Aloha! We returned from our trip to Hawaii a couple of days ago. We spent our time on the island of Kaua'i, which we now consider the most beautiful place in the world! It took no time at all the get used to the relaxed atmosphere, including the fun island music that we blasted on the car radio every time we went somewhere!
Two Fridays ago, Aaron and I left our precious girls sleeping at Grandma'’s house while we set off on our adventure to the "Garden Island." It was so hard to say g
ood-bye to them knowing that it would be a week before I saw them again. But knowing they were in good hands, we were excited to have this time to ourselves! We met my sister Tausha, my brothers Trenton and Jeremy, and sister-in-law Miriam in Kaua'’i. They arrived not long before we did. We had a lot of fun spending time with them as well as doing things with just the two of us.
Although it was relaxing to be there without the kids, it meant that we were doing something almost every minute! There was so much to do and there was nothing holding us back so we went for it! We did a lot of sno
rkeling. One of the best snorkeling beaches in Kaua'’i was literally steps away from our patio. Pretty much anytime we spent at the beach we were in the water either snorkeling, swimming, or surfing (Aaron.) I felt like a little kid…never holding still!
We did a magnificent hike that went up and down mountains along the “Na Pali Coast” (one side of the island is only reachable by boat, air or foot…no roads.) It was absolutely gorgeous to see this unspoiled scenery: luscious greenery, waterfalls, steep cliffs, and beautiful beaches.
We spent another day kayaking up the Wailua River, then hiking a fe
w more miles to the Wailua Falls. As soon as we got there we plunged into a pool of water under this amazing waterfall. The pressure from the falls was so strong that I couldn'’t even open my eyes as I swam under or behind them (for fear that my contacts would pop out.)
Aaron and I also spent a morning touring the island by helicopter! This was truly a once in a
life-time opportunity! If I was ever to go in a helicopter I wanted it to be over somewhere beautiful like Hawaii. It was a little bit frightening when the pilot went down in canyons or soared close to the cliffs near the ocean, but mostly it was just breath-taking to see everything from such an amazing vantage point. Wow…that'’s about all I can say about that!
We got to see the Na pali coast by boat as well. We took about a four hour zodiac raft trip in the ocean. It was so much fun to ride along the waves as high speeds. I think we got up to about 40 mph. We got to see some sea caves up close, although we couldn't go inside them because the waves were too choppy. We took a break in the middle to swim in the middle of the ocean. It was a cool feeling (although I did worry about sharks.) That evening Aaron and I attend a luau. It was a really fun experience.
Our last day was spent doing a little more snorkeling before we had
to check out. We took the rest of the day pretty easy as we drove up Waimea canyon, stopping often to see the awesome views. It reminded me of a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. We actually sat on a beach that day (instead of playing hard in the ocean!) Later we caught our plane at 9:30 p.m (Hawaiian time…12:30 Pacific Time) and arrived in San Francisco Sunday morning at 5 a.m. You can imagine we were quite tired!
Now we are home, and even though we had a blast, we are so happy to home with our sweet girls. I appreciate them more them ever!
Me, Tausha, and Miriam from our patio
