We were a little worried when waking up this morning and not being able to see the mountains out our window. It was cloudy and raining. We had to be at the Princeville airport at 7:30. It was drizzling, but the helicopter ride was not canceled.

We got our safety briefing, took a few photos to capture the pre-flight experience, and boarded the helicopter. I had a front seat. Mom waited around until we left to take photos, but as the rain picked up and the helicopter took off, she got drenched.

We toured the Waimea Canyon, dubbed by Mark Twain as the ” Grand Canyon of the South Pacific.” Although Mark Twain never visited the island, he must have seen enough of it to judge the unparalleled grandeur of this famous Kauai landmark. It is truly a spectacular sight.

Mount Waialeale is known as the wettest spot on earth with an average annual rainfall of about (452 inches) forty feet. Most of the mountain rain drains into the nearby Alakai Swamp, home to several rare species of plants and birds. Wailua Falls is also known as Fantasy Island Waterfalls for their cameo appearance weekly in the TV series of the same name. The name means rippling water.

The number of waterfalls we saw was amazing. They were around every turn. We even visited Manawaiopuna Falls, the famous Jurassic Falls from the movie. There was a helicopter landing grassy pad near the falls and one was there. The pilot said you need special permission to land there.

The legendary Na Pali Coast, with its dramatic cliffs chisled by time to a razor sharp beckoning, is spellbinding no matter how many times you see it. This is the home of the legendary Bali Hai as seen in the 20th Century Fox movie, South Pacific and yes, it is calling you. Unfortunately right as we got to this part, it started raining harder again.

After the ride, we came back to the room. The rest of the crew went to see the lighthouse, but it was closed again because of Veterans Day. We had a lovely lunch that Carol and Pat made…salad with some of our leftovers and local fruits. Easily a $20 salad. Delish.

We left for Wailua Falls, a 113-foot waterfall. You can take a kayak up the Wailua River and hike to the falls, our plan for Wednesday, but because of the rain our plans are changing. We decided to go next to Opaek’a Falls, while the others decided to go yo Poipu, spouting horn and other sites. On our way there we stopped at the Wailua State Park and had a lovely view of the 20-mile long river. We could see an old Hawaiian village in the distance not far from the Opaek’a Falls.

On our return home, we stooped a few places – watched surfers in the eastern shore, drove to Anini Beach to see the huge swells on the northern coast. We didn’t see surfers, I’m sure because of the waves break out further because of the reef, but there was a big difference in the size of the waves on the two coasts.

Next we decided to go to dinner at The Dolphin in Hanalei. Dinner was fabulous again. We had calamari steak fries, and they looked like a sliced, breaded chicken cutlet, but it was so tender and delicious. Mom ordered the teriyaki ahi, and I had the monchong fish. Both were exceptional.we left full and satisfied, but with some room still for icecream. I fell asleep early.