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Writers, write. It is what they do in lieu of more expensive therapy. Here are some recent writings I have done on Hawaii. Hope you enjoy them. The article called simply "Kauai" is large -- and I have made it into several chapters to reduce the loading time for dialup. Addendum for 2004 and 2005 This addendum is designed to update the previous writings until I can get my act together and incorporate the latest information.Accommodations: We have had the opportunity to check into several non-hotel venues. While our personal interests go toward non-hotel venues, there are several hotels that deserve mention: Radisson Hotel: Modestly priced, it is a bargain. This is where we stay the night before returning to the mainland, because it is clean, nice, moderately priced and (most importantly) it has an airport shuttle! There is a nice art store there, A Piece of Paradise, and the prices are reasonable for some really nice art. Caution: The beach is “right there” but if the red flag is up don’t even THINK about swimming! East shore waves on Kauai can be dangerous – heck, all waves on Kauai can be. If you don’t see a local in the water, don’t go in the water. Locals can “read” the waves… Marriott Hotel (Lihue): The other hotel with a shuttle – beautiful but pricey. Nice restaurant, Duke’s, where the local uppercrust goes for Sunday Brunch. Hyatt Regency Hotel (Poipu): While the Marriott is a standard Marriott, the Hyatt captures the mood of Hawaii. Gorgeous! Princeville Hotel (Princeville): Located on the North Coast, this is the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen. For a “once in a lifetime” experience, this can’t be beat. The Living Room, the bar and light meal place has the most beautiful sunsets you will ever see. (It also has the best hamburger on the Island, but for $16, it should be!) Many Sunday nights, The Living Room features the slack Guitar of Ken Emerson and vocals of Michelle Edwards. “Best in Class” entertainment in a “Best in Class” venue. Now to non-hotel options – which we personally prefer because a hotel is a hotel is a hotel… On the south side of the Island we would stay at Gloria’s Spouting Horn B&B in Poipu. It is too pricey for our blood, but if we hit the lottery… There are only three bedrooms, but the setting is fantastic. Prices start at $275 a night and there is a three night minimum. Perhaps for our 50th anniversary…and you should consider it for a special occasion… On the north side of the island we spent a month renting a home 3031 Kaohe Road. The view is unsurpassed in the world! It sleeps six – four more comfortably – and it is “just” a beach house, but for $125 a night, it is fantastic. This modest home would probably sell for more than $2 million, and it is in a modest neighborhood. In fact, as in most neighborhoods, the roosters will crow “indiscriminately” (read “all night”…and in this case the 16 goats across the street have been known to make a bit of morning noise. Nevertheless, look at the view I stitched together, and you may agree that this is one beautiful view. Call Joyce at 808-245-3235…she is the owner. Misc. Notes: The Hawaiian Desert, located on Rice Street in Lihue, a place that I have previously touted for chicken, is no more. I have no idea what happened to them, but the doors are closed. Too bad. My negative comments on the Ono Burger hamburgers in Anahola, may have to be revised. I am told Ono is under new management…and I hope their hamburgers have returned to their glory days. I’ll report when we return to the island toward the end of the year. On the subject of Zello’s in Hanalei, I must modify some of my previous comments. I hated it when they went to Mexican Food, after all we live in California where there is great Mexican food and why would I want to go to Hanalei for more? Well, Zello’s have ended their Mexican food experiment – and now simply serve overpriced food. This last trip I literally took one look at the dinner menu and drove 30 minutes to The Bull Shed in Kapa’a for better food at a much lower price. But I had a mai tai first because a mai tai at Zelo’s is worth whatever they charge for it. Oh, yes, they now only serve their blue cheese hamburger (called “Le Stinky Burger”) before 3:30 p.m. – so go at 3:25 p.m., order Le Stinky Burger, and wait 5 minutes for the Happy Hour prices to kick in before you order the mai tai. Shopping at the Kong Lung store in Kilauea has always been a must, and even more so now that they have leased some space to Banana Patch Studios – which was previously only in Hanapepe on the south side of the island. I could spend some serious money on their hand-painted tiles… I have not previously even mentioned the Coconut Grove Shopping