Kaua'i * Day 3 * 6.16.2010

Got up at 6:00am to get packed up and ready for our hike to Hanakapi'ai Falls! This was our first time to head up North of where we were staying and we really enjoyed the early morning drive. We fell in love with the Hanalei area....one of the first things we saw was a rainbow! A double one! And every time we went back up north, we always saw rainbows...so awesome! It's so lush and green there, simply gorgeous.




We drove clear to the end of the road, which ends at Ke'e Beach. It tends to be a busy place and we weren't sure we'd find a close parking spot. Not that it really mattered! We WERE getting ready to do an 8 mile hike, what's another mile?! The lot at the beach was full and we had turned around ready to head to the overflow lot when a car sped out of a spot right beside the bathrooms and directly across from the trailhead! Nice!

Here is a couple of the signs at the Kalalau Trailhead, telling about the hike we were getting ready to do. We hiked two miles on the Kalalau Trail to Hanakapi'ai Beach, then 2 miles back the Hanakapi'ai Valley Trail to the Falls. It's a very rugged trail and rather strenuous, but oh so worth it for the views!



All smiles and full of energy....ready to get our backsides kicked by the trail! (9:00am)

When I saw the trail ahead I was hoping it wouldn't be like that the whole way. It was worse...in a LOT of areas.....

A view back at Ke'e Beach

Rugged and yet lush...mountains above Ke'e Beach.

Our first view of the Na Pali Coast...amazing! We'd think we had a beautiful view, then we'd hike further and find another one and say, "Oh, that's even more beautiful!".

{whistle!} Nice view!

If you look close, you can see a Catamaran along the coast.

Straight down off the trail. Pretty much straight up on one side and straight down on the other. Beautiful water......

Check out that skyline! I couldn't get enough of the rugged and yet lush beauty. Our Creator is so....creative!!! Also, here is the 'easiest' section of trail...no rocks/roots but steep downhill and up on the way back...in the blazing sun. This section of trail can be very treacherous if it's rainy, though. Locals were RUNNING down the trail...BAREFOOT....with their boogie boards, heading to the beach! Now I know that this view doesn't make you cringe thinking of bare feet. However, most of the trail was rocky. We were glad for our hiking shoes and poles!

Hanakapi'ai Beach! Almost there! This picture...ahhh....the clouds, the mountain, the beach, the water, the coast line.....WOW!

Crossing the stream before the beach. The first of many times to cross this stream. (10:45am)

We sat under the shade on the lava rocks and rested. We sat there for about 30 minutes, enjoying the waves, the breeze, and some snacks. Our backs were drenched with sweat already. We took our packs off, hoping to dry out a little. I seriously thought my 'hydration bladder', which was holding my 2 litres of water, was leaking! Inspection revealed that it was indeed just sweat!


Getting ready to head up the Hanakapi'ai Valley Trail. (11:19am) Cool trees....we learned later they are called 'walking trees'. More about these on day 4.

A view up the valley. This 'flat' area is a helicopter landing pad for emergencies. The trail cuts to the right of this area and heads into the forest--you can see the trail sign by the trees on the right.

About a quarter mile in from the beach we came across several clumps of this HUGE bamboo! It was 3-5 inches in diameter and 40-50+ feet tall!

Lots of people had carved their names in it....we did too!

Our first view of the falls. You can't even see it all!


I wasn't sure on the height of the falls, but I found the following info at the World Waterfall Database...

Hanakapiai Falls is yet another tall, thin waterfall on Kauai's Na'pali Coast. We're aware of no official measurements, but it appears, based on topographic data, that the falls may top 1600 feet. The most commonly seen portion of the falls, the final tier, drops 410 feet. The upper portions of the falls are not visible from the ground."

Wow! All we knew is, it's a BIG falls!

This is the view from what we called the 'WOW Factor Spot'! We were tired, but happy! (1:00pm)

It was such relief to rest! The last half of the trail is pretty much climbing up and over boulders. We stopped for about an hour to swim, eat and take in the beauty around us. Our sweat-drenched shirts had a chance to dry out in the sun! Our shirts are merino wool. They supposedly wick sweat and keep you cool in the heat and warm in the cold...AND they won't stink! Hmmm, we certainly put them to the test, and they worked! More on this later :0)


One last 'good-bye' view on the way out. (2:40pm)

Another great little swimming hole.

