Jan. 26, 2014 - Sunday--Lydgate and Meet and Greet at Ka Eo Kai:


We woke up today to total overcast and some sprinkles.  Dang!   So we debated on what to do.  First was breakfast in our condo.  Then we decided to go snorkel at Lydgate.  Figured it didn't matter if it was raining there.  On the way there, I saw a low rainbow practically hugging the ground.  I've never seen one that low.  This picture didn't catch it very well, but it sort of shows where it was.  I took this while we were moving so a tree got in the way!

By the time we got to Lydgate, there was quite a bit of blue skies peeking out.

It was another good day for snorkeling Lydgate---and there were very few people there.  Here's part of the resident school of mullets.

 My Stripy's coming to greet me.

There are several of these Black Tail Snappers there, too.

 I believe this is a Hawaiian Flagtail.  There are lots and lots of these here, too.  Some are quite large.

 fishies swimming together

 I believe this is a Leatherback Jack.  I don't remember seeing them around Kauai before.  I saw a couple around Maui.

there are actually 2 of these large puffers there.

a Blue Travelly thinking it's a White saddle goatfish.

I decided to see if anything was in the middle of the pond and was surprised to see a huge school of yellow fin surgeonfish there!  I knew there were some at Lydgate and have been here for years, but I was surprised to see how big their school has gotten.  This was a fraction of them!

Just another view of Lydgate.

Did I mention it wasn't very crowded?  Here's Ken enjoying the pond all to himself.

After a couple hours, we headed back to the condo to clean up.  We had made arrangements to go to a meet and greet at Ka Eo Kai  at 4:30.   We were a little early, so we drove down to take a look at Anini on the way.  Looked like the north swell was still there.

The farther north we got, the cloudier it got.  Sounds like they had rain a good part of the day.

 There were only 6 of us at the m and g, but it was a very enjoyable visit.  The hostess and host, Evie and Kevin, made a bunch of tasty pu pus - pot stickers, quesadillas, taro chips, shrimp cocktail, guacamole and chips, cookies, ice cream, ... .  Turns out Evie and Kevin are retired from a electric utility and so is Ken, so they had a lot or work stories to compare.  The other two guests are actually residents of Kauai that Evie and Kevin have known for many years---96 year old Mr. Tamura and his daughter Winnie.  It was interesting hearing about his work during the plantation days.  Winnie even had some macrame jewelry she had made for fundraising for the seniors.  She sold it way to cheaply!  I bought a necklace for $4.  She gave me a heart pin, too.

I tried to give her $5, but she gave me change back.

It was a very enjoyable evening.  After visiting for about 4 hours, we decided not to overstay our welcome.
Couldn't resist taking a picture of the Princeville fountain at night.

The ride back to the East side seemed a lot longer without the beautiful scenery to look at.  But it was another great day to be on Kauai!