Beautiful emerald Kauai

Trip Start Nov 16, 2011

Trip End Nov 27, 2011

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Where I stayed

Turtle Cove Suites Poipu

Flag of United States Poipu, Hawaii
Sunday, November 20, 2011

Each of the Islands is truly unique: Oahu has the big city with magnetic Waikiki; the Big Island of Hawaii is big, primordial in places, rural, the breadbasket of the Islands; Maui is a fun spot for families especially; but I love Kauai. It reminds me of a Polynesian island -- right down to roaming bantam roosters just like Tahiti. (They also sound off hours before dawn!) Friendly people, craggy green mountains, old wooden towns: it has character.

I arrived late morning and collected my car. I'd wanted to take a bus and be a local. The locals all drive. Yes, there is a bus -- The Kauai Bus -- yet I had visions of spending hours of my few days waiting at bus stops for who knows how long. So, Mapquest directions close-by, I navigated my red Nissan in ever-shrinking concentric circles until I drove into the crushed coral driveway of my home-away-from home, Turtle Cove Suites, and my room "The Cove". Distances are decent: only about 10 miles from the airport. Gas is not: $4.45US/gallon regular.

Food isn't any too cheap on an 'out-island', either. I gathered the basics at my local market in Old Koloa Town -- you know, dill pickles, a t-bone, papaya, lemonade -- and got a $145 bill. Yeesh. And one of the eggs was cracked, to boot.

Tomorrow I explore.

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