It’s in the guidebooks, so it’s not much a secret, but you do have to hike down to it, so that cuts down on people. On the path down:
Good signage.
And here it is! Mostly empty and very pretty, with the lighthouse in the background.
We sat and watched some surfers for a bit.
Aloha! We stopped for mini golf and I did not stop to fix my camera before taking this picture.
Miniature golf places seem to either be old and worn out (yet still enjoyable) or faaaaancy (and enjoyable). This place was in the latter category. It had a ton of plants (the botanical garden part) and really interesting interpretive signs.
We were behind a large group, so there was some hanging out waiting.
The holes were challenging and interesting.
I really liked this graphic. Very nicely done!
More killing time, this time with timer photos.
I had time to grab a picture of this lily. So pretty.
As you can see, I got the most points, and so I won.
Afterward, we got OnoPops and sat in their picnic area. Matt got a green tea variety (he liked it, I didn’t) and I got a Mexican chocolate variety.
Because it was gorgeous.
And plus, more cemetery! I’m curious who is still remembering Charles Wilson Smythe 133 years after his short life came to an end.
I loved the sea glass and shells on this gravestone.
Because we did no planning for this trip aside from reserving hotel, car, and buying plane tickets, we did not get entry tickets to this attraction. We did stop at the place everyone who doesn’t have tickets stops and took the same pictures everyone else takes.
Here’s a bird refuging on the refuge.
We stopped more than once at this tiny post office to mail our postcards. It has very limited hours. I wondered about the two chairs, but it appears they are there because this is one of the stops for the bus. One time we drove by and a woman was sitting under the tree waiting.
Matt had fun looking up the words on the various Hawaiian language signs and translating them. He asked me to grab pictures of this road sign, which was only in Hawaiian.
Matt said that the sign was basically about wearing your masks in the spirit of kokua, which is care for one’s community
We rented bikes in Kapa’a and rode the 10-mile roundtrip Ke Ala Hele Makalae Path.
We got a lot of sun and great beach views.
We also found this pretty tree tunnel.
On the way back, we stopped to take a photo and ended up looking for whales.
That reef-safe sunscreen really doesn’t rub in.
After biking, we ate pizza for lunch and headed to the beach for some swimming.
We stopped by the ReStore to see if they had snorkeling gear and towels and they did. I also chatted with this friendly cat.
Buying used snorkeling gear was a good idea in practice, but so-so in execution. We intended to donate it back at the end of our trip, but they were unexpectedly closed that morning. So then we had to figure out what to do with unwanted gear. If we visit again, I’ll look around for a weekly rental place.
Grilled cheese stuffed with pulled pork? Yes please! The meal at Porky’s Kauai was amazing!
On the way back down from our ridge hike, we stopped at a lookout to see where we had been. Here’s a view of the canyon.
And here are the falls.
And here is Matt, carefully taking a picture.
