2008, 3-1:  The East side walkway; and ride to the North shore:

Today we woke up to a beautiful morning.  Ordinarily that would have meant we would have hurried up to the North shore beaches to snorkel as soon as we could. But after a long flight, today we were more into hanging around the east side and getting rejuvenated. That didn't mean we did nothing, though. We decided to take a walk along the new walkway/bike path (Ke Ala Hele Makalae, which means “the path that goes by the coast”).

  With lots of access and great views of the ocean, this is a great path. For non-hikers who want an easy trail, this is great.

I'd love to rent a bike and ride the whole trial sometime. I understand the first 2 miles of Phase 2 has only been in use since early 2008. The full route of Phase 2 is 4.1 miles and goes between the Lihi Boat Ramp in central Kapaa and Ahihi Point in Kealia. Phase 1 is 2.6 miles by Lydgate Park. Phase 2 was finished in 2009. We probably did about 3 miles rt of the phase 2 section just north of Kapaa. I understand phase 3 is being worked on now (2009) and phases 4, 5, and 6 are also planned. When completed, there will be an uninterrupted path between Anahola in the north and Nawiliwili in the south.

 Not a good area to play in the water, though.  The East side is known for having bad rip tides.  Unfortunately there are memorials like this all over the Hawaiian islands for people who take the risk and loose.

 But it's a beautiful walk---even has interesting flora.

Occassionally even kayakers disappear around the islands.  But it looks like whomever owns this one has been using it for awhile.

 This is near Kealia beach. The trail beyond this beach was closed when we were walking here. This beach is 150 foot wide, 1/2 mile long and is popular with surfers and boogie boarders. This is one area where there are life guards and experienced surfers like to frequent here.  The north shore of the beach once was used for inter-island steamer landings when nearby Kealia was a plantation town. A few ruins of the dock still remain. In ancient times, Hawaiians would gather salt that formed on the sand flats. Today salt is mined from the dunes adjacent to the highway.

 more interesting flora

 house plants growing wild---mother in law's tongue.

 We continued on to the north shore---not to snorkel, but to enjoy the views.  Like here at Tunnels.

 And on to Kee.

lots of these guys all over Kauai, too.

 And finally back to Hanalei bay.

 Love the design of this place.

 Gotta check out Hanalei pier whenever we're near.

 There were a bunch of kids having a ball here.  I can't imagine being a student here on Kauai!  So many temptations to skip school!

 We also like checking out the taro fields in Hanalei.

 The clouds were pretty heavy, so we didn't stick around for sunset.  Plus we were still recovering from our flights the day before, but I'd take another day like this any day I'm on the mainland!