Why does the chicken cross the road?
Because they live in Kauai. Apparently, Kauai has a large wild chicken population. The story we have heard is that when settlers came to the island (the White Man), they had brought chickens with them. Upon discovering that there was an ample food source on the island, they let many of the chickens go. Until the 1950s, the chickens were protected animals, so they reproduced and took over the island. They are no longer protected, and the locals frequently will keep them for eggs, or meat.
Since the last posting, we've had quite a time! Sunday morning, we got up early and were picked up at the hotel for a snorkeling tour. It was just us and another couple from our hotel. The guide was very nice, and showed us the ropes. They had wet-suites and full snorkel gear for us. He also had what was basically an old surf board with line strung on either side. The purpose was for us to grab the line, and he towed us around the ocean. It was great! He knew all the good places, and we basically just had to lay there and look at stuff. Occasionally he would dive down to find something cool, and bring it up to us. We saw TONS of fish. Many of which liz and I recognized from our fish tank! Tangs, Wrasses, Butterflyfish, Puffers, Triggerfish, Coral, Urchins, Starfish, etc. And those 3" long Orange Shoulder Tangs we see for $40 in the fish store? They are about 16" long in the ocean. It was great! I took a bunch of pictures with an underwater disposable camera, and many of them came out. It's kind of like playing whack-a-mole, by the time you get the camera up and click the button, the fish is gone. Here is one example picture:
There are more pictures in the gallery. After about an hour of snorkeling, he took us out the "bonus" side, since we were all young and adventurous (it has a very rocky entrance and exit, so its not for people with difficulty getting around.. more on that later). On the other side of the reef, we saw Sea Turtles. These were HUGE. We got some good pictures (the guide dove with my camera to get a few close ups). We haven't developed that roll of film yet, so look for them in a day or two. On the way out, a 5'+ wave hit us, throwing liz off balance, and into me. I was then thrown into a rock, ankle first. About two hours after we got out of the water, my ankle swelled up a bit, and I couldn't walk around. It is doing much better today, but it lead to a fun afternoon. In addition to my ankle, liz got some sunburn on the back of her legs from snorkeling. Boy are we pathetic.
Yesterday evening was the Luau. It was everything we expected, which is why we would have been happier not doing it. It was cheesy, touristy, and the food was so-so. The Polynesian fire throwing dropped his fire wand thingy about 5 times, even setting the stage on fire once, causing him to stop and stamp out the fire. This was not part of the act. It didn't help that between her sunburn and my ankle, we were in the best of spirits to begin with.
That all changed this morning! We got up early, and although I still couldn't walk, and her legs still hurt, we headed to the airport for our helicopter ride. It was great! We got really good seats on the chopper (they organize people by weight, we were the lightest 2, and got the front row seats). The tour is about an hour long, and is really quite amazing. He has music playing which is lined up with the tour, and he narrates some as you go. He was really nice, and had lots of good information. Liz got some great pictures, but we haven't posted them yet. Check back tomorrow. There were hundreds of little waterfalls, since it had rained the night before, and was really quite magnificent.
After the tour, we drove around the north side of the island for a few hours, and saw some great beaches and foliage. We stopped at a working Guava farm, and did some sampling and walking around. Then headed back for Liz's daily nap. After the nap, we hung out some on the patio of our room and read our books, then headed to dinner. We went to Roy's tonight which was an excellent recommendation from the Concierge. We had more rare Ahi Tuna for an appetizer. Dinner was Opakapaka for liz (a type of snapper), and Ono for me (not sure what type of fish it is, but its good). Desert was my favorite, Chocolate Souffles.
Tomorrow morning we have a 4 hour boat ride to the Na Pali coast, with some snorkeling (assuming I can walk, and liz's sunburn goes away). We'll try to upload some pictures tomorrow, and post more!
Since the last posting, we've had quite a time! Sunday morning, we got up early and were picked up at the hotel for a snorkeling tour. It was just us and another couple from our hotel. The guide was very nice, and showed us the ropes. They had wet-suites and full snorkel gear for us. He also had what was basically an old surf board with line strung on either side. The purpose was for us to grab the line, and he towed us around the ocean. It was great! He knew all the good places, and we basically just had to lay there and look at stuff. Occasionally he would dive down to find something cool, and bring it up to us. We saw TONS of fish. Many of which liz and I recognized from our fish tank! Tangs, Wrasses, Butterflyfish, Puffers, Triggerfish, Coral, Urchins, Starfish, etc. And those 3" long Orange Shoulder Tangs we see for $40 in the fish store? They are about 16" long in the ocean. It was great! I took a bunch of pictures with an underwater disposable camera, and many of them came out. It's kind of like playing whack-a-mole, by the time you get the camera up and click the button, the fish is gone. Here is one example picture:
There are more pictures in the gallery. After about an hour of snorkeling, he took us out the "bonus" side, since we were all young and adventurous (it has a very rocky entrance and exit, so its not for people with difficulty getting around.. more on that later). On the other side of the reef, we saw Sea Turtles. These were HUGE. We got some good pictures (the guide dove with my camera to get a few close ups). We haven't developed that roll of film yet, so look for them in a day or two. On the way out, a 5'+ wave hit us, throwing liz off balance, and into me. I was then thrown into a rock, ankle first. About two hours after we got out of the water, my ankle swelled up a bit, and I couldn't walk around. It is doing much better today, but it lead to a fun afternoon. In addition to my ankle, liz got some sunburn on the back of her legs from snorkeling. Boy are we pathetic.
Yesterday evening was the Luau. It was everything we expected, which is why we would have been happier not doing it. It was cheesy, touristy, and the food was so-so. The Polynesian fire throwing dropped his fire wand thingy about 5 times, even setting the stage on fire once, causing him to stop and stamp out the fire. This was not part of the act. It didn't help that between her sunburn and my ankle, we were in the best of spirits to begin with.
That all changed this morning! We got up early, and although I still couldn't walk, and her legs still hurt, we headed to the airport for our helicopter ride. It was great! We got really good seats on the chopper (they organize people by weight, we were the lightest 2, and got the front row seats). The tour is about an hour long, and is really quite amazing. He has music playing which is lined up with the tour, and he narrates some as you go. He was really nice, and had lots of good information. Liz got some great pictures, but we haven't posted them yet. Check back tomorrow. There were hundreds of little waterfalls, since it had rained the night before, and was really quite magnificent.
After the tour, we drove around the north side of the island for a few hours, and saw some great beaches and foliage. We stopped at a working Guava farm, and did some sampling and walking around. Then headed back for Liz's daily nap. After the nap, we hung out some on the patio of our room and read our books, then headed to dinner. We went to Roy's tonight which was an excellent recommendation from the Concierge. We had more rare Ahi Tuna for an appetizer. Dinner was Opakapaka for liz (a type of snapper), and Ono for me (not sure what type of fish it is, but its good). Desert was my favorite, Chocolate Souffles.
Tomorrow morning we have a 4 hour boat ride to the Na Pali coast, with some snorkeling (assuming I can walk, and liz's sunburn goes away). We'll try to upload some pictures tomorrow, and post more!
posted by Jason Seriff at
12:02 AM
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