kauai: part five

Yes, this is the last one. Sad. Thanks for following along and sharing in our awesome adventure with us! I'm going to dedicate this last part of our Kauai adventure to the Na Pali Coast and our last night on the island at Queen's Bath. 

To start off, the Na Pali Coast is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Yes, I have seen majestic mountains and snow covered peaks, and yes, I've climbed Half Dome and seen Yosemite in all it's glory, but I have never seen green, cascading sea cliffs descending into teal water dotted with waterfalls to create the world's most beautiful coastline. It has God written all over it! The hike we did was the Honopu Ridge Trail and being that it was hardly maintained, we had to bush whack our way through the trail and maneuver around trees and vines all while having drop off cliffs to either side. The view at the end was worth it all. 

(pictures do not do it justice!!)

The Na Pali Coast.

our awesome friends! (Jenn's daughter Lanie is not pictured)

Jenn, Jessy, Wyatt, Austin, Silas & puppy Bailey

Thanks a million. You guys rock!!

To finish off the trip, we spent our last day on the island on the North Side and ended up exploring a place called Queen's Bath at sunset... and it was gorgeous. Queen's Bath is like a giant tide pool that is continually refilled by the waves. 

Bobby swimmin' around in Queen's Bath.

ridiculous scenery by Queen's Bath...and yes, the rainbow is real.

and a perfect sunset to finish it off.

Well folks, that concludes our Kauai adventure. Sigh. It's been fun sharing with you and reliving the memories. I will never forget this trip and hope to make it back to the island again soon! If I haven't talked it up enough for you already, go and check it out yourself. You will NOT be disappointed. It is a very special place and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Holmberg's for everything that they did to make our vacation so wonderful! THANKYOU :)

Well, I'm signing off until the next adventure. Thanks for reading!

ALOHA

kauai: part four

Bear with me. Part 4 is a good one! We went camping...Kauai style! We went to Polihale State Park which is on the west side of the island and backs up to the Na Pali Coast. Aha-maa-zing. Jenn & Jessy, 3 kids (+1 friend), 2 dogs, and Bobby and I loaded up and drove the bumpy road out to Polihale. We set up tents right on the sand and spent the day laying in the sun, surfing, barbecuing, sitting around a fire and taking it an incredible sunset.

our campsite.

Na Pali Coast.

Of course I had to play fetch with Silas!

Polihale sunset.

Going to sleep to the sound of waves and waking up to the island sun definitely takes camping to a whole new level. We woke up the next morning and Bobby & I took Silas for a walk down the beach and then went for a swim and surf before we packed up.

 happy dog.

you rock, Polihale.

Once again, Kauai has it all! Camping was such a fun part of our trip and provided a different taste of the island that we hadn't experienced before. We loved it!

Check back tomorrow for our final adventure hiking on the Na Pali Coast!

kauai: part three

Part three is going to be a smorgasbord of a few different adventures that we had. First up is stand-up paddleboarding at Kalapaki Beach. Such a blast! Not only is it fun but it's a great workout! Legs, abs, arms...it does it all!! We will definitely be doing this again.

We rented the boards for a few hours and Bobby eventually was brave enough to stand-up paddle into some waves and, of course, he was great at it! Then we had the brilliant idea to go tandem surfing!! The paddleboards were like boats, super long and super thick, so Bobby and I paddled out together on one of the boards and rode a few waves (not without our fair share of laughs!). It was so fun and something we've never done before together.

We also hiked to a few waterfalls during our trip that definitely didn't disappoint!

Wailua Falls

Next up was snorkeling at Tunnels Beach! And yes, this is the beach where Bethany Hamilton got her arm bit off by a shark...and you better believe I was thinking about that the whole time we were in the water! Nonetheless, it was a beautiful, sunny day and the water was crystal clear and super warm. There was an awesome reef right off shore where we found some cool fish.

Tunnels.

Hawaii's state fish: humuhumunukunukuapua'a

and just for fun, a fishy little video!

