Monday, July 11, 2011

Koloa Town-- Kauai

Koloa was the town closest to where we stayed in Kauai. It's very small and there is really nothing new there. At one time a local sugar mill was the primary employer. These days, there is no sugar cane at all growing in the area and without tourists, the town would probably be gone. Of course, there are many chickens...

This is the main drag in Koloa. Almost all the businesses were on the other side of the street. I only posted this pic because I liked the tree.

Ditto for this tree. It's really pretty (enlarge to prove me right).

One of the few non-tourist related businesses in town is the Koloa Fish Market. It's been there for many years and is known as serving some of the best food in the entire state. No credit cards accepted and the doors close at 6:00 P.M.

Around the corner from the fish market, on a side street, was my favorite meal on the island. The Chalupas food truck served GREAT Mexican food. The owner, cook and only employee is a guy named Miguel. He's from Vera Cruz, Mexico, via Sacramento, California. Some day, he hopes to open his own restaurant on the island. Based on how delicious his food is, I hope his dream comes true. In case you were wondering, I know his name because most conversations I have with strangers, end up sounding like an interview.  He was a good guy and I hope he makes it big.

Here is the sugar mill that employed most of the folks around Koloa. We were surprised to find out that this town was first settled by Japanese. This sugar mill and a good portion of the island was owned (much still is) by the McBryde family. In another of the amazing coincidences that make up my life. The receptionist at our dentist is one of the great nieces of the man who owned it all.

The mill isn't open for tourists so we had to do some snooping around. I really wish I could have gotten onto the property. We saw three of these huge sugar mills (all wrecked) on different parts of the island.

enlarge this one to see the "gardener" behind the gate.


Savage Shrimp! Although we didn't eat there, this truck is also a long time famous place to eat. It may not look too good, but there are positive reviews all over the Internet.

Sorry, but I just had to include at least one more photo of our friend "Roosty." He was such a handsome boy!  Enlarge this one to fully enjoy his good looks...

I'll finish the Kauai posts up soon. We're going on a road trip this week, so new material is on it's way.


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34 comments:

  1. Shame they don't turn one of those sugar mills into a museum.

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  2. Lovely. I can see how it'd be tempting to explore those old mills. Very cool. I feel so much more knowledgeable about Hawaii because of you :)

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  3. thanks for this lovely pictorial tour.
    i like traveling through your photos, since i don't actually travel much.

    such beautiful photographs!!

    have a great week ahead!
    betty

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  4. GO GAMECOCKS!!!!! Love Love the Trees as you well know--but that Sugar Mill---wouldn't you like to plunder and photograph that whole place--or maybe do a Paranormal Research session----that would invoke what you used on that Hill in Viet......(whops) LOL

    Great post my friend!!!

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  5. I thought 'that's a cool tree' the moment I saw your photo- glad you posted it-

    Food truck food sounds great- Savage Shrimp is a great name.

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  6. Dang those trees are awesome. It would have been so much fun to go snoop around those sugar mills...

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  7. I love the trees of Hawaii. They are so different than the ones in Canada. Love the rooster!

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  8. Seeing those chickens yesterday for the first time still made me all kind of happy.

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  9. taco trucks always have the best food.

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  10. Roosty is great, and I clicked on your tree, great too!

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  11. I've enjoyed your Kauai posts. Chickens and all.

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  12. That "gardener" has a full time job!

    Love the photos, Pat. (and I have a fondness for trees... oh, the stories they could tell)

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  13. All of these photos are awesome enlarged. And your post brings back some other memories of the year I lived in Laie: of the Japanese restaurant, a buffet, in Honolulu. And the fish. And I think we saw something to do with sugar production. I loved all the palm trees. I love this photo of the spreading green tree, and of course the rooster!
    Ann Best, Memoir Author

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  14. so much beauty and history thank you for sharing these. plus love roosty he is a handsome fella

    Everyday Life

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  15. It is so cool to see the "untouristy" stuff in Hawaii. That first tree looks like a bonsai tree all growed up. I do like the yellow flowering tree...did you find out what it is?

    Why is it they don't harvest sugar cane any longer? Or grow it for that matter.

    Nice cock....a doodle doo!

