Poʻipū Beach Park in Kauaʻi

Another Beautiful Beach

Beach goers and colorful umbrellas fill the sand under a beautiful blue sky at Poʻipū Beach Park on the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi, as seen during our 2018 Kauaʻi Trip.

As beautiful as Poʻipū Beach Park was, we did not spend all that much time there. I suppose we had become spoiled by the almost nonexistent crowds that we had found at some of the other beaches we had already visited.

But as you can see, the beach was not overrun with people at all. It was a comfortable crowd size when we were there in the afternoon, although we had to circle the parking lot a time or two to find a parking space.

Also, the water here was slightly better suited for swimming than at some of the other beaches we visited. There was a small bay here, and the waves were not all that rough. Plus, because this is a public beach, there was a lifeguard on hand, if that makes you feel more secure.

Big Waves

While we were at Poʻipū Beach Park, I was especially fascinated by the waves crashing against the rocks off in the distance. Some people were swimming out to a small sand bar which had rocks on the far side of it. The waves would crash into those rocks and create a giant spray.

Yes, those are actual, life-size people out there on the sand bar, and you can see that the waves are crashing up much higher than the people. Maybe an 8 to 10 foot spray, I would guess. Pretty cool! Especially for those of us who live away from the water to begin with.

As it turns out, the name “Poʻipū” in Hawaiian means “crashing waves.” I would say that this place was well named by whoever chose that name! Because it was definitely interesting to watch the poʻipū there.

Read more about our visit to Poʻipū Beach Park in the 2018 Kauaʻi Trip Report.

Names Are Fascinating

Names are pretty fascinating, especially when they mean something. Whether it is a name based on some geographical feature, or a name that reminds someone of someone or someplace else, they often have stories behind them.

For example, I grew up near the city of Memphis, Tennessee. And someone back in the city’s early days remembered the ancient city of Memphis, Egypt, and figured that while that Memphis was near the Nile River, this city near the Mississippi River was similar in some way. So the name stuck.

Meanwhile, the state of Tennessee apparently got its name from an old Cherokee town of Tanasi, although the meaning of that town’s name has been lost to the ages.

Maybe you were named after a parent, a grandparent, or a family friend, or perhaps even a figure from history. Maybe your pets are named after cities, people, or funny things that they do.

Most every name has a story behind it, if you take the time to find out about it.

Bible Verse

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all. - Proverbs 22:1-2

About the Photos

For these beach photos, I once again wanted a light, beach-like look to them. Which makes sense, considering they are photos of a beach. So I once again used an Aurora HDR preset that I first created for the Walt Disney World Beach Club. I have used it several times recently, so I guess it has become my go-to look for the moment.

The second photo is actually a crop of an original photo. I had zoomed in as much as my lens would allow, but for this post I wanted to focus on the crashing waves even more. At the display resolution here, you probably (hopefully) can’t even tell that it is a tightly cropped. Except that I just told you so.

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus 14-42mm IIR
Date: July 7, 2018
_Location: _ Poʻipū Beach Park, Poʻipū, Hawaiʻi