Island of Kauai, Hawaii, USA

I flew on September 11th on United Airlines direct from Salt Lake City to Lihue Airport on Kauai Island, the "Garden Island". Harriet, from Travel Zone travel agency in SLC, set me up with a terrific package deal. Yes, it was easy to get a seat on 9/11 and the fare was very good, too. Other than my flight being a bit late taking off and causing me to be rerouted through Honolulu, the flight was fine. The in-flight movie was stupid ("Crocodile Hunter") but I had brought several books and spent the five hour flight quite happily. My rental car was ready for me and I had no trouble finding the condo. But, boy, was it hot! So humid! Everything was lovely, though, and I had a great time. I was a total tourist, taking a helicopter ride, a catamaran tour of the Na Pali Coast, and attending a luau. I also bought some great souvenirs. Island life is always special and Hawaiians make an effort to make sure you have fun. So I did!

I even made a friend, Colleen, who lives in Medford, Oregon. We met on the catamaran ride. She was also a solo traveler and she encouraged me to go snorkeling. It was fun!

The condo was pretty nice, and I could see the beach from my bed each morning! I left the windows open 24/7 so the lovely tropical breeze was always blowing through the one-bedroom unit. I cooked my meals there (except for the luau) and, for the most part, it was very quiet. We had one good storm while I was on Kauai and I was thrilled to see the palm trees bend waaaaaay over in the high wind. But the next day you would never have known that anything happened. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, the flowers were busy blooming to replace the buds they lost in the storm. And the scent! The scent of the island hits you when you get off the plane (along with the 90+% humidity!) and never leaves you. When I got off the plane in L.A. on my return trip, I thought it smelled funny after all that time on the island!	Beach outside my condo	rainbow at the condo

I rented a car and drove to see the "Fantasy Island" waterfalls (Wailua, which means "two waters"), Waimea canyon, Hanalei Bay, and the botanical gardens. There were lots of opportunities to hike, along with kayaking, snorkeling, boating, and surfing. I was pretty busy! The birds were great to watch and there were beautiful flowers everywhere.	pretty!	Plumeria flower	What is this?	Dew drop on plumeria

I have to confess that I was a little concerned about whether there would be enough physical activity for me in Hawaii. I guess I had an impression that it was all lounging in chairs on the beach. Much to my surprise, there was plenty for me to explore! The condominium complex where I stayed was built near a sacred Hawaiian site, called a "heiau" (hey-a). At one time, this site had several buildings and altar-type constructions. Now, though, not much exists except for the hundreds of stones used to build the foundation of the heiau. There are lots of these heiaus on the island and it's taboo to touch a single stone of them.

Sacred Hawaiian site

There were some great trails to hike around the canyon and along the coast, but a lot of them were washed out by recent rainfall. One trail led me around the edge of a really neat valley. The fog kept blowing down the valley, headed out to sea so as I stood I could watch the view come and go. It was very soothing. Despite being careful, I still managed to get my hiking boots completely caked with that famous Hawaiian Red Dirt. It ruined my socks and my hummingbird bandana. But what fun I had sloshing through it!
Waimea canyon	Another view	It's 3600 feet deep, 1 mile wide and 10 miles long!
pretty valley	dense fog	...disappearing...

The catamaran ride was fabulous. I went snorkeling and saw a sea turtle who I followed for a while. I also saw lots of dolphins (ask to see the video!) and even flying fish, which are very fun. We had lunch and drinks and watched the sun set over the Pacific ocean. I went with Captain Andy's Tours and was very pleased - they are safe and friendly and have a great sense of humor. It was a six-hour tour and there were about 20 people on board. Most of the other tourists were honeymooners, though, so we didn't really get to know each other very well ;) Colleen and I had fun talking to the crew and learning about the coast, life in Hawaii, how to drive the boat, etc. After a while, we cut the engines and raised the sail and enjoyed the afternoon. We had a little bit of rain, just to keep things interesting but the weather was warm all day and the water was very comfortable. I really didn't want to come in from snorkeling!
Tunnel in the rock	Another neat tunnel	rainbow at Na Pali coast

Here's a cool old rope foot bridge that I saw. This wasn't on the tourist map, but the guy at the condo office told me where to find it. There's also a plaque there about a neat viaduct that apparently predates the recorded history of the island.	About the viaduct	rope foot bridge	very cool!

Here's a neat tree that I saw at one of the botanical gardens. It's called an octopus tree. This one started growing in a little patch of dirt on a boulder and then sent its roots down around the rock to connect with the earth. Pretty industrious, don't you thinK?

determined tree

All too soon, the day came for me to leave the island paradise. Just as another storm prepared to pound the coast, I turned in my rental car and flew back to Salt Lake City.

Once there, I faced what was becoming a familiar dilemma. Where to go now?

Ronna and I pondered that question as we made curry together one night. After much talking and consulting with the Travel section of her local Barnes & Noble bookstore, we decided I should go to Amsterdam. Luckily, I had my passport with me! I bought a "Let's Go Amsterdam" book, a Dutch language phrase book, and Ronna rummaged through the internet for an affordable fare or package deal. And off I went!

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