Other Kauai posts: Kauai, Kauai Quilting, Kauai Food.

This is a mix of point and shoot photos (mostly for around town stuff) and fancy camera photos (mostly for pretty things). This is the end of the posts about Kauai, so I apologize if this is A LOT of photos. I tried to trim, really I did.

First my DSLR photos, starting with our drive to Kauai’s North Shore.

Kilauea Lighthouse is an amazing spot, and the northernmost spot in all of Hawaii. It’s also an incredible National Wildlife Refuge. Seabirds flock there in droves, as all the little white dots in the photos show. We could have watched them for days.

The Hanalei Valley lookout.

The town of Hanalei, where we had that excellent lunch. This is where I thought Puff the Magic Dragon lived (actually in Hanalei Bay), but apparently in the song it’s actually “Hanah Lee.” You decide.

This was a very cool shop in town where we bought a tribal tattoo print.

Somewhere between Hanalei and Ke’e Beach. I don’t even know where, Adam thought we should be adventurous and scramble down the side of a hill to take photos.

Tunnels Beach (where Bethany Hamilton was attacked) and Ke’e Beach have all these great caves next to them. This is the cave near Ke’e Beach. I wanted to stop at Tunnels, you can actually walk through those, but the traffic was awful–place was PACKED.

On this trip I learned that I pay no attention to the horizon line in my photos, so everything leans to the side. Also, Ke’e Beach. And a guy selling fresh coconuts out of his truck, he hacked into them so you could drink the juice.

Banana Joe’s is an example of everything I loved about Kauai. A roadside shack selling the most amazing, fresh food you’ve ever had. Doesn’t always look like much, but you know it’s going to be good. I had a mixed fruit smoothie here that might just be the best smoothie I’ve ever had.

The next day we headed westward, to Kokee State Park and Waimea Canyon, the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.”

Kokee State Park, the view from Kalalau Lookout. Just incredible.

Waimea Canyon, from the Puu Hinahina Lookout. We saw someone hiking along the ridge, that little white speck in the last picture.

The canyon from the Waimea Canyon Lookout.

And now a few more photos around the island, from my point and shoot.

I love this pink bird, he lives in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Kauai. He was an amazing color.

I loved Kapaa. Aside from Vicky’s Fabric and Scotty’s BBQ, there are some fun little shops along the main drag on Kuhio Highway. And by highway, I mean 2 lane road. Kela’s Glass Gallery was amazing, and they seem to specialize in these outrageous (and pricey) glass octopi. There was also a great little shop behind Island Hemp and Cotton that sold gorgeous wood carved items, I wish I could remember the name of it.

Before our dinner at 22 North, we toured the grounds of the Kilohana Plantation. They have an old train that takes you around to see the pineapple fields, the pig pens, and all the other ingredients that are grown, raised, and used right there in the restaurant.

The plantation also has some shops on the property, including the Koloa Rum shop. They do rum tastings here, and all the ingredients are grown and harvested on Kauai. Adam bought some dark rum and rum fudge.

Inside the plantation, where the restaurant is, has other shops in all of the old bedrooms. Shell shops, and lots of very expensive jewelry shops. Plus you can just walk around and see the old furniture. The house was built in the 1930s by “sugar baron” Gaylord Parke Wilcox, and it stayed a private residence until they converted into shops and a restaurant (I wasn’t able to determine exactly when that happened).

And that’s Kauai, that’s the whole week.