I’m getting excited about the upcoming Kauai trip. Only nine days away. A one-month experiment, to see if I might want to move there. 

A land called Hanalei. For me, it’s the most beautiful place on earth. 

Before I moved to Kona, I originally planned to move to Kauai. The problem was, I wanted a place on the water, and I couldn’t afford it on Kauai. So I moved to the Big Island, where I could. The Big Island is twice the size of all the other Hawaiian islands put together, the weather and the water are the best, and there are a lot of adventures to be had, but Kauai keeps popping up in my dreams at night. 

The Napali coast. Sixteen miles of cliffs and valleys. No roads. The red-dirt trail is very slippery when wet. It’s pretty much always wet, and it’s a long way down. 

But it’s so beautiful. If you see an ad for Hawaii on TV, most of it was probably shot on Kauai. 

Last time I snorkeled here, at Ke’e beach, where the north shore road ends, there were two large sharks watching me with calculating eyes. Spooky cool.

Hanalei Bay, from the Princeville St. Regis. A great place to watch the sunset.

They say there’s a stone marker 600 feet up there that marks the high water mark of an ancient tsunami. At one point, a large chunk of the island fell into the sea. Scientists estimate the resulting tsunami was 1000 feet high…

No biggie. I’m living on the most active volcano in the world right now.

Lumahai beach is my favorite. You have to be careful, though. In the winter the surf is huge and the rip tides will carry you to Japan. The locals call it Luma-Die Beach. This is about two miles from where I’ll be staying. 

Tunnels Beach – some of the better snorkeling on Kauai. 

I may find Kauai is too small, or too rainy. We’ll see. Wish me luck.