Day 2 -- Settling In

Kaua'i has roosters like Obama has votes in Illinois.  This, plus the 5-hour time difference, meant we were up everyday at or before sunrise.  It's not as bad as it sounds when the sunrise looks like this...

The first morning we went down to explore "our" beach, Moloa'a.   Moloa'a Bay is a perfect crescent cut out of the northeast corner of the coastline. It has lots of reef to explore at low tide and on the north side it gives way to a conglomeration of large, smooth, black lava rocks...

We watched our first Kaua'i sunrise and then, being without provisions at the house, we headed back up out of the valley to the main road to the corner fruit stand and grabbed some coffee and local granola.  Mike successfully fought off the proprietor's wish to feed him soy milk, and we picked up a mango and an avocado the size of my head (really).

While up out of the valley, we picked up a voicemail from our aerial tour guide, Bruce, letting us know that he recommended we change our flight time to the a.m. in order to take advantage of better weather.  So we headed back to the airport a little earlier for our tour.

Wings Over Kaua'i is run by Ellen -- the wife and office manager -- and Bruce, the husband and pilot.  They treated us like good friends with a flower and a lei and hugs and lots of conversation.  Ellen was excited that Will Smith had been spotted last week in the chartered jet area of the airport.

Bruce has his flight tour down to a science, which is no surprise given that he has a PhD in agronomy. He provided all the personal touches, down to a cooler full of drinks. We got strapped into the little Cessna (which had been shipped to Hawai'i from Rockford, IL!), and we were off.

Bruce was the perfect tour guide.  He showed us all the wonders of the island -- and there are many.  Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali coast were the highlights. Words and pictures don't do it justice. Kristy tried not to take too many pictures and just soaked it all in.  Mike even got to fly the plane for a little while.

Most of the afternoon was spent getting provisioned at Costco, Safeway and Snorkel Bob's. Groceries are *just* a little expensive on Kaua'i.  Try $6.50 for a 12-pack of pop.  Ouch.  We got back to the studio just in time to give in to the jet lag.