Heritage Trail

Today we headed south along the coast road to check out Poipu Beach Park, which the guidebooks had said was a good snorkeling beach for beginners as well as more expert snorkelers. (We fall in the beginner category.) We spent some time walking along the beach, but the sand was soft and the surf quite high.

We found a picnic table under a palm tree overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was the perfect place for our picnic lunch. Even peanut butter sandwiches can seem like gourmet fare in such a setting.

After lunch we set out on a walk along the Koloa Heritage Trail. We started from Poipu Beach and walked to Keoneloa Bay and Makawehi and Pa'a Dunes, both located along the coast in front of the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa, which is very grand indeed. The ocean is blue and sparkling and the ridge of land jutting out into the bay majestic. We saw people on top and hope to make it back to hike the next stretch of the coast.

For dinner we went to Verde, a Mexican restaurant that got great reviews on Yelp. The praise was well deserved. We had the garlic shrimp tacos with refried beans and cilantro rice, easily the best tacos and some of the best food we've ever enjoyed. It's an unpretentious place, and the service is island friendly. Great experience!

Back home, we washed clothes and fell asleep trying to decide what to do tomorrow. A sudden rain storm beat down, and we had to close the windows for the first time.

I got a message from Ed on WWF. He has accepted a job at a car dealership in Lufkin and will start September 15. I'm excited to have the family back in Texas!

Earlier in the day, we were looking over things to do. We wanted to see the island of Kauai from the air, and our friends John and Sandy had recommended a helicopter tour. We checked out a few tours on Tripadvisor, but all of them had some negative reviews that worried us. Then we saw the listing for Wings Over Hawaii, which had an overwhelming number of positive reviews. We decided to make a reservation for next Tuesday, which is my birthday. What a way to celebrate.

[Photos later]