sites for Hawaiian leaders and royal families.

Statue of Captain Cook where he first landed in the Hawaiian Islands at the mouth of the Waimea River.

Waimea Canyon which is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

The highest swamp on earth, the Alaka’i Swamp is on the top of the old volcano that formed the island.

The Waimea Falls near the headwaters of the Waimea River is the cause of the canyon.

The central highlands of Kaua’i are over 5000 feet above sea level. The trade winds constantly blow, hitting the highlands and creating clouds and rain. So much so that Kaua’i has the title of wettest place on earth receiving between 400 and 600 inches of rain a year.

Waimea Beach. Wai means fresh water. Mea means red. The name is for the river which runs red after heavy rains from the high iron content in the soil. Obviouslly the waters off the beach experience this too. The sand itself is a mixture of black, green, red, and grey sand. It is not dirty at all.

View through the entrance of the Waimea Plantation, an old sugar cane plantation turned into a resort.

Coffee shrubs.

The largest coffee plantation in the US.

Trail to Fern Grotto.

Either Pine Ginger or Pineapple Ginger.

Fern Grotto.

Weddings used to regularly be held inside the mouth of Fern Grotto.

Final morning in Paradise.

Ancient fishpond.

The Hawaiians were among the earliest people to practice aguaculture. They build these fishponds which had small openings that young fish could swim through into the “safe” water inside.

The Hawaiians would then feed and nuture the captive fish inside the ponds. Before long the fish were to big to fit back through the openings to the open sea. As the fish grew, for them the ponds became increasingly less safe. Yes, fish was a primary component of the Hawaiian diet.

Sea turtle sculptures…

And Sea Monstors on shore.

While blustery and cloudy, the temperature never got below 70.

From a distance I could almost hear the rooster preaching a sermon and all the other birds bobbing in agreement.

Flightseeing around Kaua’i was the perfect way to wrap up our trip. Desi was our pilot and she was great.

Leaving the airport at Lihue under a fair cover of clouds we headed south.

And the Sunny Side of the island did not disappoint.

The largest coffee plantation in the US is the Kauai Coffee Plantation.

Port Allen. Note the big solar generation station just outside of town.

It had been a very rainy season which was lasting a bit longer than usual, so the waterfalls were plentiful.

When Desi would lean us into a tight turn to share views both left and right, it made for some cool pespectives.

A closer view of Waimea Falls than from the lookout.

Down the Waimea Canyon to he sea. Notice the lookout on the plateau on the center right.

Desi turned from the Waimea Canyon and then headed into the clouds over the top of the island. We were in a white-out for about 30 seoncds and then, BOOM the Na Pali coast burst into view.

Captain Jack Sparrow had a run in with some natives on these two beaches.

The Cathedrals.

This is the favorite surfing hangout of Bethany Hamilton, the surfing champion who lost an arm to a great white shark.

Wailua Falls.

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