Kauai – The Garden Island

Let me start by sharing the good news - I have officially completed the educational requirements for my sabbatical! I sent an email to my faculty advisor requesting that she read my blog and let me know if the postings would meet the requirements of the course. Her initial reply was that she would read them, but a written paper was a course requirement. Since I have been thinking “outside the box” this year, I was hoping that she would as well. Sure enough, after reading all 13 entries, she was amazed and felt that the blogs far surpassed any requirement for my 6-credit travel study course.

I guess that means that I am now officially on V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N.

I feel as though my life has been a continuum. Visualize Philadelphia as the center point. To the far right is Israel about 4000 miles to the east; and on the left equidistant to the West is Kauai, where I am currently exploring! Yes, life is good. The differences between the two locales literally ask to be compared!

Israel, by and large, was monochromatic: between the Jerusalem limestone and the arid desert landscapes of the Negev, it was tan. Step out of the baggage claim area in Lihue (Lee-hoo-ay), and lush flora abounds.

Language is next: Hebrew is full of consonants: guttural “ch’s”and tzk’s as compared with Hawaiian, which is the land of vowels: a = ah; e = ay; i = ee; o = o; u = oo.

Shalom is Aloha; Todah is Mahalo.

Cats : Israel :: Roosters : Kauai

Museums are omnipresent and most have multi-media components in Israel; on Kauai, beaches are everywhere: north, south, east and west. If the question was what museum should I see today; the question now is which beach is it? Is it sunny on the north side or the south side?


I received a real Hawaiian welcome! The history of the floral lei dates to the 1800’s. Ancient Hawaiians wore braided leaves, flowers feathers, stones and bones to beautify themselves and offered these hand made garlands to each other and to the gods as symbols of love and friendship. The lei are worn with pride by people of all ages. The tradition continues today: the tender flowers and leaves are hand woven to create a work of art. Leis are worn on all special occasions and given to family and friends as gifts of love. The lei is a symbol of Hawaii.

I loved the tours of Keith and Louise’s property: first a walking tour with Louise: the orchids are in full bloom and the pink and brown chocolate one was so fragrant. They have carambola, mango, bananas, sapote (sour sop), and lots of citrus: Meyer’s lemons, grapefruits, mandarin oranges and limes. The second tour was in a car, driving around the perimeter of the property! It’s too much fun to go out in the yard to pick a banana.

My first outing with Louise and Keith was to Hanalei bay. The ride up the coast was beautiful with peeks along the way to the aqua green ocean. We stopped at the scenic overlook for a better view of our destination. I thought we were going swimming; Surprise! Surf’s up and it was my first lesson. So sorry, no paparazzi was available. I at least got up on my knees and rode the board to shore.

Louise and I went off on a bike ride: both on and off the road.













We saw the old Spalding Plantation that is now privately owned and in part sub-divided for million-dollar construction. The remnants of the old estate fallen into disrepair.



We did have an up close view of King Kong or The Sleeping Giant rock formation. We took the dirt road back and passed by a great family farm with a menagerie of animals and fruit trees.








Another outing was to the National Tropical Botanical Garden. The tour unfortunately was not to be; we were late! We walked through the display gardens at the Visitor Center, which is a restored 1920’s sugar plantation home. We wandered back to the center to ask a few questions and one of the staff, feeling very sorry for us, offered to let us ride in the van with her as she picked up the last of the visitors who were at the McBryde Gardens. It was a lovely ride with a private, although brief, tour! She did point out a night blooming cereus plant that had at six blooms ready to pop! (No, they did not offer evening tours to see the flowers open.)












So on this day we settled for watching Spouting Horn. This natural wonder occurs when water rushes under a lava shelf and bursts through a small opening at the surface. The salt water can spurt 50 feet into the air. This particular blowhole differentiates itself by blowing air, making a loud groaning sound, with the water: Of course there is an associated legend. As the story goes this coast was guarded by a large mo’o (lizard) who ate everyone who tried to fish or swim nearby. One day, a man named Liko entered the water. When the mo’o attacked, Liko swam under the lava shelf and escaped through the hole. The mo’o became stuck and was never able to get out. The groaning is the cry of hunger and pain from the lizard still trapped under the rocks.

We spent the remainder of the day Poipu Beach – sunny and glorious.

And the adventure continues…