Finally home from Winterfest

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Got home Tuesday morning, still trying to get back to this time zone.

I've uploaded the best pics from my camera, still need to go through the ones from Cindy's, and I have most of the ones that Jennifer and Jesse took with their new D40 to look over as well...

Started out with a nice dinner with old friends and new...





Then a brief visit to the campfire to unload some boxes and bins of kindling wood, a long drive home, short nights sleep, then a long flight to Kauai followed by a short bus ride to Thrifty Car Rental where I found out that apparently Jeep no longer makes the Grand Cherokee

They didn't rent 4-door Wranglers, and currently had no Commanders so they put us in a Durango, which would be Ok if you like gay oversized minivans.

Since we couldn't get first class frequent flyer tickets to co-incide with our resort check in, we had to stay in a cheap but overpriced hotel for one night. Think very old Motel 6 with Marriot prices.

After breakfast we exchanged the gay oversized minivan for a Commander, did some shopping (2 cases of beer and some other stuff) then checked in to the Kauai Beach Villas for our first full week. This is one of the timeshares we own, and is centrally located, on a long isolated beach.

 

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Our unit had a view of the pool, but unfortunately, it seems most timeshare owners are nowhere near as attractive as Cindy and I so this is the best pool pic...



There is also a nice lagoon between the condos and the Hilton



Cindy loves the tropical flowers, so she assembled this arrangement with about $20 of flowers from Costco and the farmers market...




The weather was a bit rainy Monday so we agreed to do a timeshare owner update in exchange for $100 restaurant gift certificate and activities discount card. The presentation was near the other end of the island at the resort we would be at later in our stay. Unfortunately the rain resulted in a landslide with a 60 foot tree blocking the road in one of the many areas with no bypass, so we got to experience Chicago rush hour style traffic for an hour while they cleared the road. At least the scenery was nice.

 

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Some more misc pics from the first week or so...



MWC rules!







Waimea canyon

 

[FlexdXJ]

I see the MWC radio announcer made it to the dinner!

 

[Rev Den]

Hey.....


I have been there.



Rev

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Good pics John, gald ya made it home safe. :thumbup:

 

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For once we didn't come home to a snowstorm and have to shovel snow!

Here's a few pics from the first hike that we did. 3.1 miles downhill from about 4100' to 2600' on the top of the Na Pali cliffs. Some really incredible views that pictures just dont do justice to. But when we got there, it looked like this...



We had our lunch, and talked to the four other people that were there, and in about 40 minutes the clouds lifted...




Some misc. pics from the trail









The 3.1 miles back uphill was rough, our legs were sore for a few days. We couldn't remember if it's been 4 or 6 years since we did the entire 11.5 mile loop which comes down a different trail 3.8 miles to another ridge with incredible views, then goes 2.1 miles along the cliffs to this trail. Then when you get back to the road you still have a 1.5 mile walk to the jeep. I guess we're getting old...

 

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After the hike we coasted down to Kekaha beach to watch the sunset. The Commander did good on the sand with its wide street tires.




Our nearest neighbors at the beach...



As the sun set, the prevailing winds brought the cool mountain air down to the beach



And the sunset was just OK...

 

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After a week and a half by ourselves, we were joined by the daughter and son-in-law. They wanted to do a nice hike, so the day after they arrived, we did the first 2 miles of the Kalalu trail, up to the first major stream crossing, and back. I can't imagine that there are many hikes on this planet that are more scenic. For some reason, they must have thought it would be a paved path...



The trail ascends steeply to a great view of the beach you start from...



then winds in and out of numerous valleys, past small waterfalls...





The views down the coast are always amazing



Some fellow hikers were kind enough to take our pic

 

[LBEXJ]

And the sunset was just OK...

I'm sure "...and the sunset was just OK" is a relative statement.

Nice shot!

Les

 

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That was one of the better ones of this trip, and it really wasn't that close to setting. It always seemed that there were big dark clouds where the sun was setting, so we never got any really colorful ones.

We've definitely seen much better ones on other trips...

 

[LBEXJ]

The attributes in the previous sunset that caught my eye was the subtle yellow and gray shades, the sunray through the clouds with the mountain further in the horizon ... and the wave.

Colorfull is an eye catcher, but not always necessary.

You do well with the camara John. Glad you and Cindy had a good trip ...

Les

 

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Thanks, Les

Yeah, the sunrays caught my eye, then I zoomed a bit to get the wave, and the mountain, which is actually the island of Ni'ihau which is inhabited by about 200 Hawaiians.

No telephones, no cable TV, and no tourists or other Hawaiians are allowed to visit.

It's owned by the Robinson family, who also own 51,000 acres of Kauai. Their property is valued over $1,000,000,000!

 

[LBEXJ]

That's interesting ...

Are they Swiss?

Les

 

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That's interesting ...

Are they Swiss?

Les

That's what came to my mind, too.

They're descendants of the Scottish Sinclairs, who bought the island in the 1860s for about $11,000

 

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A few more pics from the trail.

Some sections were rather muddy



The stream two miles in. If you follow it two miles inland, there is a beautiful 200' waterfall, but that trail makes the first two miles look like a sidewalk.



Cindy and Jennifer crossing the stream



This part of the trail often is a waterfall



The formerly white shoes

 

[Pat]

Thanks for sharing, John. That secluded island is probably pretty interesting...I doubt they have many concerns.