Center, primarily because I could not find a single shop worth mentioning. That has changed…breakfast at Eggberts is worth the wait (we can vouch for the short stack and the Eggs Benedict), and there are many excellent upscale shops there now. The Ships Store could take some serious amounts of our money if Jean would permit it and if I had sufficient remaining wall space to display the objects de art… Although decidedly small, the Gift Shop in the Kauai Museum on Rice Street has many beautiful objects, and you can be assured of their authenticity. Equally important, they do not charge Hawaii sales tax, which is a high tax. (You can actually go to the Gift Store without paying the small fee for the entry to the museum – but don’t do that. The museum is well worth the price of admission.) The limitation placed on my buying in the Gift Shop is strictly the small size of my home and my pocketbook…I would happily take “one of each.” (Jean has now announced a “zero sum” policy -- every item added to the home on the mainland must be accompanied by an item sold, gifted, or placed under the bed…sigh…) 2005 Well, there goes the neighborhood! There is a Starbucks on Kauai! Actually, I love Starbucks, it is just that this, the most remote island in the world, has lost some of its charm with the inclusion of a Starbucks. It is in the newly refurbished Kukui Shopping Center…if you have not been to Kauai in five years that is the largest shopping center, where The Liberty House once was the largest store on the island. Macy bought The Liberty House, and after several years Macys has finally gotten the Hawaiian idea down…they no longer carry earmuffs. While the mainland is debating if Wal-Mart is a good idea or not, on Kauai their arrival just a few years ago was a Godsend. Before Wal-Mart, there was a K-Mart…understocked and populated by some of the most inhospitable people on the island. Wal-Mart changed that, and is the most crowded place on the island, day and night, As of last year, we have a Home Depot, and now, we look forward to a COSTCO, probably next year. Yes, it is a trade-off…it is the homogenization of America, and a challenge for small businesses – but it is low prices and real inventory for the most remote island in the world, where prices were high if you could even find what you wanted! And the arrival of Starbucks is a demonstration of the gentrification of the island. It was inevitable. But in the same shopping center, right next to Macys, is a local island favorite sandwich shop, the Classic Gourmet Deli and Bakery. Jean swears by the chicken sandwich, and I love their It is always worth a visit when you are on the south side of the island. On the north side of the island, CJ’s in the Princeville Shopping Center serves a great lunch. Probably some of the best food on the island. They open at 11:30 a.m., and some of their best bets are a roast beef sandwich w/B-B-Q sauce – or if you are really hungry, the Beefeaters Sandwich. (Jean says the B-B-Q is better than our otherwise favorite in Kerrville, Texas...I call it a tie.) Their hamburgers (made with Angus Beef) are second on the island only to the Living Room at the Princeville Hotel, but CJ’s offerings are about half the price of the Living Room. The onion rings at CJ's are as good as it gets. (Let me emphasize, none of these places know me. I pay for everything myself, and would never accept a comped meal...) There are big plans for the reconstruction of the Coconut Palms complex just south of Kapa’a. It will, when completed a fine destination place again…it has been in disrepair since its near destruction during the Iniki Hurricane of 1992. The year 2005 was welcomed in with one of the worst rainstorms in recent memory…it nearly destroyed the Smith Boat dock at the Fern Grotto. I understand that the Fern Grotto is a “must see” on everyone’s list, but I don’t see it. The Grotto ferns were nearly destroyed by Hurricane Iniki and it will be many years before it has returned to its former glory. That said, the Hula exhibition at Smith’s is well worth the money…it is a LITTLE hokey, but compared to most tourist shows it is excellent. (See my writing on the Hula by clicking the button on the left...) There are two really excellent things to do that are out of the ordinary – the flights by helicopter to Ni’ihau (when available) from Ni’ihau Helicopter at 877-441-3500. That is on my schedule for my next visit. This, and the item below, are worth a separate visit to Kauai… The other great opportunity is an archaeology tour in a Hummer, and led by a Kauai Archaeologist – Nancy Mcmahon. The terrific rain storms at New Yeas kept me from going this time, but I will schedule this for my next visit..
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