Winging it in Princeville

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On the morning of our final full day in Hawaii we woke with all of the expectations that the remaining portion of our trip had been carefully orchestrated. Sharon had planned our itinerary down to the minute, with travel times first to Ono Char Burgers for lunch, then to Wailua Falls, from there up the Grand Canyon of Hawaii, stopping on the return route at one of the attractive sandy beaches that we’d driven by on the coast; but, this was all before she awoke with a bloody nose. While it was never a gushing uncontrollable bloody nose, it was somewhat relentless.

We put our plans on hold, I worked on the blog. I had forgotten all about our morning meeting with the timeshare folks to get our “complimentary update” which we had agreed to attend in exchange for the discounted whale-watching tickets.

There were just two other “lucky couples” getting their updates this morning. From the start, it was unlike other updates that we’d attended; because, at this Wyndham property there was nothing left to sell (unless you were already an owner in one of Wyndham’s Hawaiian properties). Our representative was Gareth from Wales, who says that he enjoys living in paradise. And here Sharon and I thought that our Las Vegas home which we’ve named Villa Bella was paradise. We did learn a couple of useful things, about Wyndham’s new website, and about the ability now to make online reservations in their Worldmark affiliated properties. We also learned that the Kauai county commission has ruled that there will be no further commercial property developments on Kauai (condominiums, timeshares, hotels and such). They didn’t want Kauai to become like Oahu or Maui. He also indicated that the vog could be one of the things irritating Sharon’s nose, when she had to take a brief break. We also found out that Wyndham now has a property in Boston, and we might be able to use that on a trip we’re planning for next year. Today’s meeting wasn’t too painful; although, it is Sharon’s hope to avoid them in the future. We drove on and stopped at the Ono Char Burger on our way to the Falls. At the window, they told me that there was at least one-half hour wait before we would be getting our food. I went and told Sharon who was saving us an outside concrete table. A nearby couple said that that was not uncommon, unless you call ahead; but, that you often can’t get through on the phone. So, all of these people were ahead of us (had I placed an order). We decided to check the burger place out on the flip side, and we drove on the waterfall.

I’m pretty sure that most people our age have at least seen the Wailua Falls on TV. It’s the show that began its episodes with “Da plane, Da plane!” Fantasy Island to be sure. There is parking for about one dozen cars at the road that ends overlooking the falls. The posted sign allows for twenty minutes only. Other cars a parked where they can along the narrow approaching road. We could see that a few people had made their way down to the pool beneath the falls and were relaxing on the surrounding flat grassy bank some two hundred feet below. The Wailua Falls drops from two points some 173 feet to the pool below. We took some pictures and twenty minutes was much more time than we needed to take our pictures. I had managed to back into my parking spot; so, I had an easy egress.

I filled the gas tank on the way back, and we drove by the burger place where the waiting crowds now seemed to have standing room only waiting for burgers. We decided to skip them, and just go with dinner. I’d found a nice restaurant near our timeshare and I hoped to get one more nice seafood dinner before returning home. Instead of lunch we munched on some of the snacks that we’d bought earlier in our stay on Kauai.

I checked online the menu of The Dolphin in Hanalei and saw that it had a grilled chicken that I thought that Sharon could eat; although, she was concerned about it being marinated in soy sauce. The saving grace was she could get it with a baked potato. The restaurant opens at 5:30 PM for dinner and from online comments, you’d better get there before opening time to get a pager. We arrived at 5:20 PM and already quite a few people ahead of us. They have inside open air seating overlooking a waterway lined by rainforest-like growth on either side. They also offer outdoor seating on their property lined in the evening by lighted tiki-torches. I ordered their premium Mai Tai (Na Ka Oi) which seemed a bit pricey at $13; but, it was the best one I’ve had on this vacation. I ordered a cup of their seafood chowder, made from clams, shrimp, calamari, scallops, bell pepper and potatoes in a creamy white sauce. Delicious! I also got the house specialty Teriyaki Grilled Ahi. I chose the grilled asparagus wrapped in cheese and prosciutto as my side; and, this was truly delicious. The dinner was also served with an ample serving of rice (so there was no need to choose rice as the side). Sharon liked her chicken (well enough) and she really liked her baked potato served with plenty of butter. My ahi, was served with some clarified herb butter on the side, and the combination was delicious. The ahi with the butter latterly dissolved in you mouth with the flavor of the best prime rib in your mouth. I tried to convince Sharon to try a piece, it was that good that she would have loved it; then again, I didn’t think that she would and I can’t say that I was upset when she refused with her It’s Not Friday response. I savored every morsel. The fish dishes are all served “market price” and our dinner for two, including tip, came to $100.

Now it was back to our timeshare and time to pack for our return trip to Hawaii’s “Ninth Island” (aka Las Vegas).

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