Polihale Beach in Kauai.

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The wonderful thing about Kauai is that you can drive  a few miles and find yourself at a deserted beach. It can only be reached via a poorly marked, dirt sugarcane road. We felt we the first people to ever walk on this sand. Known for its 7-mile stretch of white sand beach and hot cloudless days,
Polihale is the spot to dry out when the rains come. Framed by the west
end of the Na Pali cliffs, sweeping sand dunes and a Ni’ihau capped
ocean, Polihale can be a breath-taking experience. On this cloudy day sunlight forced its is through the rare gap in the clouds creating a theatrical spotlight effect.

Polihale has been translated in many instances as the
“House of the Po”, where Po is the Hawaiian after world. By this
account, spirits are said to travel to the coastal plain adjacent to the
beach, and stay in the temple, known as the heiau.
From there, they would climb the cliffs to the north, jump off into the
sea to get to the mythical Po. The story further indicates that this
belief was so strong that all the homes built in the vicinity of
Polihale would have had no east facing doors, so that no traveling
spirit could become trapped within.

Waimea Canyon on Kauai.

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Kauai is the oldest of the large Hawaiian islands. It is the top of an enormous volcano rising from the ocean floor. With lava flows dated to about 5 million years ago. Roughly 4 million years ago, while Kauai
was still erupting almost continuously, a portion of the island
collapsed. This collapse formed a depression which then filled with lava
flows. In the millions of years since, rainwater from the slopes of Mount Waiʻaleʻale
have eroded Waimea Canyon along one edge of the collapse. On the east
side of the canyon, the cliff walls are built from thick lava flows that
pooled in the depression. Over time, the exposed basalt has weathered
from its original black to bright red.

The spectacular site is also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The canyon is ten miles  long and up to 3,000 feet deep. Waimea is Hawaiian for “reddish water”, a reference to the erosion of the canyon’s red soil. The canyon was formed by a deep incision of the Waimea River arising from the extreme rainfall on the island’s central peak, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, among the wettest places on earth.

No single sketch can capture the scale and grandeur of the place. On this vacation, I shot video as well as sketching. The tightly edited video offers a quick glimpse into the island’s beauty. Digital storage devices have changed since I edited the video so I need to do a digital transfer if I want to preserve the moving images. That is one good thing about sketches. They can always be seen as long as they aren’t destroyed by fire, earthquake, or a meteor strike

The Saint Regis Princeville Resort on Kauai has all the amenities,

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In contrast to the humble beach front Plantation cottages, Saint Regis Princeville Resort is plush and opulent. Located in the 9,000 acre resort community of Princeville at Hanalei,
this luxury resort on Kauai resides on the northern shore of the “Garden
Island” and provides visitors all the amenities expected from an island
destination considered to be one of the most spectacular in Hawaii.
Guests of our Kauai resort reside in a bastion of tropical
sophistication featuring cuisine that celebrates local flavors along
with an array of diverse activities. The site of the hotel was known as Pu’u Poa or Pu’u Pa’oa– Pu’u meaning
mountain and Pa’oa meaning the staff of the Fire Goddess, Pele who when
searching for a new home would strike her staff into the earth to
create a new crater. Directly below the hotel are remnants of an
ancient Hawaiian fishpond built in prehistoric time. Known as
Kamo’omaika’i it was one of the few kuapa (ocean wall) type fishponds on
Kauai.

The hotel was used in the filming of Jurassic Park, and I believe the lobby was inspiration for the scene in Lilo and Stitch in which Nani applied for a job while Stitch a used havoc trying to romance an elder tourist.

Terry relaxed in a lounge chair reading while I struggled to capture the sunset. Black volcanic rock dotted the shoreline. The gorgeous mountains turn mountains turned magnificent shades of purple and blue, as the clouds glowed orange. Every moment on this beautiful island begs to be captured. An artist would never fall short of subjects on this corner of paradise.

Waimea Plantation Cottages.

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My favorite place to stay in Kauai was at the humble Waimea Plantation Cottages (9400 Kaumualii Hwy, Waimea, HI) which were right on a black sand beach. These refurbished sugar-plantation cottages, which were originally built in the early 1900s, offer a relaxed setting, with tropical-inspired decor
and mahogany, rattan or wicker furnishings. All come with full kitchens,
cable TV, and free WiFi, plus private patios.

Roosters wandered around the property, and walking down the black sand beach feels like walking on another planet. Large black driftwood stumps offered a resting spot on the beach, to sit and soak in fabulous sunsets.  Each cottage has a kitchen, so this quickly felt like home. Set in a coconut grove, this makes a perfect place to set up a home camp on the island.

The cabins are weathered and worn, which I felt added to their local charm, so If you prefer opulent decor, then this might not be the place for you. In the evening, the soothing sound of the surf lulled me to sleep. Staying here of feel chance to slow down, and find some piece. 

When we got back to Orlando, production on the feature animate film, Lilo and Stitch began in earnest and the calming memories helped me crank out piles of drawings and deal with the overtime needed during the film’s crunch time.