LIHU‘E — To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, Bill and Susan Westlake came to Kaua‘i. They did the usual — visiting waterfalls, beaches and hiking trails, plus dining at restaurants. One outing found them in Lihu‘e, where they visited the Kaua‘i
LIHU‘E — To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, Bill and Susan Westlake came to Kaua‘i.
They did the usual — visiting waterfalls, beaches and hiking trails, plus dining at restaurants. One outing found them in Lihu‘e, where they visited the Kaua‘i Museum and enjoyed the small town they visited once before.
“We love the museum,” Bill Westlake said.
Lihu‘e, Susan said, is a wonderful place.
“I like it here,” she said. “It hasn’t changed a lot over the years. It just has that same feel.”
The Westlakes, from Escondido, Calif., are not alone in their praise of the town of around 7,000 that serves as the hub for those arriving on Kaua‘i.
Lihu‘e was named one of Smithsonian’s “20 Best Small Towns to Visit” for 2013 in its April edition of the magazine. It was rated 18th.
“Most people collect their welcome leis at the airport or cruise ship dock in Lihu‘e and move on,” wrote Susan Spano. “But between the beaches and the waves, the frangipani and shave ices, the island’s cultural center keeps calling.”
The publicity and praise from Smithsonian, a monthly publication with a circulation of 2.1 million, was welcomed by Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau.
“It’s nice to see Lihu‘e recognized by Smithsonian’s ‘Best Small Towns’ not only for it’s importance to our visitor industry as the main access point for Lihu‘e Airport and Nawiliwili Harbor, but for its other jewels that are all within close proximity to each other,” she wrote, citing the Kaua’i Museum, Grove Farm Homestead Museum, Kilohana, and the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center.
Lihu‘e is also at the heart of Kaua‘i’s business community, Kanoho said.
“We are honored that Smithsonian recognized our unique island community,” she said.
Smithsonian’s Spano explained how towns — Gettsburg, Pa., was No. 1 — made the list.
The publication asked a geographic information company Esri to search its databases for small towns and cities — with populations of less than 15,000 — that have exceptional concentrations of museums, art galleries, orchestras, theaters, historic sites and other cultural blessings.
“Happily, the top towns also boast heartwarming settings where the air is a little fresher, the grass greener, the pace gentler than in metropolitan America,” Spano wrote. “Generally, they’re devoted to preserving their historic centers, encouraging talent and supporting careful economic growth. There’s usually an institution of higher learning, too.
“Most important are the people, unpretentious people with small-town values and high cultural expectations — not a bad recipe for society at large.”
Spano wrote that Lihu‘e “has been a place of congregation ever since — as legend has it — proto-Hawaiians built a lava rock dam near the mouth of the Huleia River, now a historic site known as Alekoko Fishpond.
“The whole story of the island from volcanology to surfing is told at the Kaua‘i Museum; Kilohana and Grove Farm Homestead, two of the island’s big sugar plantations, vividly recapture scenes from the colonial era; and for the ear, the Kaua‘i Concert Association brings jazz, classical music and dance to the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center.”
The Westlakes, who returned home Sunday, said the only drawback to Lihu‘e, and Kaua‘i in general, is the traffic. But still, they’ll be back.
“We still love it,” Bill Westlake said.
