Kauai

This is a story about an unusual-looking 40-foot boat with two outriggers and a legend attached. As legends go, this one is way out there. Or, if you like, way up there. The boat's owner, Tom Kardos of Aliso Viejo, isn't all that keen about talking about it, although he believes it's true. "My wife says if I talk about it, make a one-sentence comment and then don't come back to it," Kardos says.

A woman died in a hospital in Lihue after she saved one son from a strong ocean current off the island of Kauai but was injured during a failed attempt to save another son. Jennifer White, 32, of Gunnison, Colo., brought her 8-year-old son to shore at Anahola Bay on Saturday, then swam back out to rescue her 9-year-old boy. White lost consciousness and suffered injuries during the effort. A bystander rescued White, who was in critical condition until she died Monday.

An earthen dam burst on Kauai on Tuesday, sending a 50-foot wave into the Pacific Ocean, sweeping away at least two houses and washing out the only road along the island's north shore. One person was killed and as many as seven were reported missing. The Kaloko Reservoir dam gave way without warning after days of heavy rain.

HAWAII was calling, as it often does when my agenda is R&R. I was seeking Hawaii without glitz -- no beachfront hotels with pools the size of oceans, torch-lighted hula shows and $12 mai tais. It's still doable, even as some Hawaiian places veer dangerously close to becoming like the places visitors come here to escape.

THE second time we capsized, my canteen went east and our kayak headed west. "Better grab it," said my boat mate, Carlos Holguin, as the Nalgene bottle bobbed in 4-foot swells. Our guides had said we would need two quarts of water for the 17-mile paddle along Kauai's dramatic Na Pali Coast. Now half my supply was at sea. Of course, they also had told us to get back on the two-person kayak immediately if we capsized. After snagging the canteen, I could see why.

A tour helicopter crashed into the ocean near Kauai's rugged Na Pali Coast, killing three people and leaving three in the waves to swim ashore. The three survivors reached a reef near the mouth of a stream, where two waited for water safety officers to rescue them and the third made it to the beach, said Mary Daubert, Kauai County spokeswoman. The pilot, who survived, told authorities the helicopter had encountered wind shear just before going down.

I am standing on a rocky trail on the south side of Kauai, staring down at a beach so divine that I'm glad to be alive. There are half a dozen locals ("I've never seen so many people here," says my guide), but not a tourist in sight. I have been brought to Allerton Beach by two natives of the island who know how to navigate the miles of coffee fields that lead to this trailhead. I ask if there are any beaches like this in Hanalei, to the north. A pause. "We don't go to Hanalei," I am told.

All surfers have a worst moment, but few are like Bethany Hamilton's: In October 2003, she was attacked by a shark. The 14-year-old Hawaiian surfer is visiting Southern California to chat with her sponsors and compete at Trestles, one of Southern California's famed surfing breaks. Though she's not expected to win, the teenager -- whose now-familiar face has been seen on "Good Morning America," "Inside Edition," and "Oprah" -- causes quite a buzz on the beach.

There's a sea of change looming for Hawaii's residents and the state's more than 6 million annual visitors. In about two years they will be able to hop from island to island on a huge, high-speed catamaran and take their cars with them. At least, that's the plan. A 340-foot, double-hulled catamaran is expected to begin transporting passengers, vehicles and freight among Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island in 2006.

KAUAI is the island Hollywood calls paradise. Its tropical forests, 4,000-foot cliffs and crescent-shaped beaches have provided idyllic settings for more than 60 films and TV shows, cast as everything from "Gilligan's Island" and "Jurassic Park" to "South Pacific." So I probably shouldn't have been surprised when the melody and lyrics to "Bali Hai" started bouncing around in my head when I visited Kauai last month.