Kauai - Hawaii with Kids - page 398

infants and children. For slightly older kids, try Sand Kids in the Poipu Shop-
ping Center ( & 808/742-7123 ).
BOOKS
For the biggest selection of books, go to Borders, 4305 Nawiliwali Rd., Lihue
( & 808/246-0862 ), for beach-reading material and a great selection of all things
Hawaiian, plus music. Two great new and used bookstores are Hanalei Book
Store, 4489 Aku Rd. ( & 808/826-2568 ); and Tin Can Mailman Books and
Curiosities, Kinipopo Shopping Village, 4-356 Kuhio Hwy., Wailua ( & 808/
822-3009 ).
FLOWERS & LEIS
You can take paradise home with you—well, at least the outrageously beautiful
flowers. The best place to order flowers sent home is Tropical Flowers by
Charles, 3465 Lawailoa Lane, Koloa ( & 800/699-7984 or 808/332-7984;
www.a-tropical-flower.com). Not only is Charles a flower genius (who grows a
range of tropical flowers, including some very rare and unusual varieties), but his
hardy blooms and his skill at packing means that your little bit of Kauai will live
for a long, long time. All this and extremely reasonable prices. (Bouquets start
at just $15.)
FOOD
The taste treat of Kauai is lavender-colored taro chips, sliced and cooked just like
potato chips. The best place to get these chips is the source, Taro Ko Chips Fac-
tory, located in an old green plantation house at 3940 Hanapape Rd. ( & 808/
335-5586 ). Cooking in a tiny, modest kitchen at the east end of town, these
famous taro chips are handmade by the farmers who grow the taro in a nearby
valley. Despite their breakable nature, the chips make great gifts. To really
impress them back home, get the li hing mui-flavored chips. To get to the fac-
tory from Lihue: Turn right off Highway 50 onto Hanapepe Road, in
Hanapepe, the town just after Eleele.
MARKETS
The county of Kauai sponsors regular weekly Sunshine Markets throughout the
island. The biggest market is at Kapaa New Town Park, in the middle of Kapaa
town, on Wednesday at 3pm. The Sunshine Market in Lihue, held on Friday at
3pm at the Vidhina Stadium Parking Lot, is close in size and extremely popular.
The schedule for the other markets: Koloa Ball Park, Monday at noon; Kala-
heo Neighborhood Center, Tuesday at 3:30pm; Hanapepe Park, Thursday at
3pm; Kilauea Neighborhood Center, Thursday at 4:30pm; and Kekaha
Neighborhood Center, Saturday at 9am. For more information on Sunshine
Markets, call & 808/241-6390. Especially at the Koloa Market, which draws
hundreds of shoppers, go early and shop briskly.
Those who miss the Sunshine Markets can shop instead at the privately run
Sunnyside Farmers Market ( & 808/822-0494 ), on Kuhio Highway in the
middle of Kapaa, open Monday through Saturday from 7am to 7:30pm and
Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
On the North Shore, Kilauea is the agricultural heart of the island, with two
weekly green markets: the county-sponsored Sunshine Market, Thursday at
4:30pm at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center; and the private Kilauea Quality
Farmers Association (mostly organic growers) Farmers Market, Saturday from
11:30am to 1:30pm behind the Kilauea Post Office. Also on the North Shore,
about a quarter-mile past Hanalei in an area called Waipa, the Hawaiian Farmers