My Life Blog

Dining at Keoki’s Paradise

Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

The picture you see is of us at Keoki’s Paradise — this is the kind of picture you get when you ask a waiter to take it. To be fair, my own camera skills aren’t much better, so I cannot say I could have done better.

While on the island this trip, we’ve had the opportunity to sample several restaurants. I wanted to give a quick review of those we’ve gone to in hopes that it might help others.

The Good

Bali Hai at the Hanalei Bay Resort in Princeville. We have had consistently good food and service here and the view is quite spectacular.

Keoki’s Paradise in Poipu. Historically, this restaurant isn’t rated as highly as others, but we have always liked it. We had a particularly good experience this time because our waiter, Tony Brun, was superb. He was great with helping us match the fish with appropriate preparation styles and sauces. We enjoyed his island stories and perspectives. If you have an opportunity to eat there, ask for his section.

Duke’s Barefoot Bar in Nawiliwili Harbor. The best burger and waffle fries combined with the best view. We usually get two lunches in here if we can.

Mediterranean at the Hanalei Colony Resort in Haena. This was a new one for us. Its not far off the beach and they play live Hawaiian music most nights. The food and service were great.

The Beach House in Poipu. We haven’t eaten here yet this trip, but this remains one of our favorites. If you time it right, you can see the sunset off of the grounds prior to dinner. Here the chocolate souffle dessert is awesome.

Dinner on the Beach with Heavenly Creations on Anini Beach. We have treated ourselves to a privately-catered dinner on the beach in our last three visits. These are typically a lot of fun because the host is always so interesting. While friendly, our host this time wasn’t quite as interesting as those we’ve had in the past. That said, the food was good and we were well-served.

The Bad

Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion in Poipu. We love the restaurant in Plano and we’re looking forward to the on-island Roy’s experience. However, it was dramatically below expectation. It started with the service being pretty slow. Over and above that, the wait staff were a bit scary-looking — if I hadn’t been at a nice restaurant, I would have been nervous to be among some of them. I know this is a strange observation, but I believe its very fair. We also found the food to be sub-par by comparison. Roy’s has been the most expensive meal we’ve had yet and yet has delivered the least satisfaction. I must also point out that the tableside view was of a pathway in a shopping center. Suffice it to say, we will never dine at the Poipu location again, though we look forward to our next visit to the Plano location.

Tips

If we could offer one tip, it would be to make reservations in advance. Consider even doing so in advance of your trip. We’ve seen some people wait as long as an hour and their frustration is unfortunate since a simple call could have prevented this.

This is Hawaii. Men need only wear a nice shirt and shorts. I brought slacks again, but haven’t needed them. Your choice, though, I have seen slacks, they just are not expected or required so far as I’ve seen.

Suzanne with Handbag purchases

Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

Prior to our 2006 trip to Kauai, Suzanne had discovered Denise Tjarks through this San Francisco Chronicle article. I think she actually found the article through a link on one of the Kauai blogs that we occasionally read.

On our trip in May 2006, Suzanne was lucky enough to meet Denise at a tiny local craft fair and buy a vintage bag. If you are interested, Suzanne appears at the beginning of the third row of Denise’s made for each other page.

So as crazy as it sounds, one of the highlights of our trip has been a return visit to that same crafts fair to see Denise yet again and buy a bag or three. So anticipated was this that it was confirmed in advance via email. Obviously, she was successful since she bought three bags. I have captured her with two of the bags here.

This trip highlight represents more than just the purchase of a few handbags. Denise is just a great person — warm, friendly, and very accommodating. I do not think this is a regular occurrence, but Suzanne was able to pick a button and the purse handle out and thereby influence the final assembly details — now that’s customer service!

If you happen to be on Oahu in mid-August, you can find Denise at the Made in Hawaii Festival. She was telling us that this is the event where she displays and sells the most handbags of the year.

I cannot help but think we will be hearing more from Denise as she continues to build her unique brand — fun and funky island style handbags (and they are even reversible!). Can you imagine building a great new business on an island paradise? While handbags are not my thing, I’m completely envious of her accomplishments so far.

Sunset at Dinner

Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

Suzanne and I had dinner on the beach again this trip. This is one of those things we do to pamper ourselves and we try to do it in the middle of the first week here.

My words do not do the experience justice, so forgive me dear readers. I will have to call on your imagination while providing a few awkward inputs.

The reef extends 200 yards from the beach. The waves break simultaneously across the miles-long stretch producing a distant roar.

And yet nearby, there is the sound of the sea gently lapping at the beach.

A very old shoreline tree shades you from the fading sunlight; its canopy protective like a large umbrella.

A gentle breeze cools you from the day’s heat and brings with it scents from the ocean spray.

