Fujifilm XPRO-1 + XF35mm f/1.4 R: 1/2000s, f/4, ISO800

Last week I got asked to work on a neighbor island for the first time. It was an exciting new adventure, so I said yes! The boss, me, and a few others made up the Kauai team. Before going, I asked my buddy Andrew (a Kauai native) for some restaurant recommendations and he quickly shot me a list:

Konohiki Seafoods
Pono Market
Kenji Burger
Harleys Tropical BBQ
Dim ‘n’ Den Sum

I packed the go-bag I received from my Japan tour group with tomorrow’s work outfit, a sleep outfit, some toiletries, my “fun” camera, an LED light, my computer, my slippers, and some charging cables and such. The boss was checking in a bag so we could bring our box cutters, and I threw my darts in it just in case.

Fujifilm XPRO-1 + XF35mm f/1.4 R: 1/250s, f/2, ISO800

We met at the office, got dropped off at the airport by the boss’s mom, did the airport rigamarole, got stuck in take-off traffic on the tarmac (were in a pretty long queue to use a runway), got redirected to another runway, then flew a short distance and landed in 30 minutes. I don’t even remember the year I last touched Kauai dirt. We took the shuttle to the rental car spot where it took way longer than it should have to pick up a car from the corporate account, but we slid into the new Kia and headed for the first work spot.

Fujifilm XPRO-1 + XF35mm f/1.4 R: 1/250s, f/8, ISO800

We met up with Kauai team member April and got to work! And then it was time for lunch, so I shared the list Andrew sent me with April and she showed us the way to Kenji Burger

Pictured left to right: menu, chicken wings, gyoza, Fujikake fries, Kenji burger, Truffle burger (me). Kenji burger was a real winner! I highly recommend! It was filling but not heavy and the truffle flavor was not just an afterthought. None of us felt groggy after eating so we went back to work!

After work, the 4 of us said good night to April and we checked into our lodgings in Banyan Harbor. For an island where buildings must not be taller than nearby trees, it had a nice view from the lanai’s! Funny story about our lodgings. We got moved because the original location we were to stay at had a Covid case, so we ended up in a 2-story condo with 2 bedrooms (and 2 beds) so one of us (me) was on the couch and another of us ended up on a recliner… but it kinda worked itself out.

The locals encouraged us to check out Rob’s Good Times Grill so we went here for dinner. This was one of those menus where all the appetizers sounded really good, so we ordered all of those for the most part. From left to right: Roasted Brussel Sprouts (I discovered only I liked this…), Smoked Pork, Buffalo Wings (Pat showed us how to make ‘em “boneless”), New York Chopped Steak, Parmesan Fries, Chili Pepper Chicken, Asian Braised Pork (special, entree), and French Dip (entree).

After dinner we discussed for a few minutes what to do next. Go to the bowling alley? Find a bar with a dart board? Turns out, Rob’s has trivia night on Thursdays so we stuck around for it. It was my first time doing any sort of trivia night event, and it was quite a lot of fun! 4-rounds, one of them you can double your points, one free mulligan. Round 1 What year?, Round 2 General Trivia, Round 3 Sports, Round 4 Movies (Parent Sibling pairings). We didn’t do badly, but we left points on the table for sure.

But the night wasn’t over yet! We found Troy’s, a nearby bar to play darts at that had some great karaoke singers to boot! It was a late, fun night! Thankfully, the bar wasn’t far from our lodgings. The boss passed out on one of the beds and one of the guys couldn’t move once he hit the recliner, so I took a shower and chose the couch.

We actually woke up at a decent hour! Early enough to think about breakfast. We checked out of Banyan Harbor. I messaged my buddy Andrew for breakfast restaurant recommendations, and since we were headed to Kapaa today, he suggested we check out Kountry Kitchen. He started talking about eggs benedict and I was all the way in! BUT it turns out they’re a big deal on Kauai, with a quick drive-by, we saw that we weren’t getting a lick of food for at least an hour. I didn’t get a photo of the line like I should’ve, because I was mourning not having eggs benedict. So we went straight to work. As we left for lunch, another missed photo opportunity was a grove of coconut trees next to the parking lot Kapaa Longs.

For lunch we stopped at Kauai legendary restaurant Hamura Saimin. I’d been here before. The locals instructed us to order the special “half cooked,” so that’s exactly what I did. It was great advice. My regret here was not having enough room for a slice of lilikoi chiffon! We went back to work before heading to the airport and returning home. Thank you to JD’s girlfriend for picking us up during the Kamehameha School’s Song Festival even!

One last thing Kauai left me with was Covid, sadly. It’s been a tough week, I’m not gonna lie, but I’m well enough to compose this post. So Let’s go!

03.09.2023