Kauai. From the Birds’ Eye

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Things have settled down here in this iceberg we call Minnesota. The bags are unpacked and put away. The laundry finally waded through. The last bit of sand knocked out of my sandals and back in to the ‘winter storage’ bins. It makes for a melancholy feeling.

So, to perk me up, I thought I would share one of the highlights from the island of Kauai: A helicopter tour.

When we got to Kauai, I gave my family an ultimatum, either we spend a day driving around the island, seeing some of its’ unique island beauty, or do a 1 hour helicopter tour. Faced with the decision to give up nearly a whole day laying on the beach getting tan, or a total of 2 hours to see the entire island (and appease MOM), they chose the latter.

I waited with childish anticipation. To see this gorgeous island from the eye of a bird had me standing on the helicopter pad, literally hopping on my toes with anticipation and excitement. I can’t recall any recent event  where I felt so much excitement! For my family however, there was more than just a little hesitation and actual trepidation. You see, my dear sweet MANLY hubby is just more than a little terrified of heights. (I can be sympathetic as I have a bad case of arachnophobia myself. I am lucky to have my valiant prince to ‘rescue’ me when those terrifying moments present themselves) Secondly, my youngest daughter was diagnosed in the late fall with inner ear damage. How? We have no idea. A fall from her horse, a hit on the head from a LaCrosse stick? Who knows. What we do know is that it makes her dizzy and she has been going through therapy to re-train her brain to ignore it. Since there was real queasiness and distress from the Catamaran ride to Molokini, she had good reason to be a little anxious. My oldest offspring was just pacifying mom so she could get back to her tanning regimen. With all three of them having trouble with the motion sickness on the boat, I insisted that everyone take a non-drowsy motion sickness pill, two for them, one for me.  Just in case.

We arrived at Safari Helicopters, which is located very close to the airport in Lihue. We were guided to this particular company by a very sweet and very helpful car rental agent at the airport when we arrived. She recommended this company because the craft had floor to ceiling glass which allowed for the best viewing, they accomplished the entire island in 55 minutes (which she felt was MORE than enough time), and it was the best value out there. The office was clean, the personnel and pilot were friendly, helpful, safety conscious, and made us feel like guests rather than tourists. They had a goofy, knowledgable, and sweet ‘ice-breaker’ guide who took us to the ‘copter and back, instructing us on safety, minus the freakout factor. He was entertaining and you could tell he LOVED what he did, as did all those we met there.

Here’s the meat and potatoes: DO THIS! If you have the spirit of adventure, it is absolutely worth every single penny.

I saw the ‘copters from the other companies, and ours had the BEST viewing of them all. Literally floor to ceiling viewing, which allows you to see things as if you were in a glass cube. The ‘copter holds 6 and another couple was included in our tour. Take the advice they give you, one of which: Don’t sweat it taking pictures, enjoy the ride. They tape your flight and you can buy the DVD. Everything you see, they record. TRUST ME…..you will want to do this, because if you spend any, and I mean ANY time looking through your camera viewfinder, YOU-WILL-GET-NAUSEOUS. The pilot warned the woman in the back, she didn’t listen, and I didn’t think she would make it back in time. She made a bee-line to the port-a-potty upon landing. I started off taking a couple pics with hubby’s iPhone, and even I got a little disoriented. Take my advice, don’t bother with your camera, just enjoy.

The pilot will give you a history of the island along with fun facts, such as movies that were filmed on the island. One valley we went through was where South Pacific was filmed. He turned to my daughter next to me and said “I don’t suppose you know what I’m talking about”.

She turned to him and said : “Oh yes, I’ve seen South Pacific”.

He replied “Really?”

“Yeah, when I was young, my mom had us watch a lot of old black and whites”

I followed up with “Oh yes I did, at least I could trust they weren’t full of garbage!”

He got a chuckle out of that!

(And I did do that. The stuff the entertainment industry puts out now makes ME blush, let alone what I would want to expose young kids to)

I was beyond overjoyed that I got the front window seat (my oldest was between me and the pilot, hubby to the inside back left and youngest on the back left window) and I loved the panoramic view I had. We flew the island in a clockwise circle, so as we passed, the pilot would accommodate the passengers on the left by ‘spinning’ the helicopter around on its nose, with it ‘tipping’ so that they could get a full view of the hundreds of waterfalls, canyons, circular rainbows, beaches, reefs, cliff, volcano crater, ect. While I was grinning ear to ear, the look on the faces of my husband and youngest were far less ‘enthusiastic’. I think she would have preferred the pilot not be QUITE so accommodating with the desire to let her see how far up from the ground we were!

Wear comfortable clothing and be aware they do not allow anything on the craft. You will be given a locker to lock up your purse, backpack or camera case. You are allowed a camera, but they recommend against it. No phones, or they have to be on ‘flight’ mode. They do not want anything rolling around that cabin, so leave it behind. The aircraft is perfectly comfortable. It wasn’t too cold, nor hot. Bring your enthusiasm, and be prepared to be awed by the beauty of this island.

When we landed, my husband turned to me and smiled. “That was really awesome”, he said with a rather whitish tone to his otherwise tan skin.

“Really? You really liked it? I thought you’d hate it because of the heights.”