Ahhh! Back out to the beach, our hike is 3/4 done! (4:00pm) By this point I was not feeling well. My body was saying 'enough!'. We rested for a half hour and ate some snacks before tackling the last 2 miles--mostly uphill--in the blazing sun.

Here, we are leaning into a VERY strong wind! Ke'e Beach is in sight! Just a few hundred feet back the trail I was pleading for God to send another breeze. I was completely wiped out, there was very little shade and every once in a great while we'd get a small, short breeze. It was all uphill climbing and I had to make a LOT of little stops. I was lightheaded, weak, and SO hot! The Father whispered in my heart to keep going, and when we reached this spot it was WINDY! We had to take out hats off or we would have lost them! Thank You, Lord, for answered prayers!

Back at the trailhead! (6:00pm) All smiles....and completely worn out! We met Chad and Rachel, pictured with us, on the way in to the falls...soon after we passed the bamboo. We crossed the stream without getting our feet wet...they did! They said they were gonna follow us after that because we had to zig-zag back and forth across the stream a lot! We enjoyed spending the rest of our day/hike with them. They were on their honeymoon and don't live too far from us! Sorry guys, for being such a wimp and needing so many breaks on the way out!

Cave by the road at Ke'e Beach.

We never got tired of the view!

Another rainbow in the evening! It was a double too!


We drove back a road heading inland, where several houses were nestled. Again, wouldn't it be a bummer to have to live there?!



When we arrived back at the Resort, it was nearly dark. We got dinner at a BBQ stand in the Coconut Marketplace there....Teriyaki beef kabobs for Eric, Broiled Mahi wrap for me....very yummy!

Then we got cleaned up and soothed our tired muscles in the spa. Oh my, did those water jets feel good! I about fell asleep in there!


Oh yeah, the shirts? We did the sniff test after sweating in them ALL DAY.....no odors! Definitely passed the test! Eric even wore his again the next day, just to see if it would get smelly!!! It didn't... So if you are in need of some great hiking/etc shirts we definitely recommend 'Icebreakers'!


And that concludes day 3 on Kaua'i!

11 years....

11 years ago...we stood before family and friends and said 'I DO'! It has been one amazing ride, this thing called marriage! I have been blessed with a WONDERFUL husband...he's just the best! NO, we're not perfect and our marriage isn't perfect either. But through the grace of our Father, HE is molding us and our marriage into something more beautiful every day! It breaks our hearts to see so many troubled marriages in the world around us. Marriage is sacred, it is not to be taken lightly, it is forever....and because we believe that with our whole hearts, we press through the tough times and come out closer and more in love than before.

Gen 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.


Happy Anniversary, Babe...I STILL DO!


Ho’ao Pule (Hawaiian Marriage Prayer)

E ka Haku, e kokua mai ia maua e ho’omana’o i ka manawa a maua i launa mua ai,
Lord, help us to remember the time we first met,

a me ke aloha nui i ulu ai ma waena o maua.
and the strong love that grew between us.

E kokua mai ia maua e ho’ohana i kela aloha i na mea ma’amau i ‘ole e ka’awale
Help us to apply that love in practical things so nothing divides us.


Ke nonoi ha’aha’a nei maua i na hua’olelo ‘olu’olu a piha me ke aloha,
We humbly ask for kind words filled with love,


a no na pu’uwai makaukau mau e noi i ka huikala, a e huikala aku.
and for hearts always ready to ask forgiveness, as well as to forgive.


E ka Haku, ke waiho nei maua i ko maua male’ana i loko o koa lima. ‘Amene.
Lord, we leave our marriage in your hands. Amen.

Kaua'i * Day 2 * 6.15.2010

One thing for sure...when you're operating on a 6 hour time change, you tend to wake up early! We walked to the shore and read by the ocean...until it started to rain. But rain there is not like rain here. It's more of a mist that lasts for a short time. We learned that there's really no need to run when it starts raining!

This is right out from the building our room was in...ahhh! Notice the layers of volcanic rock. It was interesting to watch the waves slowly eat away at the rock...there were areas along the shore where it was just sand and also areas you could see another 'shelf' out in the water a ways.


