The Garden Island

Beginning of this year, Josh and I decided we needed some alone time and booked a trip for two to Kauai, HI. We played the waiting game and counted down the days for the trip to arrive. Finally it was time, so last Friday we boarded our first flight and took to the skies. The kids spent time between their grandparents houses, so we know they were well taken care of. I was a bit nervous to fly over the ocean, something I'd never done before, but that soon passed with the realization that I had a week in paradise with just my husband. 

After half a day of travel, we arrived in Poipu, Kauai. We stayed at the beautiful Kiahuna Plantation in a condo, but had to wait a few hours for it to be ready, so we had some lunch at Keoki's, which was the freshest seafood we'd ever had up until that point, then we walked the beach in our jeans, NOT recommended, but the views were spectacular.

Once our room was ready, we changed, wandered the perfectly manicure grounds of the resort and eventually hit the beach again with a bottle of wine to swim & watch the sunset. I am still in awe of the colorful flowers and lush plant life that is their natural landscaping, although they didn't always smell as good as they looked!

We decided after a few glasses, we were hungry again and walked across the street to Puka Dog, a Hawaiian style hot dog joint. They were really yummy, but totally different from any other dog we've ever had.

On Saturday morning we woke up fairly early to catch our Zipline Safari, but shortly after we arrived, so did the GIANT thunder and lightening storm, so our trip got postponed - they frown upon kayaking a river when there is lightening right over head ;)

We didn't let the freak storm bring us down, and instead we took the beautiful drive to Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. We stopped for breakfast before entering the canyon, where I tried my first Ono, also commonly called "Wahoo", which was super yummy.

Unfortunately, once we got there, all we saw were clouds. Thankfully the drive was beautiful and well worth it.

On our drive back to the resort, we stopped at a little fruit stand on the side of the road for some fresh Hawaiian fruit. I love coconut, but Josh was iffy about trying the "coconut water" - once he did, he loved it, too. There's nothing like a fresh coconut, they are amazing!

By this time, the weather had completely cleared to make for a beautiful day. We took the short 3 minute walk to the beach with our snorkel equipment and took a dip. The water is unusually warm and clear, so it was the perfect time for snorkeling. Josh at first wasn't sure if he wanted to go, but once he got in, he lasted longer than I did! We saw some awesome, beautiful, tropical fish, not sure what any of them were, but they didn't mind us floating around.

After spending our afternoon snorkeling, we relaxed back to the room - since it was my birthday, we had dinner plans that night. After reading and a long nap, we got ready and walked along the beach to Rum Fire.

We were seated right by the windows, so we were able to watch the sunset over the ocean - what a view!

I ordered the "Catch of the Day" which was a moonfish called Monchong, it was probably the best fish I've ever tasted. Josh ordered the other daily special, which was Opah, and it was delicious as well. We ate the prettiest, most well presented food while on the island. After our appetizers & main dishes were cleared, they surprised me with a cheesecake for my birthday, and it was just as yummy as everything else we had.

Once dinner was finished, we walked the beach back to our room again. The weather was perfect, and it was so relaxing to hear the waves crash at your feet.

Sunday we slept in, then decided to get busy seeing all that we could on the island. We were staying on the South Eastern side of the island, so we wanted to see the North Shore and all the beauty it had to offer. It was about an hours drive, and we stopped for breakfast about half way thru - I got the best Eggs Benedict I've ever tasted.

We finally arrived at our destination, where the road ends and the trail begins. The Na Pali coast isn't accessible to vehicles, so the only way to see its beauty is either by boat, helicopter, or foot - we chose the latter. It's a 2 mile hike into Hanakapi'ai Beach, and another 2 into the falls, but because of the rain that morning and the previous day, we decided against going any further into the rainforest from the beach due to flash flood warnings.

After our 4 mile hike, we stopped for another coconut. These coconuts are so young, they still have their big green husks around them, so it takes a big hack saw to get to the good part - it's a good thing she knew what she was doing!

