Our headquarters, the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort & Spa was
located in Kapaa on the East side of the island where the surf is very
rough. It is a growing tourist town, which had the advantage for us
to only have to walk across the traffic light to the Safeway, where we
supplemented our Costco purchases from Lihue (I'll submit my transfer
request there soon), and the more colorful ABC Store where you find
everything with a local flair.
As is well-known, food is
outrageously expensive in Kauai, so staying in a
condo/resort/appartment with a kitchen saved us a ton of money in
the long run, money better spent surfing :-). We did eat out at the Brick Oven around the corner, where the $40 large pizza was good, albeit overpriced. The Oki Diner is a far better choice, but further away (refer to Poipu for details).
We started our day preparing brown bag lunches, which we had to complete by the 9am morning koi fish feeding. This became an important not-to-be-missed ritual where the kids got have the kois eat from their hands. They actually petted some of them (if they were patient enough), and even named a few "regulars". It also signaled our time to hit the beaches - "surf's up".
Also in Kapaa, is Lydgate State Park a well designed beach with a safe enclosed coral reef surprisingly rich in snorkeling for the very-very beginner. It also has the distinction of having facilities & showers,
