Kauai continued . . .

Most people we encountered seemed to fit into one of two categories: time-share owning retirees and younger couples on their honeymoon. There did not seem to be a strong contingent of 30 hour turnaround visitors.

And that's for good reason. If you are paying for a trip to Hawaii, you probably want to take your time and spend a few days exploring and relaxing. With just 30 hours, we faced a daunting task of trying to relax and yet take advantage of where we were.

Having rented a car, we were able to drive around the island (slowly). When I lived on O'ahu, I took the bus everywhere, so I never really experienced just how slow people drive. It is uncanny. To be fair, I'm not sure how many were actual locals and who was just a lost tourist, but with no opportunity to pass, it turns a 20 mile trip into an hour.


All things considered, we saw a good portion of the island in our short time there. When I took a "shortcut" around one of the main towns, I ended up overshooting our hotel. I played it off as if it was planned by making another turn and going to Opaekaa Falls. The last places we visited were Waimea Canyon and attempted to see the Kalalau Valley on the Na Pali coast. Unfortunately, despite intense sun and heat everywhere else on the island, the Kalalau valley was socked in with an intense fog. On our drive back down the hill, the canyon we had just seen 30 mins earlier was also getting fogged in.

 Luckily we were able to see a little bit of it before it faded away.  We saw just the right amount of things to feel like we took advantage of the trip without feeling too rushed. We extended the hotel reservation for a few more hours just to allow us to relax a little bit longer without driving around for 6 hours while wearing our pants in near record breaking heat and humidity. The Hawaiian islands are currently in the center of three different hurricane systems, leading to unusual surf, humidity, and flooding. Our forecast called for 100% chance of rain and overcast skies for the duration of our short trip. Luckily I had the foresight to know that Hawaiian forecasts mean absolutely nothing. It was sunny for the bulk of our stay with only a few stray cloud floating by.


It was a solid impromptu trip. In many ways, it's hard to believe that it even happened. My nonrev flights (airline lingo for non-revenue or a seat that isn't making any money) up to this point have consisted almost entirely of commuting to and from work-related training assignments. This was the first time it felt like I was taking advantage of my benefits and I hope I have the time to use them throughout my career.