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Kauai 2011

You know it’s time to update the blog when your husband asks, “Are you ever going to post about our Kauai trip?”

On our first day in Kauai we took a helicopter tour.  It was thrilling in many ways.  For starters, neither of us had ever been in a helicopter.   We booked our flight before we arrived to receive a discount.  The very next day after booking, read paid/ non-refundable, there was a crash with the same helicopter company on Maui killing all 5 passengers.  Yikes – adding to the thrilling experience.  It was so incredibly amazing to be up in the sky seeing all of Kauai.  The Napoli Coast of Kauai is only accessible via helicopter, boat or hiking.  Also, it really gave us a great sense of the island and what we wanted to be sure and see during our stay.

Waimea Canyon

Did you know that Waimea Canyon on Kauai is known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”?  We ended up taking a 5 mile hike into the Canyon to a beautiful waterfall. 

 roosters, chickens, roosters, chickens, roosters, chickens, roosters, chickens

These guys are everywhere on Kauai - population explosion.  The rotisserie chicken at Costco was 
D-lish. ;)

Ke'e Beach

This is the lookout from Ke'e. It was a short hike up with breathtaking views. The trail continues 11 miles along the Napoli Coast. You can get a camping permit and backpack in, stay a few days, and hike back out. Kinda cool.

 Sunrise on a morning walk along the Kalapaki Bay.

Sssnifff 

Plumeria trees are growing and blossoming everywhere and they smell wonderful.  Phil bought a tiny tree (stick) and brought it home with us.  He planted it and it's growing!  It is supposed to flower within 2 years.  We'll have to see how it does in our dry Nevada climate.

 A Room with a View  

We had the most perfect room.  It was glorious.  We could not have asked for anything more.  We loved falling to sleep to the lul of the waves each night.  Bonus: the waves drowned out the crows of the roosters many tourists complain about.

 Kauai Marriott

  See the lawn chairs in the background?  Chickens would come right up next to you and just crow (in the middle of the day).  This once country girl informed them they were completely confused and should crow at daybreak.  They weren't interested.

Waimea Canyon Waterfall

 This was part of the waterfall we hiked to in Waimea Canyon.  We left at 6:00am.  We were rewarded with  nobody on the trail or at the waterfall.  It wasn't until we were back in our car that we saw some hikers.

 Growing hair out - baby ponies.

 Polihale Beach  

We read about this beach in a tour book.  It took some getting to (5 mile bumpy dirt road), but we were rewarded.  It was a deserted beach, 7 miles of deserted.  We spent a relaxing afternoon here. 

All in all this was the very best vacation Phil & I have ever taken together.  We kept the roads hot, saw every inch of Kauai, ate fantastic fresh seafood and fruit (two of our favorite things), snorkeled for the first time, relaxed and enjoyed being just "us" like we used to so many moons ago. We have a full and blessed life.  We are grateful for times like this to be together.  It reminds us that we certainly chose well when we chose each other 20 years ago.