Look out, Hawaii. Here we come!

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First day in Hawaii. My buddy, Karel, and I met in Los Angeles and then flew to our first Hawaiian hot spot, Lihue, Kauai. Each island of the Hawaiian chain has its own unique personality. I found Kauai to be the most tropical and fit my preconceived vision of Hawaii. Compared to Oahu, Kauai has less people and slower pace.

Our first stop was the car rental agency, where we waited in line for an hour. Pure torture. As we waited, I took this picture of our bags. We both had four bags apiece. I’m sure anyone who walked by us thought, ‘What a couple of princesses!’ My excuse was backpacking gear and camera equipment. Karel had backpacking gear too, I’m not sure about the rest of it. Karel and I decided if anyone asked, we’d tell them we were a film crew making a documentary.

Car rental under our belt, we were off to the hotel. We wanted to stay in very cheap places in Kauai, so each place brought a unique angle of frugality. Our first night was at the Kauai Sands Hotel, which was very dated. However, it was so dated, that it was kind of cool. Blue shag carpeting on the floor and really dark wood furniture. It was campy and the hotel wasn’t even trying. The grounds were gorgeous and quiet. Plus the beach was very nice.