Kauai sights from 1-3-09 thru 4-29-09

The view out my bedroom window on Easter morning
Kilauea Lighthouse. This was the right place to go whale watching. I looked, but didn't see any whales--we were only there for a few minutes though :)
3-18-09 On our trek to the beach in Hanalei, Codi and I had to pause so that I could try to capture this scene. Wow!
3-18-09 I am continually impressed by the jagged look that the mountains here give to the horizon. It is such a different look from the mountains that I am used to on the western mainland. This picture was taken yesterday on the bus on my first trip to the North Shore--Hanalei. The bus window is the reason for the glare. Codi and I were discussing the sad shame that cameras don't show all of the detail that we can see with our eyes. I'm giving you my best, but you honestly need to come check it out for yourself if you ever get the opportunity. None of my pictures show the beautiful detail that I can see in person. Sorry :)

1-3-09 My pics are all out of order. I'm not sure how to move them without starting all over! This is Spouting Horn: the waves come in through a lava tube and then come spewing out kind of like Old Faithful. I guess it is even more impressive sometimes than it was on the day that I saw it, but I was pretty wowed by it :)

1-3-09 I was pretty amused when I first got here by all of the chickens wandering around the island. All of their cages were broken when hurricane Iniki hit the Hawaiian islands, so they now just wander around everywhere. One lady told me that they'll even wander down the aisles at Costco with you. I haven't seen that yet though!

1-3-09 One of my first days on Kauai, Codi and Kainoa took me to the Hyatt. We were going to look at their fishpond. We ended up not seeing the pond, but the sights were gorgeous anyway. I was so amazed by the luxuriousness of the hotel and its surroundings. Everything was so beautiful.
This was just one of the many beautiful sights I saw while riding around Lihue and Kapa'a on the city bus. (Sorry about the window glare!)
This was a beautiful Hawaiian sunset. It was actually ten times more brilliant; my camera didn't do it very much justice. I took this picture from a friend's lana'i--I would call it their deck or balcony.
1-25-09 This is Menehune Fish Pond. Legends "abound about the Menehune, an ancient race of "little folk" who made their home on Kauai. These mysterious people were thought to be very industrious and used their great strength to accomplish mighty feats overnight. The seaward end of the fish pond was left unfinished because dawn came before the Menehune had completed their work. Many generations later, the wall was completed. However, the stonework which closed the gap was far inferior to that of the mystical Menehune." Codi and Kainoa brought me here on our way home from looking for whales.
1-25-09 I loved this spot. This is where we were looking for whales, but we didn't see any. We found out later that we weren't in the right spot, haha! I loved how rugged and wild everything felt here. The waves were so full of energy, and the jagged mountains in the background were so impressive. I just loved it!
I was playing around with photography, trying to figure out how to take cool pictures. I'm not sure that I really have a talent for it, but I was pleased with this picture of one of the palms in our yard.
1-24-09 Wailua Falls. The day before whale-watching, we went to check out a few other sights. This waterfall and the surrounding view feels so majestic. This waterfall appears in The Testaments. I have also met several people here who played parts in this movie--most of them as extras. It's kind of cool to see spots where movies I know and love were filmed :)
1-24-09 On the same day as Wailua Falls we checked out Opaekaa Falls. These falls were very pretty, but too far away for a really good view.
1-24-09 This view was across the road from the Opaekaa Falls lookout. This is the Wailua River. Down on the right of the river, there is a little clearing with a bunch of palm trees. The clearing has a significance for the people here, but I'm not sure what it is, haha.