Kaua'i, Hawai'i

 This year, I told Fred I wanted to make traveling a priority. I also said this was our last summer before Ethan graduates and without knowing what next summer will bring because of that, I wanted to do a big trip. It had been almost 9 years ago that we last went to Hawai'i and the kids have been wanting to go back for a long time. Since I've been to the most islands, I wanted to go to one I hadn't done and we landed on going to Kaua'i. It certainly did not disappoint. I spent a lot of time researching where to stay,when to go, what to do, cashing in on our points with our credit card company etc. I planned early and had everything booked by April. Then, it was just a matter of counting down the days. Everyone was so excited to go and when the day finally came, we were ready. 

I wanted to take full advantage of the island and our time so I planned this trip for a total of 9 days. We had 2 days of travel of course but that meant 7 full days on the island. I also planned for rest days in-between days we had an excursion planned which turned out to be great. We had equal time playing and relaxing. We went from July 21st-July 29th.

On our first day, we arrived at Kaua'i at 12pm Hawai'i time. After we picked up our rental van, we headed straight to Costco to load up on this we'd need for the week since we planned to eat in for the majority of the time. After that, we checked into our condo at the Waipouli Resort and swam in the pool. For the first evening, we ate out at a nice placed called Lemongrass. It was just down the street from our condo.

The second day was an early one. We had our kayak and hiking excursion to Uluwehi Falls. We kayaked on the Weilua River. Macie was very scared to do it but ended up loving it. Caleb partnered with me, Fred was with Macie and Ethan was with Asher. We kayaked a total of 4 miles (2 miles there, 2 miles back), and hiked into the forest for 3 miles total (1.5 miles, 1.5 miles out). Kayaking was such a workout for everyone but lots of fun. The water felt so nice on our skin. The hike was so informative and we went through rivers, mud, up hills and down. On the way, we walked past Queen's Bath which was made for the once queen where she would bathe in! Everyone did so well! We saw lots of chickens and wild banana trees. The Uluwehi Falls were beautiful. We all swam up right under the water which actually hurt a little. The water was cold but refreshing since we were so hot and tired from our hike. After we got our first JoJo Shave Ice which was amazing. After that, we went back to our condo where Caleb and I napped and everyone went to the pool. The rest of the day we just chilled and made dinner. 

On our 3rd day, we decided to venture to the north side of the island to Hanalei Pier. Multiple people said in was fun including our kayak/hike guide. It turned out to be very cloudy and rainy the whole time but we still had a good time. Fred and the kids jumped off the pier a bunch and Asher found a coconut that he worked hard to open and ended up being fresh and delicious. We didn't stay too long because of the rain so we started to head back. On the way, we stopped at Anini Beach but didn't stay because we didn't have our snorkel gear. It was a beautiful beach though. After that, we cleaned up and walked around downtown Kapa'a. 

Our fourth day was another early one. And we almost missed the excursion. We made it literally with 5 mins to spare. I was seriously stressing out on that drive. We did a boat tour of the Na'Pali Coast and snorkeled. It was a long day that started at 7:30am and ended at 1pm. Our excursion left from the north side of the island so our drive there took about 30ish mins from Kapa'a which is on the east side. Everyone took Dramemine to avoid getting sea sick which made everyone really sleepy. In the end, Macie was the only one that vomited on the way there. We were given a light breakfast and served lunch on the boat that was delicious. Macie was scared to snorkel (I don't think shes a huge fan) and immediately said something was biting her when she got in the water. We all thought she was being dramatic but turned out there were thousands of tiny baby jellyfish in the water and they were stinging everyone and it hurt!! Everyone got out of the water pretty much right away and had red bumps all over, including me. It was wild. Turned out that while we did snorkel, it wasn't a lot of fish anyway so we were just happy to eat lunch and enjoy the view of the coast. But wow, that was crazy! They really hurt!! The coast was beautiful but I think everyone doesn't enjoy boat trips as much as me. We got some pretty big waves going back and that made for a fun time for Macie and I being in the front and getting soaked. Fred, Asher and Caleb did it for a little while too before we docked and got soaked. It was so fun. We also saw so many dolphins which was incredible. We even saw baby dolphins with their mommy doing jumps. It was adorable! I really enjoyed this day despite the jellyfish.

