Eric and Dee Dee's Honeymoon: Road to Hanalei

Again, we avoided paying high Hyatt breakfast fees by eating in our room…starting the day out with lichi yogurt.

We drove to Hanalei, which is on the East side of the island (we are on the West) and made several stops along the way. The roads are narrow so take your time. Our first stop was at the lighthouse that included a bird observatory. We just stopped at the look out the point and took a few pics and continued. The observatory could be an interesting location to see colorful birds.

We continued on to Queens Bath..which is a great little “pool” in a hidden area near the Princeville resort. The path down to the pool is hidden within a neighborhood so be patient as you hunt for it. The path down is on a dirt clay path and can be slippery if raining. The path leads down to the shore and continues on black lava rocks. This is a PERFECT application for those Tevas we all spent big bucks on at REI last summer. The bath is just around the bend of the lava rocks.

During the winter months (Oct – Jan), the waves and currents are strong and bring a lot of waves into the pool. Dee Dee and I, along with a few others, were surprised by a few white cap waves that came crashing into to the enclosed pool. If you swim in the pool, just watch your back and enjoy the ride. Dee Dee and I wished we had snorkel gear to admire all the fish trapped in the pool…so if you have it available, bring the gear along. We swam around for roughly 45 min and then jumped out to begin the climb across the rocks and up the hill to the car. Overall, this trip to the Bath was well worth it.

A local at the Queen’s Bath recommended that we eat at the Dolphin restaurant which is on the right side of the road just as the road winds down the hill into town. The restaurant was a good find for local fish, sandwiches and drinks…with local person prices. The restaurant sits next to the river that runs through Hanalei.

We continued through Hanalie and followed the road until it dead ended at Kee Beach…a supposed secluded beach at the end of the road…that EVERYONE new about. However, the beach was very nice and had spectacular views of rugged green mountenous terrain and rugged lava rock cliffs. I managed to take some great pics from standing in the water looking back at the coastline. Dee Dee and I laid out, took a nap, read a little and swam a bit too. A rather healthy woman swam by and asked that I feed the fish with a package of food. Her plan was to go below the surface and have me drop the food on the top and let the fish clamour . A million fish appeared as soon as I untied the bag…all pushing for a treat and not hesitating to nip my body, legs as I stood in the middle of this frenzy. According to the woman, I put on a good show.

After the Kee beach experience, we drove a short distance down the street to find a well known shaved ice “roach coach” that is nestled off the side of the road…but has been there for years. It’s called the Wishing Well. The menu lists out about 20 flavors and makes…including adding ice cream to the bottom of a shaved ice cone. The menu also includes a process to follow on how to order the shaved ice…which is a shout out to the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. This is a must do for any visit to Hanalie.

After a shaved ice, Dee Dee and I went into Hanalie…which really is a cool small town. It started to get a little rainy that afternoon, so we decided to get a Mai Thai Tahite Nui, a great local bar in the center of town. The bar had bamboo ceilings and walls…and great Hawaii surf culture artifacts. The bar tender was a short, long black haired Hawaii woman who mixed a stiff drink. I had to cool off for an hour after our drinks so I could be sober behind the wheel.

We decided to drive back into Poipu before it got too dark. We ended up stopping off at a restaurant in Kapaa called Café Coco . It’s a hard to find restaurant for it’s tucked away off the main highway. The “driveway” is directly across the street from Kintaro sushi restaurant . The food and ambiance look a little backwater…the that’s the charm of the place, not to mention that the food is EXCELLENT. I had a great fish wrap with rice and beans and a tortilla. Yum. Be sure to try the freshly made pumpkin spice cake. The outdoor seating is within an enclosed “porch” surrounded with vegetation….and MOSQUITOs…so bring bug repellant.