Occasionally Adventurous: Day Nineteen

This morning we headed to Lihue. We went to Macy's to buy socks for Pat, and he also found a cool straw hat. Next stop, the Kilohana Plantation, built in 1935 by sugar baron Gaylord Wilcox. Wilcox built his dream house, a 15,000 square foot Tudor that is the largest house ever built on Kauai. The plantation once covered 26,000 acres, all planted in sugar cane except for a few acres of manicured gardens. Today the plantation is comprised of the original house and out buildings, and 105 acres. There is a working farm, and many acres are planted with various crops such as lychee, pineapple, orange, breadfruit, bananas, taro and other tropical plants. The plantation has railroad tracks running through it, remaining from the years when rail was the main way to transport crops to the seaports. We got there just in time to hop the train for a 40 minute tour of the grounds. We made one stop, to feed the pigs. The best part about the train ride was the chance to get off the highway and closer to the mountains. Next we wandered through the house, which is completely open and available for use. The living room, study, sun room and office are furnished as they were when the house was built. The three bedrooms and one bathroom (yep - two family bedrooms and a guest bedroom) are now gift and jewelry galleries. There are a couple of other shops and a restaurant on the first floor.

It was noon by the time we left Kilohana, and we headed for the Marriot Resort in Lihue, which is on a small bay. We ate lunch at Duke's Barefoot Bar, owned by the same company as the Hula Grill in Lahaina. We got an oceanfront table, and watched the resort crowd on the beach. I have fond memories of having breakfast at the same Marriott 35 years ago when I came to visit my friend Patty (now Dr. Patricia Hunt), who was getting her PHD at the University of Hawaii. We spent a few days on Kauai, with indelible memories. After lunch we strolled the beach walk and the garden courtyard before heading back north.

We intended to go to church this afternoon and had a couple of options. We had a few hours to kill, and drove up Highway 580 to the Keahua Arboretum, which is a large open park with old groves of teak bamboo, eucalyptus, and other trees. It's mostly a local hangout, and we didn't have a good feeling about getting out of the car. A group of young men stopped what they were doing to stare at us when we arrived, and we didn't stay long. On the way up, we stopped at 'Opaeka'a Falls overlook. The falls are lovely, with mountains as a backdrop. Across the road was a great view of the Wailua River and a restored Hawaiian village. We took a different route back down from the arboretum and saw several farmsteads.

We thought we'd go next to the Kilauea Lighthouse and nature preserve, but found it just closing at four. We drank frozen Cokes at the overlook and took some photos. We plan to go back and take the tour in the next few days. We attended mass at St. Sylvester's in Wailua. The church is round, with mostly glass walls. There are at least eight doors, all of which were wide open. These are flanked by floor to ceiling window, also wide open, The roof is domed, making the whole space feel almost open air. The service included first communion for eight kids, and a farewell from the priest, who is leaving to take another assignment. We were greeted with shell leis and everyone we met was welcoming and friendly. Music was provided by a guitarist/singer, a seriously out of tune violinist, and a female vocalist whose attire might have come straight from the sixties. It was all joyous and enthusiastic, a refreshing change from our more staid parish in Beverly Hills.

We came home for a drink on the lanai, then went in search of a restaurant our guide book recommended. We got to the west end of our access road just in time for a beautiful sunset, never found the restaurant (which Pat Googled when we got home and found that it had closed), and ended up back at CJ's Steakhouse. I had ono (a mild white fish), Pat opted for steak.