The fifth day, we all slept in because we were so tired from the day before. After we all had a good rest, we went on a 7 mile bike ride (total) and stopped at tide pools and Kountry Kitchen for some Loco Moco's. It was delicious and the bike ride was beautiful. On our stop at the tide pools, we found a baby jellyfish and lots of fish! After that, we went to Hideaways Beach which ended up being our favorite beach. We saw tons of fish, sea cucumbers and best of all, sea turtles!!! It was amazing. We had to park about 20 mins away and pay $20 then hike down a pretty steep hill for a good 10 mins but it was totally worth it. The waves were a little strong to just swim in on the shore but Macie didn't seem to mind. It was such a beautiful beach. 

 On our sixth day, the boys went off on their own while Fred and I hung out with Macie. We took her to Lydgate Beach which had 2 great ocean pools to swim in that had lots of fish. The water felt so nice and there were so many fish in such shallow water! The boys ended up just walking around, grabbing lunch and buying things for their girlfriends. After that, we met up again to get ready to go to our Luau. I bought tickets to ride the train around the plantation where we fed pigs, donkeys and got to see cows and bulls. After that, we had the luau which was fantastic and so much fun. The family humored me by taking pictures and I got suckered into buying 2 of the pictures we had taken. Everyone loved it and had so much fun. 

On our seventh day, we relaxed by the pool for the majority of the day. After that, we got out last JoJo's Shave Ice and walked around downtown Kapa'a to shop for souvenirs. Everyone also got henna. It was a pretty chill day which was so nice and relaxing. We discovered that the best JoJo Shave Ice was the #15. It's a combo of coconut and pineapple with macadamia ice cream on the bottom with this Hawaiian cream sauce on top. We ventured out a few times ordering different combos but this combo turned out to be the best. It was so delicious. Asher also caught as many geckos as he could. Some of their tails would break off but it didn't matter. They were a little hard to catch at times but that didn't matter. When Asher's determined to catch a creature, he will. He also was always on the hunt for good coconuts and even climbed a palm tree to get one! He is such a nature lover.

On our eighth day, which was our last full day, we went to the Ho'opi'i Falls. It was two waterfalls in one hike. I think this ended up being almost everyone's most favorite day. The hike starts from a neighborhood and overall was kinda muddy. The first waterfall was huge and steep. It's pretty much just for looking but of course Fred and the older boys wanted to get in the middle of it before it cascaded down which made me so mad because it was so dangerous. The second leg of the hike that went to the second water fall had two options. You could go straight, veering to the left where the path divides which takes you to the top of the waterfall or go right which takes you up and then down the mountain that was pretty steep to the bottom of the waterfall where you can swim and swing off a rope swing. Of course, we did the path that leads you to the bottom of the falls. It was pretty amazing. Everyone but me jumped off the rope swing. Macie was so scared but decided to be brave and I was so proud of her. The boys loved the rope swing and swimming. It was such an epic end to our trip. It was such a cool hike and I'm glad we did it. After that, we drove to Poipu Beach to see the sea turtles that come up to shore there and to snorkel. Turns out we didn't like Poipu because the water was so shallow so it made it hard to snorkel and there were SO many people. Way too touristy. After we went to the condo and showered then went to dinner on the beach at Lava Lava Beach Club. It was delicious with gorgeous views. Again, making such a perfect ending to our trip. 

On our ninth day, we hit up Costco for some lunch because it was cheap and because Costco is delicious and grabbed some Subway to have on the plane. Turns out we for sure decided Subway is trash and Jersey Mike's is the way to go. But Kaua'i doesn't have Jersey Mike's so... we were forced to do Subway never again. After that, we dropped our van off and it was time to fly home. I think everyone was ready to go home but I was not. I didn't want to leave. I really could see myself living on an island like this, living in my little bubble and enjoying all that island life offers. It's just so peaceful, beautiful and time slows down. For me, I always feel so happy when I'm at the beach. Anyway, we all loved this trip. It was all so amazing and one I hope everyone looks back on with joy and happy memories.