Our first day on Kauai was windy, overcast and rainy. It was a chilly day, for Kauai anyway, hovering in the upper 60s. I’m sure my friends and family back home are smirking as they read this because they’re experiencing temperatures in the 20s right now. However, this weather was a blessing because we were so out of it from traveling that we weren’t able to do much anyway. A warm sunny day would have lured us out of our room sooner to do hiking or paddling but I think we really needed to just recover. We did make it to a grocery store to get breakfast food, snacks and beverages though. While we were out, we also drove west along the coast to check out a blowhole at the Spouting Horn site. Blowholes occur sporadically around the islands where ocean water is forced into ancient lava tubes and shoots up into the air with a big “whoosh” sound. They’re pretty cool to watch and can send the water up 30 feet sometimes. It was a great day to see Spouting Horn because the ocean was rough with big crashing waves.

While driving towards Spouting Horn, the sight of OC6s (6 person outrigger canoes) caught our eye. We turned the car around and headed back to a small park and harbor where the local outrigger canoe club was quickly securing their canoes from the wind. The canoes were being stored for a few months for the winter without their amas and iakos attached. This leaves the canoes in a vulnerable state; evidently it was windy enough that one of them rolled half way across the park. We (mostly Bill) helped them get their boat moved and secured. It was nice to meet some fellow paddlers. This time of year in Hawaii is considered “OC1 season” where the temperature is a bit cooler and the waves and wind get intense at times. The outrigger clubs take a break with their OC6’s for a few months and those who have the means and ambition, focus on their OC1 skills.

We woke the next day to puffy clouds, blue sky and the sun. After being under Ithaca’s cold and grey skies, seeing the sun felt a bit surreal but we could feel the fog lifting in our bodies and minds. On Saturday, we explored the grounds of the hotel and found that the Grand Hyatt Kauai definitely lives up to its name. The grounds are beautifully manicured with flowers, palm trees and flowing water. It’s much like the other places we’ve stayed in Hawaii for the HICSS conferences. Gorgeous views, lots of fun water slides and pools, restaurants and shops. It’s like a small, self-contained village, only it’s not. These places are built to be pleasing and comfortable but, of course, they all have a Disney-like, non-reality feel to them. Nevertheless, why look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when someone else is paying for it!

Since there aren’t places to rent OC1s around here, we decided to rent the sit-on-top kayaks and paddle around (and around) the hotel’s small lagoon to move our bodies a bit. It wasn’t much of a work out but we had fun. After that, we went for a walk eastward up the beach to a place called Shipwreck Point, which gave gorgeous views of the blue crashing waves and dramatic lava cliffs.

Later that day, we took a tour of the Allerton and McBryde Gardens which are part of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens http://www.ntbg.org. This was a lot of fun and very interesting. The Gardens lie in the Lawa’i Valley and was first transformed by the Hawaiian Queen Emma. Later on, Allerton Garden was developed by noted landscape artist Robert Allerton and his partner, John Gregg, architect. With five “rooms” consisting entirely of trees, exotic plants, grasses, statues, water features and other structures, it is itself art. Instead of painting his garden canvas with colors from flowers, he painted with texture, hue, movement and sound, giving the observer the experience of being in and part of his artwork.