    Enjoying the Hawaii pics/stories and look forward to your next adventure.

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  16. Love the photos, as always. That rooster has ginormous feet!!

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  17. Great shots.. but I think I would pass on the savage shrimp...

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  18. I really wonder why the sugar mill has closed. As someone mentioned above it would be great if they would turn one of the old mills into a museum or visitors center.

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  19. Oh,sounds like a lovely time is being had in Hawaii! Such beautiful photos, Pat, as always. ;-)

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  20. Alex - that would be pretty cool. I know that the fist sugar cane plantation and mill was on Kauai. We saw three of these big mills on the island, all of them in bad shape.

    Sarah - Thanks Sarah! I hope I have my facts straight. One thing I do know is that they still grown some sugar cane there, but coffee seems to be the big hitter on Kauai right now.

    Betty M - My pleasure! You have a great week also!

    John- You are so funny! I really would have liked to gone into the old mill. Maybe I'll check it out next time.

    Oilfield Trash - Thanks so much!

    Ren - Thanks! They have a whole different variety of trees than where I live.

    Baby Sister - I agree! I'm more than willing to snoop!

    Belle - I'm with you! We really liked that rooster. He wasn't really friendly, but he was always hanging around.

    soft nonsense - HEY THERE! Yep, you don't see 'em strolling on the sidewalks here.

    Budd - I agree! They have food truck roundups here. A bunch of them will congregate in an area and people will crowd the place to eat.

    Phillip - thanks so much Phillip! I appreciate it.

    Sharon - thanks! I have a couple more posts to do on the place. Then, on to other things.

    Ms A - He sure does! We didn't see another human in the area. I feel like it was a missed opportunity.

    Ann - Thanks so much! I was very surprised to find out that the Japanese were some of the first folks to arrive on Kauai. They had (and have) a big impact on the little island.

    becca - Oh yeah! We wanted to take "roosty" home with us!

    Chuck - Thanks Chuck! I really do like to get off the beaten tourist path. They do harvest a little sugar on Kauai, but right now, coffee seems to be everywhere. Kauai coffee is very popular around the world (or so I'm told). I need to do some digging to find out the names.

    Marlene - Thanks! He sure did. We miss that guy!

    faye - Thanks faye! I hear you, but they "say" that the food is awesome. You must admit that the name is pretty cool!

    SQ - Maybe they will (or have). When I was there 30 years ago, the place was covered with cane and pineapples. Now it seems to be coffee!

    Talei - It was a GREAT time! Thanks so much Talei.

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  21. Love that 1st tree!
    Hey! That's my dream job....a travelling restaurant!!!!
    You sure had quite the adventure over there.....makes me want to go even more than I already do.

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  22. I love how friendly and curious you are. :-)

    Pearl

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  23. I love how friendly and curious you are. :-)

    Pearl

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  24. I love how friendly and curious you are. :-)

    Pearl

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  25. you are so right about enlarging. what is that yellow-blossomed tree? was it fragrant? wow these are some grand photos. do you know why the sugar mill shut down and cane is no longer grown there? see, I'm like an interviewer too. the light in these photos is simply magical. and my fave of course is Roosty. have a blast on your road trip Pat. be safe, and take good care.

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  26. I am having a grand old time pretend traveling along with you and the family. These shots are so indicative of where you are. Great captures.You always give us such cool posts. Genie

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  27. More fun photos. Leave So Cal to get Mexican food in Hawaii? Who would have thunk it?


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  28. I love old beat up structures. Nice photos.

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  29. I love roosters.


    wonderful photos of what looks like a wonderful trip.

    quick question: what kind of RV do you have? We're looking at them online, trying to figure out size & all that. Just the 2 of us but we'd like one for the road.

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  30. Well there ya go. A project. Renovation of a Sugar Mill! Neat!

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  31. Cool shots! I love the big tree and the cocky Roosty. The old mill looks fascinating, it would have been great if you were able to go in but I glad you got these shots.

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  32. I feel like I was right along with you here, but where we would have parted ways is when I went snooping into a mill (one without a gardener, perhaps) and you did not ... oh, I am disappointed in you, Pat! LOL!

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  33. Great shots! I still have yet to visit Kaua‘i ...

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