Kauai 2017

In January Kyle and I traveled with his parents and sister Brittany to Kauai. Brittany's friend Sydniecame for most of the week as well. It was a blast and the perfect escape from winter in Utah. We stayed at a resort at Kalapaki Bay. The beach was fantastic and the water was a blast for boogie boarding. Each morning we started our day with a trip to the hot tub and then claimed our spots at the beach for the rest of the morning. The first morning we made quite a scene getting to and from the hot tub. There were 5 hot tubs, but only two you could access without getting into the pool. The other three required a short swim in the freezing cold 8:00 am water. We were not so quiet about our attempt to reach the open hot tub across the water. There may have been plenty of screaming and complaining. But we made it. And it was worth it. 

The first couple of days were breezy and cool. I was actually COLD in Hawaii! Thank goodness I did have some warmer clothes with me. But still... I'd take cold in Hawaii over freezing and snow in Utah.

In the afternoon after spending the morning at the beach we set off around the island exploring. We drove to an overlook and oohed and ahhed at a waterfall (I don't remember the name). 

We drove up North to check out the Napali Coast, or at least the small portion of it we could put our feet on. The Napali Coast is inaccessible by car. You have to hike in. But it is impressive and so worth the effort. Though not without it's risks, as evidenced by the signs we encountered starting the trail head.

The hike was quite steep and rocky, but so neat. We did just about 1 mile in, enough to get an idea of the ruggedness of the coastline. We chose to see the rest of the coast via boat. We took a 5 hour tour around the West side of the island up to the Napali Coast. We stopped for an hour and snorkeled in the ocean, my first time! It was a blast until I started to feel seasick. The floating in the ocean while snorkeling started me off. After getting back on the boat I started to feel a little off. Then as the boat continued on along the coast the waves became bigger and bigger and I became sicker and sicker. Soon enough I spent the tour throwing up over the side of the boat. Somehow I still enjoyed it, despite feeling terrible. The coastline was amazing, we saw whales in the distance and dolphins right next to the boat. Hawaii is beautiful!

Our next adventure, my favorite adventure, was kayaking on the Wailua River. We rented double kayaks and cruised down the river to the trail head for Secret Falls. The day was overcast and slightly rainy, which proved to be the perfect day for kayaking and hiking. The water was perfectly calm, like glass. It made for fun and easy kayaking. The hike to the falls was muddy and slippery, but so fun! We were laughing all along the way as we slipped over the mud. The waterfall did not disappoint. It fell to a pool of crisp cool water. We braved the cold and swam out to the waterfall. How often in life do you have the opportunity to swim underneath a waterfall in Hawaii? 

Our other Hawaiian adventures included:

Spouting Horn

Delicious food. The best burgers came from Kalapaki Beach Hut. Seriously, first bite and it was instant love. The best breakfast sandwich came from Paradise Bakery, who also supplies Kalapaki Beach Hut with their bomb-diggity buns. 

Luau. We were drug on stage to shake our hips. It was the most uncoordinated hula ever. Haha.

Kyle took surfing lessons. He loved it and did great! He also met Kyle #2 in his class, who we proceeded to run into again, and again, and again.

Any other undocumented time was spent lounging at the beach, boogie boarding, or floating in the bay on a small Walmart special inflatable tube. The tubes were the best idea. They were relaxing, but also so fun, especially when a big wave came up and swept you into the shore. Oh Hawaii, you were good to us. Let's do it again someday!