After returning to our room, we ate a little breakfast and headed down to the concierge desk around 8:00am to take advantage of some discounts on activities. We talked to her for awhile...planned a helicopter ride for that afternoon at 2pm. It had been recommended to us to do that in the early part of the trip to better acquaint ourselves with the layout of the island, and we're glad we did! We can now look back at some of the pictures we took and say, "Oh yeah, we were there!". We spent the rest of our morning trying to decide what other trips/activities we wanted to do. Then we left a little before noon to get lunch on the way to the airport.


Here we are after our 'orientation', waiting for our helicopter and pilot to come!
Me getting settled, buckled, and headphones on. Got front seats...yippee!!

Menehune Fish Pond and Hule'ia Stream...we drove by there on our last day.

Ha'upu Range--this mountain range is beautiful to drive along!

Manawaiopuna Falls...better know as 'Jurassic Falls' from the movie Jurassic Park.

'Double Falls', upstream from 'Jurassic Falls'

Waimea Canyon...the 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific'




Nu'alolo Kai on the Na Pali coast....we docked here on our Zodiac trip and snorkeled on the reef you see.

Rugged Na Pali Coast.
Here you can see some sea caves that we went into on our Zodiac trip. The one on the left is Open Ceiling Cave.

Honopu Beach and Arch--also saw from Zodiac.

Falls along the coast

Hanakapi'ai Beach....we hiked here on Day 3

View of Ke'e Beach, Tunnels Beach (and others) and Hanalei Bay--Yes, the water really is that beautiful!
The following pictures are in the Mt Wai'ale'ale Crater. The view is stunning! You'll have to look past the raindrops on the window....the mountain is always covered in clouds and is one of the wettest spots on earth with an average rainfall of over 426 inches--the record year being over 700in.! Our pilot told us, 'No rain, no waterfalls'...so, we were glad it was raining! It is a three-sided (one side of the crater collapsed, allowing helicopters access) wall of 3,000 foot waterfalls!!!! It was simply breathtaking! I had to remind myself to breathe and tried not to let the tears blur my view! Looking back through these still takes my breath away....and they don't even come close to capturing the vastness and the beauty! Our God is an AWESOME Creator!




This is a view of the start of the Wailua River going out of the crater.


Ear to ear smiles after our amazing ride!

Now HERE'S a story! This family below....well, on our flight from SFO, we sat by the gentleman (I don't remember their names, but the daughter was Olivia)! When we were checking in for our helicopter flight, I saw Olivia and I was SURE it was that family. Well sure enough and they ended up on the same helicopter as we did! So fun!

After our heli ride, we drove out Kuamo'o Road to an overlook to 'Opaeka'a Falls on one side and the Wailua River on the other.


Then we drove through some neighborhoods in the Wailua area...wouldn't it be a bummer if you had to live someplace like this?.....

We made a few other stops, then shopped at the Coconut Marketplace where I got some Keen sandals for our Kayak/Hike trip. Then we took a swim, sat in the spa, and swung in the hammock before bedtime--this soon became an evening 'routine'...(the spa and hammock part, not the shopping!)

Thus ends day 2 on Kaua'i.

Kaua'i * Day 1 * 6.14.2010

To start, I need to backtrack a little to the day before...Sunday, June 13, 2010.

We began our day as most any Sunday, getting ready for church. Afterward, we tried to leave as soon as possible, but that's always SO hard! We are thankful for friends and family who prayed with us, blessing our trip....

Once we arrived back home, we had about two hours to throw in the last few things, change clothes, etc and head to the airport. Our plane left about 5:30pm....short flight to our first stop....loooonnnnnggggg layover (3+ hours).......then flight to SFO, arriving around 11:30pm local time (2:30am home time!). Eric's parents picked us up and we went to the hotel they had reserved for us to stay in. It was about 1:30am (again, 4:30am body clock) til we went to sleep. A short 'nap'.....up at 5:00am to get ready, eat breakfast and catch the 7am shuttle to the airport.

As you can see here, no one was quite ready to get up! The kiddos slept sideways on the bed...such fun memories! Even baby Sophie came along....she looks wide awake though!



Soon, it was time to load up the kiddos in Gpa & Gma's Tahoe and say our good-bye's. They were SO excited! I won't lie....WE WERE TOO!!!