Sand crabs perpetually terraform the sand and engage in brief territorial battles. A far-reaching wave renders all their efforts meaningless and it all begins anew.

The sun dips beneath the horizon rewarding you with a colorful afterglow.

Sunset gives way to darkness and an array of stars materialize before you to light your remaining moments.

And so it goes something like that…

View toward Na Pali

Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

If you are a long-time follower of this blog, you may recall our previous experience with hiking. We decided to try it again on the Kalalau Trail. So, did either of us fall? Did it rain? Was it worth it?

We began our trek by parking in a satellite parking lot which would enable us to walk past the Blue Room. Neither of us had seen the Blue Room and it remains one of those talked about places in many of the Kauai books. We saw a trail leading up a small ridge and followed it to a cave opening. Neither of us felt much value in taking the trip down into the cave — was their even water down there? Is this really the Blue Room? So we passed.

Another 100 yards down the road was a turnout with cars and people milling about. Turns out, the Blue Room is right there on the side of the road. I guess that escaped our research. We did explore it briefly, but we feel like the Blue Room has seen better days. The water was low and it was covered with an unsightly film. Its no wonder they tell you now to not swim in it. We sure wouldn’t want to. So alas, we had our answer, the previous spot was not the Blue Room and we were somewhat embarrassed that we didn’t know that.

Having said that, there was no mistaking the Kalalau Trail once we walked upon it. There’s a small structure sitting there with details of the hike. As you’ll see later, we probably should have read more of those details.

We began the hike walking up through rocks. It was mildly steep and we were thinking this hike was going to be pretty challenging if it was rocky all the way. Thankfully, the rocks only persisted for a hundred yards or so. It was just that those were some challenging yards. No problem for us, though.

We eventually made our way to the dirt part of the trail and the hike became more like how we envision a hike to be. Unlike our previous experience, there were actual visible trails here and passage was quite easy.

Having said that, you always have to be looking down at the ground to ensure you aren’t about to catch a root or a rock wrong and topple yourself. There was a stretch of roots that reminded me of the tire drill in football. They also reminded me of something that I would see in a Harry Potter film — unmoving as you step into them, but subtlely changing position to topple you. Of course, I saw that you could go around them and so we did.

Along the way, there were frequent payoff views back to Ke’e Beach. The water was an amazing color and there was an occasional turtle in view as well. Our last hike seemed short on incremental payoffs — I think our first one came over an hour into the hike! Not so with this one.

Eventually, we came to the one mile marker and could see a great view in either direction. The view here is toward Na Pali and is quite spectacular. If you look the other way, you can see back toward Ke’e. It was truly worth the effort.

Along the way, we passed some hikers and then saw others returning. One young woman mentioned that she was unable to make it to the beach — a little disheartening as we thought it was only 2 miles out from the start. We pressed on for quite a while and it felt like 2 miles to us. Of course, when you are looking down and trying to stay upright, I guess 2 miles can feel like much longer.

Finally we ran into a couple who mentioned that the beach was actually 4 miles from the start. This led us to question our research and so we decided to turn around. We felt like we had already enjoyed the hike enough and didn’t really think that a 2 mile extension would be enjoyable.

We made our way down with no issue and enjoyed the experience quite thoroughly. However, we did subsequently find that we were right about the distance to the beach. We were probably not that far off. So our tip to you is to do your research because you may find that others will not. In the end, you need to trust yourself.

Unlike our last hike, it did not rain on us. This made things MUCH easier. If it had rained, I’m sure we would have had a similarly challenging experience. Since there was no rain, there were also no falls by either of us.

Bottom line: we like hiking again and the first part of Kalalau Trail is highly recommended. Since my sad little write-up on the last hike ranks second on Google with “Honopu Ridge Hike”, I’m happy to balance that out with a better review. I think we were just completely mismatched with weather and terrain on that hike. This one was fabulous.

Dining on the Lanai at Bali Hai

Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

Going out to eat in Kauai isn’t likely to be similar to going to Chili’s. If you know where to look, you can find dinner with a spectacular view. Here we are at the Bali Hai Restaurant at the Hanalei Bay Resort right around sunset.

The view looks toward Hanalei Bay and you can see Bali Hai just to the left of my shoulder.

On a fashion note, Suzanne got me this shirt through mail order at the Kamehameha Garment Company. I’d love to include a link to them, but they do not appear to have a site!

The River House

Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

We are staying at A River House in Haena on Kauai. That’s its name, but we are calling it “the” River House.

This is a new find for us made out of necessity since the place we usually stay is being occupied by its owners (damn them…or maybe not). We found this place by way of my friend, Phillip, who stayed here last August and had nothing but good things to say. Sure enough, he was right.

