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| on the plane! |
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| Honolulu Airport |
Kauai is our favorite island! We went to Maui a few years ago (I found out I was pregnant with Lily there) and that is a close second. We went to Oahu about 7 years ago and of course loved it and it was cool to go to Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Culture Center but it was very busy and touristy there. Kauai is so laid back, so gorgeous, and has a lot of fun things to do.
Almost everywhere we drove our jaws were literally dropping at how gorgeous the scenery was. It definitely deserves its nickname of "The Garden Isle". I thought it was so funny how there were roosters everywhere! Just wandering around. Birds everywhere you look!
We flew in on Tuesday, August 4th and didn't get in until about 5:30 Hawaii time and 9:30 Utah time. We were tired and sweaty from all the humidity and starving! After getting our tiny Chevy Spark we drove straight to Bubba's Burgers for some dinner. They have a fun sassy attitude there and really tasty burgers. They don't want you to have lettuce and tomatoes on it for some reason and it but lots of onions :). It was really good. We also got frings just a mixture of onion rings and fries. It was in the middle of a really nice shopping village that was close to our hotel.
After eating we went to our hotel excited to check in and explore the resort. I mentioned it was our 10 year anniversary hoping we could get a free upgrade in our room (in Maui it worked, we got upgraded to an awesome ocean view room) but they were booked really full so instead we got a card for complimentary champagne which they exchanged for some free smoothies instead because of the whole mormon thing ;).
Our room was really nice and on the top floor so we didn't have to hear anyone above us and we had cool vaulted ceilings. We got 2 full beds (which we like so we don't disturb each other) that were super soft. Our only complaint was the birds that are so cute in the daytime are super annoying waking you up at 5:30 in the morning. They gave us a box fan that helped solve that problem though!
The resort was awesome. The Sheraton embraces the beach.There is a nice pool and spa area and then you walk from there right onto the beach and into the ocean. On the right side there were lots of pretty black rocks but most of it was just gorgeous squishy soft sand. The water was the perfect temperature but the waves were pretty strong. I guess there was a hurricane over the ocean- Hurricane Guillermo that was making the water a little crazier than usual.
On Wednesday we rented a cabana for the day right on the beach and set off by itself. It was so nice to have shade and enjoy the beach in comfort. We have a nice little routine where we read for awhile, then get in the ocean, then get in the pool, then the hot tub and then go back to reading. I found a little heart shaped piece of coral and told Michael it was a symbol of our love ha ha. It was the most relaxing day of my life.
After our day at the beach we cleaned up and then headed out to a restraunt that was supposed to serve the best pizza on the island called Brick Oven Pizza. It was super tasty. You could see their garden in the back growing their own herbs and veggies. The restraunt was kind of cute with all these little jokes painted on the wall everywhere and there were old licence plates hung all over.After dinner we went to the grocery store to stock up on snacks and breakfast food.
On Thursday we were supposed to go kayaking up the Wailua river and hike to a secret waterfall. The kayaking company cancelled though because the water fall had dried up since they have been in a drought and Hurricane Guillermo was making it rain a lot (hows that for an oxymoron?) and we were the only 2 people who had booked the tour for that day and they want at least 4. So instead of kayaking we drove first to Spouting Horn-the island's blowhole and then up Waimea Canyon.
After looking at the cool blowhole for a bit we headed for the canyon. Our little Chevy Spark had a hard time making it up those steep and super curvy hills but we did it. There are tons of places to pull out on the way up to get different views of the gorgeous canyon. It was definitely worth the trip. It was breathtaking. Our pictures don't do it justice and that's true of all our pictures. You have to see it with your own eyes!
After the canyon we drove back to Poipu and went to the shopping village to get some Puka dogs! Oh my heck they were so delicious. We went back again for more the next day they were so good! After Puka dogs we went to the Hyatt Hotel and to Shipwreck Beach behind it. The Hyatt had gorgeous grounds and the beach was pretty cool. By then we were so hot and wanted to get back to our resort so we could do our favorite routine of reading, ocean, swimming, hot tub, repeat :). The ocean was really crazy that day. I just barely walked in and was about up to my knees in water when a huge wave came and just took me down and had me do a few somersaults and cartwheels before I emerged with my swimsuit pulled down! Michael was safely on shore. He said I was suddenly gone and then he saw my toe, then my leg, then my boob ha ha. Kind of embarrassing but funny. I had sand all over me from head to toe and my ears were full of it. Dang Hurricane Guillermo! They wouldn't even rent snorkel gear to us because the storm had made the areas that were usually safe for snorkeling too shallow over the reefs and people were getting all ripped up from them and the reefs were getting ruined. So we didn't get to snorkel this time :( Next time!!!
Later that night after showering we went to "Da Crack" and ate some amazing mexican food from there. Then for dessert we had some delicious gelato and walked around the shops and then around our hotel. Michael's favorite part I think was spotting the hundreds of lizards crawling around the outside of our hotel and we even saw a huge frog.
On Friday we went ziplining at Princeville Ranch Adventures on the north side of the island. It was so much fun! We had really sarcastic and funny tour guides. We did 9 ziplines, the longest one being The King Kong where we went tandem and even got to hold hands the first part. The King Kong was a quarter of a mile long. Our back drops were 2 gorgeous mountains that were in Jurassic Park, The Hunger Games, Tropic Thunder, The Rundown and some other movies. We ziplined over deep canyons full of jungle like trees. I got a really fast caribiner so I was zooming everywhere so fast. I guess they accidently gave me an older one. I'm glad though because it was so fun! After doing 8 ziplines we got to swim and float in tubes in this swimming hole made by a waterfall. It was so refreshing and probably the prettiest place I've ever swam before. Then we had some lunch and swam a little more before doing the grand finale zipline. It was fun and adventurous!
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| eating yummy guava fruits that were growing on the trees |
After ziplining we went to Hanalei and shopped there for a bit and ate some yummy shaved ice from Jo Jo's. Then we stopped at the lighthouse on the way back. When we got back we decided to eat Puka Dogs again. Michael saw a kitty there so decided it was officially the best island. Then we went swimming and hot tubbing again before going to bed exhausted!
Saturday was our last day. We checked out and headed for the beach to savor the last day of our resort. Our hotel lets you use a hospitality room to shower in before you go to the airpot so that was nice to not have to be ready at 11 but instead enjoy as much time as we could at the beach.
After showering we still had a little time to kill before going to the airport so we got some amazing ice cream at Lappert's. YUM!
Then we began our long and exhausting journey home overnight. We were so sad to leave but were excited to see our sweet girls and sleep in our own bed.
Lily was so funny. She kept telling everybody that mommy and daddy were on a looooooooooong date. The girls stayed with Chris and Alison the first few days and then my sister Judy the last couple days. They had lots of fun with their cousins and everyone claims they were really good and happy which made it so much easier to be away from them. We are so grateful to them for taking care of our gilrs and making them feel safe, happy, and loved. We called Lily and talked to her everyday and got to hear her sweet voice. The phonecalls didn't make her sad either so that was good! They took the separation really well.
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