Sketching Kauai- Part 2

The second half of my zig-zag sketch book finds me exploring more areas, including the Kadavul Hindu temple in Kapaa and eating at The Dolphin Restaurant in Hanalei. You will notice in the video that I sketched people on the Hanalei Beach, and one person I purposely overlapped his toes in the green salad. I love the zig-zag for that reason; you can weave vignettes together and overlap them in stories.

Hanalei Bay and the north shore are spectacular. The long pier stretches out into azure waters and the surfers are having a hey-day. Mountains set the background and the sandy beach is teeming with people in bright swim wear and umbrellas.

While in the northern area, we also tried to find the Kauapea Beach (or “Secret Beach”). I had made a list of interesting beaches before we left using the internet. This was off the main road and you turned onto an unmarked road. The only way we knew we were in the right place was the collection of cars parked by the edges of the road. A steep rugged trail with lots of rocks, roots, leaves, and muddy areas made it challenging to climb down (and less fun coming up). And then you were on a magnificent beach with black lava rocks. The surf pounded and crashed around them.

On Valentine’s Day, we went to Wailua to see the waterfalls. This was a busy tourist area with an overlook. I stood at the guardrail to see the twin falls empty into a pool of water below.

I’m always interested in adding people and quotes when I can to my sketches, and a guy next to me had a great one!

People were swimming down below the falls and he wondered 1. How they got there and 2. If they were naked (they weren’t). It made for a fun observation!

My final pages of sketches happened closer to our condo. We were hoping to find another beach (we’d seen 13 already), and drove down a road following Google. In the distance we noticed an old set of buildings on the road and discovered they were the Old Sugar Mill of Koloa, which is now a historic landmark. We also saw a gate stopping us from following the road to the beach. So, I sketched part of the old mill instead.

This mill was part of the Ladd & Company sugar plantation in the day. I also noticed an abandoned truck with plants growing out of it, even a cactus had taken up residence in the trunk! Sometimes when you can’t sketch what you want, you have to pivot and find something else. I’m glad I got to sketch that rusty old truck!

The final sketches include people and surfboards at Kiahuna Beach where our condo was, some pieces from the Kauai Museum, a fun drink, and a beautiful hibiscus.

Though these were only a few of the many amazing things we saw and experienced, I’m so happy I could capture them in sketches! I hope you’ve enjoyed the posts, it’s been fun to reflect and share one of the most beautiful places I’ve been!