Part 4 tomorrow! Camping at Polihale!

kauai: part two

I am going to dedicate part two of our Kauai adventure to a beach on the south shore called Pakalas. I think it's safe to say that this was Bobby's favorite spot on the island and one of the most tropical places I've ever seen. Pakalas is a local surf spot and Bobby claims that he got some of the best waves of his life here. He describes it as a "perfect left hand reef point break, uncrowded and peeling for a couple hundred yards around an awesome reef in front of a tropical oasis beach." There were days that he would get up at 5:30 AM to surf for a few hours and then come back and start the day with me. He was peeing his pants completely giddy every morning before heading out in anticipation for perfect waves, you would think it was Christmas morning. I'm more than happy to support his surfing obsession as long as there is a warm tropical beach for me lay on and soak up the sun. :)

shot of Pakalas waves from the sand.

Bobby tearing it up.

love my ultra-zoom camera.

After he got out of the water, we explored a bit and came upon an absolutely beautiful stretch of the beach. It looked like the screen savers I have on my computer but real!

 note the Hawaiian monk seal on the beach!

 my happy place.

 love the palm trees dragging in the crystal clear water.

perfect place for a hammock.

I was in awe of this beach and wanted to capture it the best I could. To top it off, we found some souvenirs to take with us to remind us of this beautiful place.

sea glass!

Pakalas was the best of both worlds for Bobby and I with perfect waves and endless sunshine. I think we could pitch a tent and be completely content here for a while. :)


Got more coming tomorrow! Aloha!

kauai: part one

We are back from the island and, let me tell you, I did NOT want to leave! We went to the Hawaiian island of Kauai and it was nothing short of paradise. I have been to Oahu and Maui before but Kauai definitely takes the cake for being my favorite island. It has the perfect mix of beautiful beaches, hiking trails, mountains, waterfalls, snorkeling and...you get the idea. Bobby and I concluded that this was probably our favorite vacation that we have taken together and that's saying a lot! (I may or may not have cried when we left......I know). 

We flew to Kauai on my birthday (4/23), the day after our half-marathon (you better believe my legs were cramping and stiff after a 5 hour plane ride) and arrived there just around 11:00 AM local time so we still had a whole day to explore after arriving. Our awesome friends Jessy & Jenn Holmberg live on the east side of Kauai in the town of Kapa'a and were gracious enough to let us stay at their house for 9 days. We are SO thankful to them for making our vacation so wonderful!

their island home & island rides.

It was so nice having personal tour guides to take us around and show us some of their favorite spots. Jenn's son Wyatt was kind enough to let us take his car a few days to explore on our own. There were some days when we left the house at 8 am and didn't get back til 8 pm because there is just so much to do and see! 

Our island ride! Driving this around helped us not look so much like kooks blend in more with the locals since we weren't driving a bar-coded, shiny red rental car.

Believe it or not, as much as I thought I would not want to run on our vacation, turns out I started to miss it (weird?). Also, when there is a paved running path that goes for miles along the tropical ocean it's hard to resist. I will say though that I have a new respect for people who run the Kauai and Kona Marathons. Running in the heat and humidity is rough.

we took their dog Silas with us on our runs and he was so happy!

Since we got there on my birthday, I of course wanted to head straight to the beach and soak up some Hawaiian sun! It was nice having our friends with us because Jenn was happy to lay on the beach with me while Jessy and Bobby surfed their brains out. That way, everyone was happy :).

After a few hours in the sun, we ate at Duke's Restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the water as a great way to end the day. The next morning, Bobby surprised me with a couple's beachside massage! My sore muscles were LOVIN it! Bobby is always so thoughtful of me and, come to find out, had this planned for weeks in advance. What can I say? He's the best!

After that, we cruised the island for a while and settled at Moloa'a Beach for a nap.

I was pleasantly surprised at how uncrowded the beaches felt. We were 2 of 5 people on this beach.

...then we played on the swing!

couldn't resist.

Even after 2 days on the island I was already scheming about ways that Bobby and I could live here. It's THAT awesome...and it's no secret that I've always been a huge fan of the island life and dream about it often. I love the atmosphere and vibe of Kauai and the simplicity of life. I love that there are fresh fruit stands on the corners selling mangoes, pineapple, papaya and fresh coconuts (I am obsessed with coconut water!) and the abundant sunshine and tropical rain, making it impossible not to smile everyday. mmm....I'll just keep dreamin!

Stay tuned the rest of the week for more of our Kauai adventure :)