After leaving the Garden Inn, we went to the north shore area called Princeville. There is a beautiful fountain that greets you, many times never on. We are staying at the Hanalei Bay Resorts. It is a beautiful complex in many ways that overlooks the mountains most often referred to as “Bali Hai.”

The Princeville golf course is arguably one of the top 100 courses in the world. Unfortunately, it is closed and has been purchased by a group of billionaires. The plan is to make the course private and build multi-million dollar homes. There are two other courses in Princeville, almost as beautiful. Princeville is an unpretentious wealthy area surrounded by these golf courses.

Kathie and I really want to learn the game of golf. We have seen some of the most beautiful golf courses in the world: Pebble Beach, Kinsale and now Hawaii. We came across a golf hole today, the 7th tee, by the harbor that was multi-tiered down to the coastline. It was surreal that a golfer was trying to hit with a rooster close by.

On one of our day trips, we went to the Kilauea Lighthouse. It juts out on a spectacular peninsula. The sign says it “is the most westerly lighthouse in the United States.”

We took a tour through the Hawaii Organic Noni farm owned by Steve and Richele Frailey. Noni is the nut or fruit from an evergreen tree brought over by the Polynesians to Hawaii. It is used as “medicine.” Some people swear by eating this “fruit,” it will change you. The Noni fruit really does “stink”, it smells like Blue Cheese.

We did walk part of the Ke Ala Hele Makalae trail close to Kapa’a. It is a 17 mile coastal trail good enough for cyclists and walkers at the same time. We came across an old “Pineapple Pier,” which had been used in the past to dump pineapple waste from trimmed pineapples.

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A visit to Princeville isn’t complete without touring St. Regis hotel.  At sunset, there is their famous “ceremony,” to say, “Aloha!”

We have found that Princeville has the largest concentration of the endangered Hawaiian goose, the Nene.  Don’t get too close as they will “charge” you.

Bethany Hamilton lives close by in Princeville. You may remember her as she was the young surfer girl who had her left arm bitten off by a Tiger Shark. There is a movie about Bethany’s early life with surfing. I remember Bethany most on the Amazing Race with her husband, Adam. They almost won and she was better than most contestants, even with one arm. Bethany is married now and is soon to have a baby.

We did meet Darryn Hinch at CJ’s restaurant. He is a famous Australian commentator and writer known by some as the “Human Headline.” He has survived a Liver transplant, cancer, alcoholism, jail and five divorces. He has an extensive biography on Wikipedia. He is in Princeville for a little respite. On his web site Darryn describes this area as a “little hideaway on Kauai, on the northernmost tip of the northernmost island in the Hawaiian necklace.” When I asked for a picture, Darryn had no problem.