After a full day of travel from Texas, we finally drove up to the place late into the evening — well, late for us. Our bodies told us it was near 2am or so. And as you would expect, we were each a bit cranky. But when we got out of the car, we could hear the sound of the nearby river and all was suddenly okay. One thing I like about Kauai is the sound of rain while I’m sleeping, but this river gives you that sound 24 hours a day.

The story of the house’s owners is quite interesting. They divide their time between here and Alaska. While in Alaska, they perform a ferrying service for fishermen out to sea. I think this means that they provide anything from a cup of coffee and a place to drink it to a holding area for catches. In reading their stories, its clear that while the River House is their paradise, their work seems like a cold kind of hell. One of their stories began with 30 knot winds and horizontal snow.

Turns out, they used to live in Montana, but decided to move to Kauai in search for a warmer climate with which to rest up for the four months in between their seasons. I often feel like I suffer in between my trips here, but they bring new meaning to suffering. Of course, that’s entirely my opinion, they are probably quite comfortable with it.

Back to the house. The main house has dark hardwoods and a simple, but complete kitchen. There is a built-in dinette with about a 270 degree view of the river and the cliffs. There is basically one main room for TV-watching and reading and then there is a single bedroom. Its not huge, but its perfect for two people. There is a wrap-around lanai which is good for listening to the river, reading, having a glass of wine, or whatever you feel inclined to do.

To the right of house in the pictures is another cabin which you could rent as a package if you had more people. It sleeps two. Unpictured is another structure which I believe they are calling the “nest”. It has a bed and a half-bath and provides you an even closer experience with nature.

The grounds are full of flowers and there are actually three streams that run through the property. The main streams is probably 20′ wide and has a healthy current. The stream closest to the house is gentle, but the mini-falls provides a mesmerizing sound. The stream in between the two is a small little tributary that you could easily jump over.

We are amazed at the varieties of plants and flowers that we have found. They have no doubt worked on this property for years to give this the look that it currently has. I’ve been tinkering with my camera settings to get better pictures of the falls and the flowers, but have only been partially successful.

Though we are only really in Day Two, I’m going to highly recommend this place. We are two miles from the beach and about five miles from the town, so it is plenty convenient. The owners also appear to be into cooking, so there is every kind of spice you can think of here as well as lots of cookbooks. We will not be taking great advantage, but if you visit you certainly could.

I’ll post more pics of the property sometime in the next few days.

Mini-Falls

Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

It’s times like these you learn to live again

It’s times like these you give and give again

It’s times like these you learn to love again

It’s times like these time and time again

I am a new day rising

I’m a brand new sky

To hang the stars upon tonight

I am a little divided

Do I stay or run away

And leave it all behind?

– Foo Fighters

And so we begin our time in Kauai. Its views like these that keep us coming…time and time again.

Google Earth has updated their Kauai satellite detail to the extent that we can now see the little beach peninsula where we got married. The aerial view of the surf pattern is amazing!

The latitude and longitude coordinates are listed in the post title in case you want to surf there in Google Earth for yourself. This discovery was made tonight as we are officially hearing the island call to us. Photos and aerial views are nothing like being there, but fun nevertheless.

DSCN1042.JPG
Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

My gift to Suzanne for our first anniversary was a weekend’s stay at a bed and breakfast in Gruene (pronounced green), Texas. Gruene is a little German town located near New Braunfels — which is 30 miles northeast of San Antonio.

For your first anniversary, the suggested gift is a clock. I extrapolated from that the concept of time and thought a weekend away would be perfect.

We both took Friday off to enable a casual drive down to Gruene. Its about a four hour drive from Dallas. The drive was pretty smooth, but was slowed predictably by traffic in Austin. We lost another 45 minutes trying to satisfy a Starbuck’s craving within Gruene — basically, we got embroiled in some unexpected traffic there and never found one. Go figure, they aren’t on every corner in New Braunfels.

Once we got to the bed and breakfast, we discovered it was as beautiful as I had hoped. I had found the place on the Internet by using keywords like “Gruene”, “Guadalupe” and “Bed and Breakfast”. Anyway, the point is, I wanted a place on the river. And when we arrived, we were very rewarded with beautiful gardens and a river-front deck. If you explore the Flickr set, you’ll see what I mean.

The bed and breakfast has many places to stay, but I had booked the cottage which added a bit more privacy and its own overlook to the river. It was quite nice inside.

Once we got our stuff moved in, it was time to gather up a bottle of Pinot Gritio and explore the deck and riverside. It was beautiful and relaxing. We stayed for quite a while and took quite a few pictures.

Later that night, we went to the Gruene River Inn for dinner and that too was wonderful. We closed the night with a half hour in the hot tub.