Our flight was scheduled to leave SFO at 9:27am. I was not necessarily looking forward to the 5 1/2 hour flight! Biggest bummer of the morning....I forgot to take my Leatherman Squirt out of my purse (I've actually taken it through security MANY times) and the snooty SFO security girl made me relinquish it. I was ticked, but I knew I had to let my frustrations go....I prayed God would help me with my attitude and soon I was able to move on with my day :0)

The long flight really wasn't that bad. We tried to get some sleep since we hardly got any the night before. On the plane they played a 'Halfway to Hawaii' game. We were given some info....such as the time we left, expected arrival time, headwind, speed, etc. and we were given forms to guess the exact time-down to the second!-we would hit the geographical halfway point! That took up some of the time, plus they showed two movies....but I just snoozed as much as possible. BTW, we were pretty close on our guesses for the game, but not close enough. They gave away a CD as the prize. We ended up buying one just like it anyway!

Here is our first view of Kaua'i! We arrived at noon (6pm body clock). Thank You, Lord, for a safe flight!


By then, we were completely running on adrenaline! All thoughts/feelings of tiredness--GONE! We made quick phone calls home to let family know we made it safe, got our luggage (and leis!) and headed to the car rental counter. Soon we were on the shuttle to the car lot where we picked out a Chevy Malibu....and away we went!


We drove to Kapa'a, where the Kauai Coast Resort is, to check in. Since it was only early afternoon, our room was not ready yet (which we totally expected), so we decided to try to find something to eat. Wahooo, was just up the road, and was recommended to us by some family members who spend about a month every year on Kaua'i. It became our favorite spot to eat, but it may just be because it was the FIRST place we ate! I dunno, though, the food was incredible! Oh, and the atmosphere...ahhh....such calming, relaxing Hawaiian music filled the air as we sat on the lanai in the warm sun and island breeze.....{sigh}


Eric ordered the BEACH BOY CHEESEBURGER--Choice ground sirloin with cheddar cheese, grilled Maui onions and mushrooms, served with steak fries. I had a very scrumptious TERIYAKI GRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH--Seasoned chicken breast topped with grilled pineapple, served on a sesame bun with wasabi mayonnaise and steak fries. Ooo la la!


After enjoying our first delicious meal on the island, we headed to Safeway to get some groceries. It was hard to buy for 2 people when I'm used to buying for 5! We got a few breakfast items, fruit, stuff to make fresh salsa, some drinks, champagne, etc. Hmm, a few small bags...cost as much as a weeks worth of groceries at home! Oh well, we were prepared for that :0)

Eric's phone rang, indicating that our room was ready, so we went back to the resort to put our groceries in the fridge. Here is the view from our lanai....pure beauty.....God's wonderful creation! I didn't take pictures of our room until the last day--dumb on my part, cause then it was messy--so I'll post them when I get to that day!


After getting things a little settled in our condo, we left quick, trying to make it to Kauai Fruit and Flower Co. aka 'The Pineapple Store'. We had no idea what time they closed and didn't look at the sign when we pulled in. Had I not gotten so enamored with the humongous plumeria trees...and taking pictures of them...and smelling them...we would have made it inside before they closed!


We felt like we knew the owner of the store, even though we'd never met him. My brother and his wife met him on their trip to Kaua'i 7 years ago. We've heard so much about Chucky Boy Chock and have listened to his music for several years. He is a neat brother-in-Christ....who just exudes joy and smiles! He is a pastor, singer/songwriter, and so much more. He is a very busy man, so we had to stop back in several times to try to meet him!

We left there after 'drooling' over the flowers and drove to Lihue...stopped at the mall, got Starbucks, then headed to Wailua Falls. You can drive right up to a lookout...no hiking required! So beautiful!


We returned to the Resort and walked around the Coconut Marketplace which is right there on the grounds. It's just an bunch of little shops/places to eat all in an outdoor mall type building. We shopped til they closed at 8pm, then walked over to the pool area. It was dark by then, and the tiki torches were lit...ahhh! We sat there, soaking up the ambiance--crashing waves, waterfall at the pool, crickets/frogs?, brilliant stars, crescent moon, swaying palm trees, gentle breeze....and oh, yes, the occasional rooster crow! Then we returned to our room for showers, champagne and sleeeeep....

Thus ends our first day on Kaua'i.