We generally drive into the Mauna Lani Resort to park anytime we want to walk along the shore, but we decided to try the parking lot near the Petroglyph Trail and walk south along the coast to the Orchid and then to Mauna Lani. It is a beautiful walk and in case you are wondering is perfectly kosher, as all coastline in Hawaii is public property, so you cannot get kicked off the beaches (as long as you don’t use any of the resort chairs- and still sometimes they don’t kick you off for that either).

As a side-note, I did get kicked off one time at the Mauna Kea years ago on a really windy day where there were no tourists whatsoever on the beach, just me and their nice comfortable recliners. Lying on the beach kicked up so much sand in my mouth and eyes that I thought maybe they would be gracious with me and allow me to stay on the chair, but to my horror the man with the orange shorts came along, asked me to get off the chair, so I stood up and sat back down one foot from the chair on the sand, while ALL of the other chairs were lined up on the beach without any occupants. Can you say, “second-class citizen”? Yeah, I know, I didn’t pay to stay at the hotel, but how about a little sympathy for the sand in my eyes?

We parked in a new spot, which allowed us to scope out the park on the coast, which turns out to be a stellar place for a picnic with picnic tables or even a BBQ as they have grills. The spot is just south of Puako, so there is tons of coral there which makes for a neat (albeit rocky) coastline, and great snorkeling. We’ll give the BBQ thing a shot and let you know how it works. Incidentally our good friends Kelly and Scott got married on this beach December 2007.

Having moved to one of the driest climates in all of Hawaii (the Kohala Coast), I am seriously missing the green grass of Waimea. Of course that green grass is usually accompanied by a chilly rain, but at least it is pretty to look at. There’s something about green hills that sooth my soul. I suppose it has a lot to do with my Vermont upbringing. How I wish Vermont had a more temperate year-round climate!

Anyway, as we walked along the coast in front of the Fairmont Orchid on our adventure today, I discovered a new favorite spot on the island. It was beneath a shade tree on a grassy patch north of the resort overlooking the waves. We saw a honu (sea turtle) from our perch, and then took a relaxing nap on the grass. I think Jim got bitten by ants, but I soaked the whole thing up, excited to find not only green grass but a patch of shade to escape the sun. Sometimes the little escapes are what matter, especially when all you really need is a nap.

“The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook” said that this Secret Falls wasn’t that spectacular, but it was such a perfect end to an extraordinarily fun day, that I’d say it’s well worth it. It’s not everyday that you get to take a boat ride, cross a river by foot, and then hike 45 minutes to a waterfall. The hike is located up the Wailua River (you can rent a kayak to get there).

The cool refreshing water was the prize for all that work and we enjoyed splashing around and climbing behind the waterfall (where you could hardly open your eyes because of the water pouring down all around you).

A while back we were crossing a different river on a different island and our friend Matt lost his flip-flop (slippah) in the current, and he wasn’t fast enough to catch it. He decided to keep hiking in his bare-feet and I remember thinking how crazy he was. But today my sandals were so wet and slippery from the mud they had accumulated that I thought I would try out the bare-foot thing and see if it I could endure.

The entire hike back (about 45 minutes) I hiked without any shoes and it was actually easier to walk without them because my toes could grip the earth. Not only that but the ground on this trail was soft and soothing on my feet. I loved it! I don’t think I’ll be hiking across any lava fields like the ancient Hawaiians did, but I’m quite pleased with my bare-footed hike.