“Oh, I was scared speechless” he said smiling, “But I’m glad I did it. That was really beautiful”.

So, even if you are a little hesitant about being in a whirly bird, take the leap of faith. Do it. You live one life, and this is something you will NOT want to miss.

Add another check mark on the bucket list.

Gluten Free Travel: Pt 2, Maui, Luau & Snorkeling

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We arrived in Maui after a long day in Honolulu. It was about all we could do to get to our condo, unzip the luggage, find our toothbrushes and crash in bed.

Next morning husband and I woke to beautiful weather, brewed a big pot of dark yet smooth Kona coffee, and sat on the balcony while waiting for the girls to rise. Once they got up and got themselves dressed, we headed down to the small restaurant they had in the facility to have breakfast. We stayed on the western side of the island, in Kaanapali. It’s a beautiful side of the island, quieter and lower key than the south eastern side down near Kihei. We loved it. There was plenty for the girls to entertain themselves with on our first leg in the islands, but not so ‘touristy’ that us adults were put off.

Gluten Free was really quite available we found in our travels through the islands. My husband utilized his ‘YELP’ phone app to find places and check reviews, and the only time we had a mediocre meal was the one time we ate in Kauai as a walk-in with no – Yelping. (is that what its’ called? well, that’s what I’ll call it!) Since we were 5 days in Maui, we utilized the kitchen in the condo to have breakfast and make lunches. Right up the street from us was a ‘Times’ grocery store that was quite busy and appeared used by the locals. It was suggested to us to stop at the Walmart on the way out of the airport, but it was pitch black, late in the evening, and we just wanted to find our place and sleep. Walmart may have been cheaper, but for lunch meats, corn tortillas, lettuce, eggs, sausage and fruit for breakfast/lunch it was reasonably priced.

So we hit the store after breakfast, went back to the room, packed the cooler with waters, GF sandwiches (corn tortillas, lunchmeat, mayo and lettuce) and headed off to the beach. By the way, if I have not said this before, I HIGHLY recommend packing a collapsable cooler in your luggage. We used it everywhere we went, and that is highly advisable when you have someone who has dietary issues. It was just easier to pack a lunch or snacks to the beach than worry about local joints who didn’t know the ingredient lists of their products. Plus, it’s a great way to save a buck you can then spend on something else; for example, a trip to Molokini (see previous post!) or Mai Tai’s! (Just remember to pack some extra heavy duty ziploc bags in your luggage to put ice in!)

For eating out in Maui and Kauai, you can’t go wrong with the group who runs a number of the restaurants on the islands, which thankfully sports Gluten Free menus or accommodates GF selections. On Maui there was Duke’s Beach House in Kaanapali, Kimos in Lahaina, and on Kauai there is Keoki’s.

Here is the link to check out the Menu

Luau on Maui:

Here is my one word of caution for all Hawaiian travelers who have gluten issues: either find a Luau which offers gluten free options or don’t bother going. My daughter was frustrated and hungry went we left, and considering the price of a Luau, we were disappointed. The salad dressings had soy, the meats (except for the kalua pork), the vegetables, even the fish all had soy or gluten. Since she also has sun allergies and has to stay away from citrus, the fruit platters were off limits also. She ate pork and that was about all. (She was not interested in the taro root vegetable dish, which she said looked like green slime. And it did. ) The entertainment is fun, but I’m guessing you can find a free or food free version of a hula dance show somewhere else.

Snorkeling:

Be sure to rent the snorkel gear from a local shop and snorkel. It’s amazing over on the west side where it’s more volcanic rock and there is a lot of reef. I saw a sea turtle on my first outing and the fish are breathtakingly beautiful. The vibrant colors of the fish and clarity of water just can’t be beat. The place I got my gear from in Kaanapali gave me a bottle of de-fog and custom fit the mask and flippers. It was worth the little higher price compared to the gear I rented on Kauai that was not custom fit and didn’t include the de-fog. You can find places that are cheaper, but decide what you want and need and then price shop. I’d rather have gear that fits than gear that didn’t fit as well. I found I was much more comfortable and fussed less with leaky or foggy masks, and my flippers never tried to fall off with the custom fit shop. It’s up to you. But if you don’t snorkel while in the islands, you are missing out on a lot of what makes the hawaiian islands unique and breathtaking. So, just like Molokini and Hana are a ‘must’, so is snorkeling. Just do it.

coming soon: Pt 3, Kauai

On the road to Hana, stop at Keanae!

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On the road to Hana, stop at Keanae!

On the road to Hana, take a swing down to the little (kinda sorta) ‘town’ of Keanae. It lies on a volcanic spit that jets out to the ocean where you’ll find, a historic church made from lava rock and coral, waves crashing spectacularly against those ancient black flows, and the best mango bread you’ll ever have. (no, it is not GlutenFree, but now I am determined to make one just like it GF)

We stopped at this quaint sign, which was someones house and sported a small goat eating leaves, to buy a loaf of Mango bread. It was handed to us by a young boy of maybe 13, warm still in a brown paper bag and the mark of oil attesting to its’ moistness.

Oh la la! It was delish torn off in hunks eaten warm, but even better the next morning, toasted, served along with papaya and fresh squeezed lime juice.

Whether or not you stop for the mango bread, the vista was well worth the time taken for the side trip.