On our drive back, we stopped at the Shrimp Shack for some lunch, then headed to a local meat market and picked up some teriyaki beef & side dishes for dinner. We made it back to our room in time to rest before getting cleaned up and heading to the beach to watch the sunset while BBQing dinner. It was by far the best teriyaki beef I've ever tasted, and lucky for us, a local told us how to make the marinade - We can't wait to try it at home!

Monday morning was finally Josh's favorite time. We got up before the sun and took the short drive to Nawiliwili Harbor to board our deep sea fishing charter, Breakaway Fishing. It was my first time fishing the ocean, so I had no clue what to expect. I have the tendency of getting motion sickness so I took some meds before the trip to help with that, they didn't completely work, so I had to keep my eye on land at all times, but I didn't turn colors either. We got to watch the sun rise, and pictures don't even come close to doing it justice, the sun was HUGE, deep red, and absolutely beautiful.

First we stopped to catch bait fish, I only hooked two, while Josh was bringing them in left & right. 

Then we took another half hour ride out to a buoy on the North East side of the island where the Yellowfin like to hangout. When it was finally my turn to give it a go, it took me a while, but when I finally hooked one, it sure put up a fight. I landed a 10 pound Yellowfin Tuna, twice the size of the fish everyone else had caught, needless to say I was excited!!!

Josh finally hooked onto a fighter too, but to no avail, his fish popped the hook and got away. Poor hubby!

We rode back and enjoyed the ocean spray before pulling back into the harbor.

After safely docked, Captain Jeff cut up our catch and passed it out so we could enjoy it for dinner that night. We were starving and couldn't wait for dinner, so we stopped at a place that had been recommended, which was near the harbor called "The Feral Pig" and to order their specialty, "The Feral Burger" - it is half Hawaiian grass-fed beef & half wild pig from on the island, topped with cheddar cheese, caramalized onion, fresh smoked pork belly, and spicy aioli, served with homemade pickles, IT WAS AMAZING! After stuffing ourselves, we stopped and picked up some fresh pineapple salsa and Hawaiian kettle chips to eat along with our catch for dinner. After relaxing that afternoon, we grilled at the beach again to watch the sunset behind the beautiful clouds.

Tuesday morning was finally the time we rescheduled to do our Zipline Safari. We start out at the base of the Puali, and kayak 2 1/2 miles up, passing beautiful rainforest, overgrown mangroves, and the Menehune Fish Pond. I loved hearing the stories of the ancient Hawaiians and all their mythical creatures & legends.

After getting out of the kayak at Kipu Ranch, we took a short hike to a swimming hole with a rope swing. The water was so cool and refreshing, but it was a necessity to be doused with bug spray again after getting out.

After swimming we took a ride on this beauty to our lunch spot. As we drove, our guides showed us all the famous movie spots and the mountain called "Sleeping Giant".

We finished up our lunch and prepped for our ziplines. After getting suited up, we had to walk a wooden rope bridge before attempting our first zip-line. The first one was 800 feet and was fun, but the second over doubled the length at 1800 feet, and was side by side, so Josh and I went at the same time - such an awesome experience!

The last leg of our journey brought us to the bamboo water hole & the final zip-line. While Josh decided to sit this one out, I jumped in over and over. After a full day of adventures, it was a refreshing and relaxing way to end the trip.

Since it was our last night in Kauai, we splurged once again on another fine dining experience. Located on our resort, we decided on Plantation Gardens. The grounds are lush and green, so we sat on the patio and enjoyed the view. While I, once again, chose seafood, Josh got the pork tenderloin - both were out of this world.

Our last morning in Kauai, we packed up our room, at breakfast at Joe's on the Green, then spent the remainder of our time on the beach. 

What a wonderful vacation, but we were ready to be back home to our babies - 6 days was long enough for us to be away when they're this young! It was so nice to spend time alone with Josh, it's so few and far between now, so we appreciate it even more when it happens. 

We were home just in time to celebrate Halloween, Dave Craig style. Now it's time to start planning our next alone vacay :)