When we visited Kauai many years ago, the “Garden Island”, I learned, was rich in the natural beauty of velvet chartreuse cliffs, jagged emerald green mountains, cascading waterfalls, deep, narrow valleys, and sheltered beaches, with much of it inaccessible by land. The few towns are situated on the coasts, separated by long, winding roads. We had taken a spectacular helicopter tour back then, for an intimate view of these remote areas, that was well worth it.
The ship docked in Nawiliwili Port, near the town of Lihue, the county seat and second largest town on the island. With no organized tour plan, I simply hopped a shuttle bus waiting at the pier that took me to the nearby Kilohana Plantation. The 16,000 square-foot plantation estate, built by sugar baron Gaylord Wilcox in 1935, is now part of a 104-acre visitor destination that includes an agricultural park, a Plantation Railway, Gaylord’s Restaurant, the Koloa Rum Company, and a variety of shops and galleries.
I walked to a nearby shopping center a short distance away to acquire the rest of my necessities at K-Mart. Interestingly so far, the US ports have provided a complimentary Walmart or K-Mart shuttle bus to and from the pier, which is apparently a worthwhile investment for them, evidenced by the group of crew and passengers from the ship waiting outside the store for the return bus.
Kauai deserves more attention than I gave it, but I did not have high expectations for what I would accomplish this day, and frankly, I was feeling a sort of ease at being back in the US. There is just too much to see here, and I had too little time. Still, Hawaii and the Big K have made me feel, somehow oddly, at home.