We kicked off our second full day in Kauai’ with a trip to Eggbert’s in Kapaa, which was right in front of our hotel. They are known for their awesome macadamia nut pancakes!

Eggbert's in Kapaa
Eggbert's in Kapaa

Dan's pancakes
Macadamia nut pancakes!

After breakfast, we drove over to Lihue to Kaua’i Backcountry Adventures, where we had reserved tickets to go on a tubing tour! It’s a mountain tubing adventure where you can float down the historic irrigation system of the former Lihue Plantation — it’s a ditchy and tunnel system that was once used to irrigate sugar crops, but is no longer used since 2000. It’s now exclusively used for tubing tours.

All geared up
All geared up and ready to go!

Former Swiss army vehicles
We rode in these vehicles that were formerly used by the Swiss army to transport personnel and arms. It made for a bumpy but fun ride!

Such a green landscape!
They stopped as we made our way up the mountain so we could admire the view.

Below is a video that Dan took of “sleepy grass,” a type of plant that closes its leaves temporarily when touched. I’d never seen anything like it before!

Once we reached the tubing site, they filed everyone into a single line and put us on tubes, and we just floated on our donuts in the  river.

All the other tubers
Everyone on their inner tubes, ready to go!

Dan on his tube
Dan floating in the water.

Light at the end of the tunnel
We floated through a series of dark tunnels.

Entering the second tunnel
Entering another tunnel...

In the dark.
We were to turn our helmet lights on when we went into the tunnels.

I was stuck on the side.
Floating lazily along...

Look at how red those leaves are!
Look at how red those leaves are!

At the end of the tubing tour, we got out of the water and enjoyed a sandwich lunch in the mountains. They then took us back down the mountain in the army vehicle again. Our tour guides were very funny and friendly, and the tubing tour was pretty fun without requiring too much physical effort. My kind of activity! 😉

For the rest of the afternoon, we drove up to the Northern part of Kaua’i, to get some beach time. Our first stop was Tunnels Beach.

Tunnels Beach
Arriving at gorgeous Tunnels Beach.

Left side of the beach.
The current was pretty strong on the Western side of the beach. Apparently a guy broke his arm earlier that day trying to swim there. Snorkeling is not advised on this part of the beach.

Dan on the beach.
We headed over to the Eastern side of Tunnels Beach, which was much calmer and more snorkeling-friendly. Here is Dan, so ready to go snorkeling!

me swimming ithrough the water.
Me snorkeling in the water.

snorkeling at Tunnels
We spotted a triggerfish.

a school of fish at Tunnels
A school of fish at Tunnels.

snorkeling at Tunnels
Dan snorkeling.

me in the water.
Me in the water.

snorkeling at Tunnels
Another triggerfish... look at its piglike snout!

snorkeling at Tunnels
Lone coral.

Uni!
A deliciously large sea urchin.

sea turtle at Tunnels
Dan discovered sea turtles!

Sea turtle!!!
This was my favorite snorkeling picture!

snorkeling at Tunnels
The sea turtles were nibbling on the coral.

Sea turtle at Tunnels Beach
Such amazing creatures!

Dan was taking a video of the sea turtles at one point (below), when a current pushed him forward towards the turtle’s butt. The turtle got spooked and quickly swam away….

snorkeling at Tunnels
A sea cucumber.

snorkeling at Tunnels
Closeup of coral.

snorkeling at Tunnels
Coral at Tunnels Beach.

snorkeling at Tunnels
A closeup. Huge thanks to Estella for lending us her underwater case to use with our camera. It was thanks to her that we were able to get some of these great underwater photos!

After spending a couple hours snorkeling at Tunnels Beach, we drove further north to see what we could find. We came across this super creepy-looking wet cave. I looked it up later and found out it was called Waikanaloa Cave. Sea caves are formed by thousands of years of ocean waves pounding against the lava and eventually etching out a cavern. At one time, the ocean was up to this point.

Waikanaloa Cave
Waikanaloa Cave

me at Waikanaloa Cave
This wet cave is right by the road, you can't miss it!

This place was so creepy!
Hubby in front of the Waikanaloa Cave. I was getting more and more freaked out every minute we were there.

Can't get over how creepy-looking it was!
Can't get over how creepy-looking it was!

So dark!
What lurks in that darkness? Apparently nothing (no sea life) except for leptospirosis, a nasty and dangerous bacteria. Swimming is strictly prohibited. (Who would want to swim here?!)

Me at the Waikanaloa Cave.
Me at the Waikanaloa Cave. Don't let my peace sign fool you; I couldn't wait to get out of here. Continue!

Desperate to get away from the scary cave, we continued on our way up the island and arrived at Ke’e Beach, where a much more pleasant sight greeted us.

Ke'e Beach
Arriving at Ke'e Beach.

me at Ke'e Beach
Me at beautiful Ke'e Beach.

Happy to be here!
Dan told me to look more enthusiastic...

Dan on Ke'e Beach
Dan on Ke'e Beach.

Sparkling waters.
Sparkling waters.

Dan under the roots of a tree.
Dan under the giant roots of a tree on Ke'e Beach.

Me perched on the roots.
Me perched on the roots.

After Ke’e Beach, we started making our way back down the Eastern part of the island. There was a slight drizzle, after which we found this rainbow over the Kaua’i landscape!

A rainbow!
Rainbow over Kaua'i.

A better shot of the rainbow.
Too bad it wasn't a double rainbow... haha*

We stopped by this souvenir vendor area on our way back, but most of the shops had closed up by then. We vowed to return the next day!

Kaua'i Products Fair
Kaua'i Products Fair, about to close.

For dinner, we decided to check out Kalapaki Joe’s in Lihue, a sports bar that one of the tubing tour guides had recommended as having great nachos and happy hour specials. The food was good, but the service was mediocre….

dinner at Kalapaki Joe's
Kalapaki Joe's in Lihue.

The biggest nacho plate I have ever seen.
A monster nacho plate, with kalua pork. It had to be the largest nacho plate I'd ever seen, but I have to admit it was pretty delicious.

Seafood pasta at Kalapaki Joe's
Seafood pasta from Kalapaki Joe's. The lighting was horrible, so the photo doesn't look too appetizing, but it was also pretty good!

We returned to our hotel, stuffed and ready to pass out. The next day was our last day in Kaua’i, and in 24 hours, we’d be boarding a plane back home to San Francisco. Check back for Day 9, our last day in Hawaii! (Finally, right?)