Welcome to Day 2 of Janet and Randy's Kauai Adventure 2014

Friday, November 7th, 2014

As usual, when initially arriving in Hawaii, we ended up waking up early (around 6:00am).  Tried to get back to sleep, but finally got up, showered and headed to a nearby Starbucks for some breakfast.  When we got back, we put on our bathing suits and went to hang out at the beach for a bit.  At 10:30, we went back to our room, rinsed off and then checked out at 11:00am.  We left our suitcases at the resort, hopped in the car and headed north.

We drove up North to a town called Hale'iwa.  We got there right around noon, and stopped at Macky's shrimp truck for some lunch. (based on the suggestion of the valet dudes at the Marriott)  There were a couple of small Japanese tour groups there, but our food was ready quite quickly.  Randy got some butter garlic shrimp, and I got some coconut shrimp.  They were both good, but can't say that it was the best shrimp we've ever had (not complaining, though!).

We then spent some time walking through Hale'iwa and checking out some of the shops.  Bought a few things, and then went to the famous Matsumoto's for some shave ice.  It was starting to get hot by then, so the shave ice was very refreshing.  I think the same Japanese tourists that we saw at the shrimp truck were also hanging around eating shave ice as well.

As we walked back to our car, we stopped into the Hale'iwa Art Gallery to get out of the hot sun.  While we were wandering around, Randy came across some artwork of Shawn Ardoin.  He was very excited to see a particular piece called No Rules, No Map - which he had seen on the artist's website.  He really liked it, so we ended up buying it.

We got in the car and continued north for a bit - driving past the famous North Shore beaches.  No big waves this time - but for the past couple of weeks, there was a surf competition going on.  Didn't see any actual competitors (probably because there weren't very big waves) when we drove by, though.  After a bit, we turned around and headed back to the Marriott in Ko'olina.

We arrived back at the resort around 4:00pm.  One thing that the resort will do is provide you with a temporary key that lets you use the pool area and the locker rooms up until midnight of the day that you check out.  So, we were able to rinse off - which was nice as it had been a hot day in the convertible.  Then we found a nice spot in the lobby to just hang out until it was time to head to the airport.  I broke out the computer and started working on my journal - as I hadn't had a chance to do that yet.  I tried to curl up in the oversized chairs and have a bit of a snooze.

Around 5:00pm, we decided to head to the airport.  It was rush hour - but luckily we were heading against the traffic.  Randy dropped me and the luggage off at the terminal and then went to return the car.  Hawaiian Airlines is all automated now.  You can print your boarding pass and your tags for checked luggage from kiosk.  Then you just take your checked bags to the bag drop, and you are on your way.  The guys at National Car rental were very friendly and instead of taking a shuttle bus, the one guy said to me, "Hey man hop in the van", and I got a personalized ride to the terminal.  I told the guy we went to the north shore and went to the food truck and he said "Oh, man, you are making me hungry now !"  Nothing like having fun with the locals !

When the boarding passes printed, it notified me that I was selected for TSA pre-check (which is a faster, simpler screening process).  However, Randy had not been selected, so I just went with him through the normal security line.  When I presented my boarding pass and ID to the TSA agent, she asked me if I was travelling alone (because she was probably wondering why I wasn't in the TSA pre-check line).  I indicated that I was travelling with Randy so she said that I keep my shoes on - just show my boarding pass to the agent.

So, put my carry-on luggage through the scanner, and waited to walk through the metal detector.  I showed the agent my TSA pre-check on my boarding pass, and he let me keep my shoes on.  However, after I walked through the scanner, I was told that I had to do a random secondary search.  Really? I qualified for the TSA pre-check but now have to do a second search?  Does that even make any sense?  Anyway, I had to go to another agent who just wanted to run a swab over my hands to check whether I've been near explosives or crystal meth or something.  But, apparently I haven't, so I was able to continue on through.  It was TSA's way of saying you should have gone thru the Pre-Check line and ditched the other person you were traveling with... There is no Team in TSA security !

After getting through security, we had 2 hours before our flight left.  So, we decided to walk over to the international terminal to have some supper in the food court there (Mmmm... orange chicken...).  It was quite eerie in the international terminal.  There were NO flights coming in or out, so almost all the shops were closed, and we saw like 3 other people wandering around.  Can't recall being there any other time when it was like this.  We had our supper, then went back to the inter-island terminal to wait for our flight.

Our plane was a little delayed getting in, so we were a little late leaving.  Got to Kauai around 9:00pm.  Luckily, the luggage came out quickly.  We caught the rental car shuttle and got our convertible.  It was raining quite heavily while driving to the Waipouli Beach Resort in Kapaa, but luckily it mostly stopped when we arrived, so we didn't have to unload luggage in the pouring rain.

Took is a little while to find an elevator to get to our room, but we finally made it to our unit and unpacked everything.  We were both really tired from the long day, and basically just went straight to bed. 

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