On Saturday morning, we reported for breakfast at 9am sharp where a raspberry cobbler was waiting for us. I’m told it was nice, but a cold dessert wasn’t my thing for breakfast. The main course was a kind of creamy scrambled eggs with sausage and sweet potato medalions. Pretty fancy! And the presentation was beautiful. I didn’t know what to expect, so it was a surprise to have a gourmet meal.

Later that morning, we went to Landa Park and hiked the Panther Canyon Nature Trail. If you’ve read about our previous hiking experience, you’ll no doubt be surprised to see the word “hike” make its return to the blog. All I can say is that this is what we think of when we say or hear hike: level ground, short, scenic, and fun. The hike was fun, but the river bed was completely dry. We did stalk some deer up the canyon, so that was fun.

By the end of our hike, full-blown rain had set in, so we retreated to a restaurant to have lunch. We were a bit disappointed with the Mexican food restaurant in Gruene — can’t remember the name, but there’s only one, so you’ll know it when you see it. It wasn’t bad, I was just expecting better since we were closer to San Antonio…and thus closer to the Border also.
We walked the town later that afternoon; I took pictures while Suzanne did some shopping. By then, the rain had lifted some, so the walk was pleasant.

We retreated back to our Inn for another early evening edition of wine on the deck. We got halfway through our wine when we decided to go walk the road to look at all the deer that frequent the area. We must have seen 15 of them over the course of the 30 minutes we were out there. Seeing deer up close like that was really cool!

Later that night, we went to the Grist Mill Restaurant which is THE place to go for dinner in Gruene. We actually got there pretty later, 8:45pm, but still had to wait 45 minutes to be seated. If there had been another option, we probably would have bailed. Dinner was nice, but not remarkable.

Breakfast the next morning was again pretty remarkable, although it wasn’t compatible with my picky eating style — french toast with pumpkin spread in the middle. But everyone else seemed to love it.

After breakfast, we checked out and began our trip back. We stopped at an Outlet Mall near San Marcos and shopped for two hours before getting on the road for good.

All in all, it was a nice trip. If anyone is interested, the bed and breakfast is called the Lamb’s Rest Inn. Highly recommended.

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anniversary
Originally uploaded by bill_eisenhauer.

I know this rare post will shock you. What can I say, once I go dark, its hard to get the words flowing again. Let’s see how this goes.

We spent Labor Day weekend in the Riviera Maya area of Mexico. This area is about 30 miles outside of Cancun. The occasion for the trip was the celebration of our 1st Wedding Anniversary.

Our accommodations for the four nights were at the Iberostar Paraiso Beach which we booked through Funjet. We highly recommend it if you have the means.

Our trip began bright and early on a Saturday morning — well, more early and less bright. I think we had a 4am wake-up time in order to catch our flight. We had no complications in the travel process and were actually at the resort by mid-morning.

One way to tell you are in Mexico is to observe the many ways the natives try to get your cash. We saw this immediately in the airport as we were asked if we were in the Funjet group and then channel to an information desk. Unfortunately, they weren’t looking to get us to our bus, there were just trying to book additional events and they were not affiliated with Funject.

In the confusion, our bags were commandeered by a uniformed Funjet person and taken about 50 yards involving one left turn — $2. Then at the hotel, we noticed that we were not put in a king-sized bedroom. An ocean-view room with a king-sized bed was made available to us for a mere $100 — but the transaction had to be in cash…wink, wink.

But alas, that transaction was actually key to our enjoyment of the rest of the trip and worth every dollar that went home with the concierge. We were in close proximity to both the beach and the pool and could see the beach from our window. Awesome!

We found the resort to be uncrowded due to it being off-season. Note to self and to my dear readers: off-season is the only way to go to Mexico. We had ample room at the pools and the beach and we received an extra dinner night at the specialty restaurants. And it was just plain nice not to have to avoid people.

We mostly enjoyed the pools during the day. Oh yes, the swim up bars were nice too. Then at night, it became a familiar pattern to go out to the beach and pull the chairs out just short of the water’s edge. Once there, we drank a beer, listened to the waves crash in, and celebrated past, present, and future moments of our marriage.

The restaurants were adequate, but not superb. I think after 5 days we just got tired of the same offerings at every meal. The specialty restautrants definitely met expectations — the Japanese restaurant was probably enjoyed the most.

As you can see from the picture, we made friends while there. We met a few folks from the Grapevine area and also met a honeymooning couple from Vancouver. The Toucan and I were fast friends — just fast enough to take the picture and have him be scooped off my shoulder before anything bad happened!

It wasn’t Kauai, but it wasn’t too bad either. The price was great and the travel logistics were even better. We plan to do this again sometime when we’re jonesing for the beach, but have only a few days to play.