Kauai 1989_2011

Hi. Been awhile. My bad, we've been a smidge busy.

And even worse, there are no Brenna pictures in this update. Don't worry, I'll make an effort soon to work my way back to late September and fill in the blanks. For now, to keep this blog somewhat interesting, I thought I'd jump to the present.

Emily and were fortunate enough to spend this past weekend in Kauai (thank you, Aunt Beth!). This was Emily's first visit to the Garden Island, and my third.

My first visit there was with my family in 1989, so I thought it would be interesting to compare some of the most popular sites of the island in a swell before and after fashion.

Obviously I can't do a before/after of our accommodations, but the first two shots are of just that, views from the balconies of each.

1989

2011

At the top of Waimea Canyon is one of the wettest spots on earth. Don't even ask me to try and spell it, you can read it on the signs below. This is at about 5000 feet in elevation, at the end of a 22 mile winding road. Fortunately I was driving this go around, I'm guessing in 1989 I was sick to my stomach at the end of this jaunt.

1989



2011

I'm jumping around a bit here, since organizing photos on this blog site is such a pain in the ass.

The next two shots are from a viewpoint at Spouting Horn near Poipu, on the south side of the island. I recognized it right off when Emily and I got there, from years past.

1989

2011

This spot hasn't changed at all apparently in 22 years. This is the view of Wailua Falls, a few miles south of Lihue on the east side of the island, at the end of a 4 mile road that takes you through farmland and dead ends into a sea of chickens.

1989

2011

Back to Poipu on the south side of the island, here is the aforementioned Spouting Horn, still spouting.

1989

2011

As much as I enjoyed taking the Smith's Fern Grotto tour again down the Wailua River, this was a pretty depressing stop for me. According to our tour guide, this part of the island was hit with 42 days of heavy rain in a row five years ago, damaging part of the cave that the ferns thrived in at one time. To protect the public from any future rock slides, the cave has since been corded off. As you can see from the 2011 picture, the vast majority of the ferns have yet to recover. A startling difference from then to now.

1989

2011

Back to Waimea Canyon, another popular overlook of the Na Pali coast, inaccessible by car (we took a catamaran tour to view the cliffs, more pictures to follow, if time permits). I couldn't quite find the same view point as the 1989 shot. The mountain was partially obscured by clouds this go around, and maybe there's more vegetation blocking the view.

1989

2011

22 years separate the trips, but the experience was equally enjoyable. Emily and I hope to return to Kauai again in the near future, with Brenna, and anyone else that's willing to go with us.