TUESDAY - I'M DAPPLED ... NAPALI COAST AND FORBIDDEN ISLAND AND PUKA DOGS!

Chickens of Kauai:

We found this little lady at the Puka Dog where she was being chased relentlessly by the roosters you will meet later in the post. She must work out. Check out her legs! Hubba hubba!

We started out on a 90 mile Catamaran ride across the Napali Coast, over to Niihau (the Forbidden Island), snorkeling near Lahue, then back to Port Allen.

We listened to the instructions. Our captain was very funny.

Charmaine did NOT like getting splashed and opted for the indoor ride.

Larry and I discovered that we could walk out to our left in that picture and be right at the end of the boat and catch the wind and the waves. We got soaked but we loved it.

This is what the sky looked like as we left...

We saw whales from afar and then the dolphins were everywhere!

EVERY.WHERE.

Do you know how hard it is to catch a dolphin jumping? They are very very good at it!

I did get them blowing their ... blowholes (?) a few times. They sound like Larry does when he snores.

And then the sun came out! Notice the lighter blue water. That was the only thing that changed - the sun!

See how that one in the upper corner is actually spinning? Maybe that is one reason these are called spinner dolphins.

This is where I gratuitously put more pictures of dolphins on my blog because they were so cool!

Look at these three amigos! You could also see the ocean floor at time when the sun was out. Too cool!

We also saw a mama whale and it's baby. Too cute. No pictures.

The clouds broke away just long enough for us to get to see the Napali Coast.

Remember yesterday when we were in the clouds? We were at the top of these mountains.

To give you an idea of scale:

You could place the Empire State building on top of that green grass and it would still be shorter than the mountain behind it.

You know by now - Larry's favorite - a cave that is actually a tunnel! We also saw some sea turtles here but we didn't get any pictures of them. Yes, the water was that blue.

In the cave. LOVING this cruise!

Here is Tracy, also known as Tugra, our dot-indian tour guide.

And another cave. Happy Larry not pictured.

The clouds came back in. This location was where they used to bury the chiefs. It still is accessible only by canoe, or kayak.

Our tour guide/captain told us that there is a legend to these hills. One of the goddesses who had children, let them play on earth, at night, while the humans slept. They had to come back before sunrise. One night they did not come back in time and she turned them into these hills that are pictured above.

I wonder if my kids grew up on that story, would they listen to me better?

This is where we went snorkeling. I had a cheap, disposable water camera. If I ever get the FILM DEVELOPED (?!) I will be sure to get a disk so I can put the pictures up on here.

This is keyhole rock on Lahue. The guy on the right hand of the picture lost his breakfast and lunch.

The forbidden island where about 150 people now live, pure Hawaiian, and speak Hawaiian. They don't want to be bothered by anyone.

On our way back we saw a whale ... frolicking ... in the ocean!

So we saw one fin and were like, WOW!

Then he jumped a bunch of times for us!

And did some dives. We were agog!

As we pulled away - the captain had an afternoon cruise to do - he began flipping both of his fins, while lying on his back! It was so cool!

Here is your pretty flower picture for the day.

We went back to the resort absolutely EXHAUSTED. We all napped and then headed out to Puka Dog for ... puka dogs!

Okay, these are fabulous! I am kicking myself for not buying some of their papaya relish!

I don't like hotdogs, but I could eat these all day!

The buns are totally cool - they are like round bread - not cut on one side, but with a hole in the middle and they drop the dog down the hole. I also recommend getting a fresh-squeezed lemonade. Perfect!

It was at Puka Dog that we met Spanky, PonyBoy and Colonel Sanders.

Here Pony Boy (who was injured on his leg - had a big thing sticking out of the middle of it) chased Spanky for messing with his woman (or the village hooker - it was hard to tell and I don't want to judge).

Colonel Sander oversaw the entire outfit.

Okay, I can't even look at this next picture without laughing out loud!

Spanky had a very peculiar crow and I was so pleased that Charmaine got the shot right at the end of it - as he began gasping. Instead of cock-a-doodle-do it was cock-a-doodle-cough-choke-hack-wheeze. I will have to figure out how to add an audio file, if it can be done and I'll have Larry imitate it for you. Better! Maybe the O'Donnals got it on disc.

A fabulous day!