Kauai 2016
Beach Time
Tommy at Uncles Shave Ice
Ground Truth
Late August. Full family deployment.
My wife and I. Both sets of parents. An aunt and uncle. Two kids. A future son-in-law.
That’s not a vacation—that’s a logistics exercise.
Base Camp
The in-laws ran their timeshare. The rest of us rented a house outside Poʻipū, near Spouting Horn.
Four bedrooms. Right on the water. Quarter-mile walk to a small beach park.
Two things would’ve made it perfect:
Air conditioning
A sandy swimming beach
We had neither.
Still didn’t matter.
Humidity was brutal. Locals complained, which tells you something. A tropical system was sliding past us—meteorologists warned of hurricanes hitting the Big Island and bleeding over our way. We dodged the worst and caught the moisture instead.
Tradeoffs.
First Time on Kauaʻi (For Real)
We’d all been to Hawaiʻi before, but this was our first real time on Kauaʻi. I don’t count the helicopter run from twenty years earlier. Airplane → helicopter → airplane isn’t being there.
If you ever get the chance, take the helicopter tour—but don’t stop there. Kauaʻi earns its reputation on the ground.
Poʻipū worked well as a hub. Uncle’s Shave Ice became routine. They don’t mess around with portions. Blue raspberry turns your mouth radioactive blue and functions as a hydration strategy.
Poʻipū Shopping Village kept the shoppers busy and put a natural market close enough for my mom to stay happy. Everyone needs a win.
Controlled Exposure
We balanced downtime with structured discomfort.
First up: ziplining with Kōloa Zipline.
I don’t like heights. I used to have a legitimate fear of falling. Still signed up.
They loaded us into a proper off-road truck and dumped us into the jungle. First line was short—good call. Fear came down fast. After that, it was just speed and trust.
Final line was a half mile long.
Guides were local, squared away, and knew when to push and when to joke. Snacks, water, no rush. They ran it like people who enjoy their job and want you to enjoy it too.
Highly recommended.
Cold Water, Good Decisions
Another day, we tubed the old sugar plantation irrigation canals with Kauaʻi Backcountry.
It was hot. Oppressive. The water was not.
You get tossed into a sketchy van, driven out through potholes and private land that looks like the start of a bad story. Instead, we got BJ—solid guide, calm energy, knew exactly how to manage people who didn’t know what they signed up for.
Then they tell you to get into freezing water.
Once numb, it’s easy.
You float. Bounce off walls. Brush under low branches. Drift through caves. Collide with strangers who become temporary teammates.
We started together. We finished spread out.
My son and future son-in-law pushed ahead, racing. My wife and in-laws fell back. That’s how it goes when people self-select pace.
It worked.
Small Things Matter
We made our way up toward the Nā Pali Coast State Park and found what might actually be the best shave ice on the island.
Not a shop. A trailer in a parking lot.
Root beer shave ice. Sweetened condensed milk.
I said no at first. That was wrong.
It tasted like a root beer float that had been rebuilt from scratch.
Some of the best experiences come without branding.
Perspective
Anything you do in Hawaiʻi tends to leave a mark. For me, the islands feel like home.
Maui still holds the top slot—it was the first place I landed and it stuck. Kauaʻi is a close second. The Big Island was solid. Oʻahu has its place but runs too loud for me. Lānaʻi was quiet and honest.
Different tools. Different missions.
Closing Note
Go to Kauaʻi. Stay a week. Stay two if you can.
Rent a house. Stay in a hotel. Doesn’t matter.
Take memories. Leave everything else where it belongs.
Mahalo.
Me ziplining
