Everyone said it wouldn’t last but it just kept raining all day. We had planned to go to the Farm Market at the Community College and we actually went there. What we found were most of the non-fruit and vegetable vendors got rained out, and only those whose product was not ruined by the water stayed. Then the drenching started and everyone else left, including us. Being the seasoned travelers we are, we were undaunted by a little water and started to consider what plan B would be. First, to Walmart for a rain jacket of some kind. They were basically sold out, because there has been a lot of rain here lately. We considered a movie and then we remembered the estate where the luau was held, had a historic home with shops, a restaurant, and the rum factory office. Plan B became obvious!
The Kilohana Plantation was built in 1935 as the most expensive home built on Kauai by the sugar baron Gaylord Wilcox. It was designed by Mark Potter known for his custom Hilton Head homes and included custom furniture from Gump’s in San Francisco. The gardens were filled with rare tropical plants and it was something to behold.
Today, the home is a visitor destination. The outside patio has been converted into a lovely restaurant, open enough to enjoy al fresco dining and sheltered enough to keep you dry when it rains. The living room has been converted into the Mahiko lounge with the richly crafted panels and intricate screen doors leading to the porch. The front hall is magnificent with two huge wooded urns of the most beautiful wood I have ever seen.
While we waited for our table, we wondered through the downstairs portion of the house including the dining room.
Lunch was delicious and then we explored the upstairs filled with shops upstairs in the master bedroom, guest room, and children’s bedrooms filled with artwork from local artisans and beautiful jewelry. Carol and I were good and resisted all temptation.
Then we walked through the drizzle to the Koloa Rum Company store where we discovered a rum tasting being offered and the next available time was later in the day. We signed up and headed to Macy’s to find that illusive rain jacket.
When our turn came for the rum tasting were found out that rum is made from fermented sugar and the Koloa Rum Company still uses cane sugar while other companies use sugar from the sugar beet. Being a sugar plantation, they had plenty available to them, but realized with limited supply available they would need to do something for the future and decided to grow their own on the plantation. All the rums made at the factory have won ribbons at the largest rum show in Miami because they only use the middle brew with no impurities. Supposedly, the impurities are where the hangover comes from.
We tasted our four one-quarter shots of rum and rum cake with fudge rum sauce and realized it was time to get cleaned up for our dinner reservation.
Keioki’s Paradise was just that. A large building off the ocean but created with the pools and multi-levels, similar to the garden area of our resort.
We all had monchong fish prepared baked with the chef’s special sauce (not the same as a big mac) over rice with broccoli. It was just what we wanted to end the day.
Tomorrow is our big helicopter tour, so make sure you check back to see how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed for the weather.