Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Virtual Tour of Kauai #1

Yesterday my good friend Tashi and I took an entire day to "play tourist" and visit the South Shore of Kauai. We brought our cameras along to capture the beauty that Kauai is famous for. This is the first installment of my "Virtual Tours" of the Garden Isle.
We started off at the Moir Gardens which are located at the Kiahuna Plantation. This garden features quite a collection of orchids, water lillies, cacti, succulents, and other tropical trees and plants. It is a very colorful and relaxing garden to stroll. It's history dates back to the 1930s when Alexandra Moir first started to plant her fantastic cactus collection. She was the wife of the manager of Kauai's first sugar plantation.


After a relaxing lunch at Brennecke's Beach Broiler (Tashi had the prime rib sandwich and I had their fish tacos made with fresh Ahi. Yum!!!) we headed over to Shipwreck's Beach. The beach was so beautiful! Lots of golden sand, blue skies, and turquoise water! We wanted to dive right in, and many people do...right off of the cliff! For the rest of us, there is a nice trail that you can follow up to the cliff for breathtaking views of the ocean. Overhead there were some very graceful tropic birds playfully flying.

Well, after all of that hiking, we were a bit thirsty, so we headed off to the Grand Hyatt Kauai to get some more water. We saw a few tropical birds and a beautiful, white swan swimming in the koi pond! We took a few more photos of the garden flowers and then decided to call it a day. As we left the Hyatt, one of Tashi's friends who works there, gave us each an orchid lei! This is the magic of Hawaii!

10 comments:

Kim Caro said...

now i want to visit

Anonymous said...

those are some beautiful photos, i really want to go to hawaii, its one of 2 states i havnt been to
bet you can guess the other!

Jean Levert Hood said...

oooooh, gorgeous shots, Marionette!! what a lovely day!

kae1crafts said...

I'm sorry I never made it to Kauai but I found the main island beautiful. Thanks so much for your photo tour. You take wonderful photos and I enjoyed your tour very much.

Kae

preppy little dress AKA "PLD" said...

wow, great photos! thanks for posting! i haven't been to maui since 1984 - i am long overdue for a trip to yuor neck of the woods!!!

Reny said...

Oh my goodness! How lovely! My dream is to visit your beautiful islands sometime. I know it will be one of the most fabulous things that I ever do (if I get to do it). I will be reading more on your blog, for sure.
Reny

TERI REES WANG said...

We have spent every summer for that last many years in and on Hawaii, except for the last two.
Aah...I miss it.
I think you need to post these random sitings more often. We need to live vicariously through your eyes.
Big Thanks. Big Love.

Unknown said...

Every single one of these photos could be a postcard. Your location is like my dream destination. Simply beautiful photography of a beautiful island!

April said...

I SOOO want to go to Kauai...anywhere it hawaii would do though. :)

Tashai said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! With winter coming soon here. I'm starting to think of warmer climes...always wanted to visit HI.