Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Kauai - My Motivator Today

On these kind of ho-hum days, it's really hard for me to be motivated about anything. I hate it when I get into these moods. Lucky for the Mister that these moods aren't the norm. Work has me pretty down, which unfortunately has been the norm lately. So in a half-assed effort to motivate myself to find something positive, I searched to find something in today's news to blog about. But it's not going so well and I feel like I'm trapped in the song, Dirty Laundry, by Don Henley. I'm sure there's a bubble-headed bleach blonde looming around the corner just waiting to kick me when I'm down.

So rather than be a wet rag and infect everyone with my blah mood (the Mister already got an earful of it this morning), I thought I'd focus on one thing that does make me happy and excited. It's our upcoming trip to Kauai. Leave it to Hawaii to cheer me up, hehe.

Here are some interesting things (at least to me) about Kauai that I found. Many of these places are sites I want to see. Kauai is called the Garden Island, which I'm told is very obvious once there. The National Tropical Botanical Garden, the only garden of its kind to be chartered by Congress, is located in the South Shore. Not only will you find an array of plants and flowers, you'll also see some ancient Hawaiian stone walls and taro terraces. A side note about being chartered by Congress. I had to look this up because I don't know what it means to be chartered by Congress other than it required a law to be passed like a Bill (remember that School House Rock about the Bill? "I'm only a bill, sitting on Capitol Hill..."). And in all honesty, I still don't know what the significance is and that it's quite nebulous to us common folks. I actually read a CRS Report for Congress (all 17 pages) by Ronald C. Moe that comes to the same conclusion. Read this if you have trouble sleeping tonight. It'll put you right out.

If you've ever been to Oahu or Maui, chances are good you've seen at least one of the blow holes. Kauai's blow hole, Spouting Horn, is also located in the South Shore. Can't wait to add pictures of that to my blow hole picture collection.

In the Lihue/Kalapaki area, you'll find the Wailua Falls featuring 80-feet waterfalls. This is where they shot the opening scene of "Fantasy Island," that is if you're old enough to remember the show.

If you're interested in seeing ancient sites, the Coconut Coast (north of Lihue) is the place to go. One of the ancient site is an old legend about the Sleeping Giant, or the Nounou Mountain. I think this was one of the first legends I learned about in school. The legend says the Nounou Mountain was a pesky giant who ate constantly. The Wailua villagers were tired of feeding the giant and tricked him into eating a bunch of rocks hidden in fish and poi. The giant was so full that he lay down to take a nap, fell into a deep sleep, and has yet to wake up. Funny to this day, I still cannot see the sleeping giant when looking at a picture of the Mountain. The Big Island is really good for this type of site seeing, too. But that's another blog for another day.

In the North Shore of Kauai, you'll also find more sites shot in movies. A scene with Mitzi Gaynor from "South Pacific" was shot at Lumahai Beach (she's washing that guy right out of her hair). Old history can be found in the town of Hanalei. It's one of the earliest areas settled by the ancient Pacific voyagers. If you're into scuba diving, you might want to check out the Waikanaloa and Waikapalae Wet Caves.

And finally, the West Side. Here you will find the Captain Cook Monument, where British Captain James Cook first landed in Hawaii in 1778. This is not to be confused by the Captain Cook's Monument on the Big Island, where he was killed. The monument in Waimea is a replica of the one that stands in his home town of Whitby, England. Also on the West Side, the main street in the town Hanapepe was used in the miniseries, "The Thorn Birds."

One of my rituals prior to visiting the islands is searching for local events. Unfortunately, we will miss the Eo e Emalani i Alaka`i Festival on 13 October, 2007 to be held at Kokee State Park. This festival is in honor of Queen Ema. I think it would have been fun attending the Festival.

Well, that's it for this blah day. I'm off to pick up my lunch from Spices of Thai. Maybe that will give me the pick-me-up that I need. Think I'll play a bit of Rayman on the Wii when I get home. Those rabid bunnies just crack me up!

2 comments:

KirkK said...

I'm envious CAB! We love Kauai....seems like you forgot Waimea Canyon???? Any Hamura saimin in your future? When I used to travel there monthly, I remember eating at the Bullshed and Dairy Queen in Lihue...they used to serve Prime Rib Dinners...at a Dairy Queen!

CAB said...

Hi Kirk! I did forget to mention Waimea Canyon although that's on my list of to do's. We're also planning on doing a zip line hiking tour. Hehe, Hamura saimin and The Bullshed are definitely on my list of eats. I haven't had a good bowl of soup noodles in a long time. Prime Rib at Dairy Queen...ah, good times. But I think my food experience will be very tame compared to your recent vacation meal! :-)