The long awaited travel log from Kauai is finally here! My family went to Kauai last October for a family vacation. I had so many pictures that I wanted to share that it has taken me awhile to get it ready. Grab a nice warm drink, hurry and go to the restroom, and then sit and enjoy!
My parents and I flew
to Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. We had an
hour and a half layover in Los Angeles, CA. We spent the
layover in Delta’s Sky Room. While we were there, Joan and
Melissa Rivers came in. She gave me the
stare down, and, being the professional celebrity I am, I just ignored her. Just
before we left the Sky Room, Mom and I went to the restroom. We ended up in the restroom with Joan and her
assistant. When we were leaving, Mom was
holding the door open for me but Joan thought she was holding it for her and
told Mom, “You go on. I’m not ready to leave yet.” After we left the restroom, Mom said, “I
wasn’t holding the door open for her! I
was holding it for you!”
My brother Chris and Allen
picked us up at the airport. (They
flew in a few hours before us.) We drove
to the Banyon Harbor Resort where we had a two bedroom condo. I highly recommend this place if you are planning a vacation to Kauai. It is close to the beach, inexpensive, and has a full kitchen. Dad went to the Marriott across the street from our condo so he could
attend a work convention. (The work convention was the reason we chose Kauai.)
Chris, Allen, and I went grocery shopping for breakfast, lunch, and
snack items. We stopped at Taco Bell for
dinner. We knew how to eat right on vacation! We picked up Dad from his
convention. We all went to bed early
since we were exhausted from traveling. Who knew that sitting on a plane could take so much out of a person?! I was the lucky one who got the couch in the living room. Oh the joys of the single life never end! Don't be jealous! Our condo had a missionary map on one wall. Chris and I thought we were back in the MTC!
The next day, Dad went to
his convention during the morning. Mom, Chris, Allen, and I took the opportunity to take in some sights. Our first stop was Spouting Horn. It was a place where lava had grown out in
the bay so when the waves would come in, it would spray through the holes in
the lava. It was fun to watch.
Then we went to Poipu Beach. Mom, Chris,
and Allen snorkeled. (I don’t like
snorkeling.) I sat in the sun while I watched and read. I watched
some sea turtles as they lazily swam close to shore. As Chris was standing in the shallow water,
one of the sea turtles brushed by him.
On
our way back to the condo, we stopped at the Menehunes Ponds and passed a lot of sugar cane
fields.
Dad got done with his classes
early so he hung out with us the rest of the day. We drove to Wailua River. We rode the boat to the Fern Grotto. Once we got off the boat, we had to walk a
short distance to the Fern Grotto. The
Fern Grotto didn’t have a lot of ferns on it because of a recent
hurricane. We listened to a short
program of stories and songs. On our
boat ride back to where we started, we learned a hula.
We went to the Smith Family Luau that evening. We rode a tram that took us through a
botanical garden to the site of the luau.
We watched the imu ceremony which is where they unearthed the pig that
had been roasting for our eating pleasure.
We ate from the buffet. My
favorite was the sweet pulled pork! (I
ate more pork on this trip than I had in my whole life prior to it!) We watched the luau. They had great performers. My favorites were the fire dancers!
The next day, Dad went off to his
meetings while Mom, Chris,
Allen, and I did some more sightseeing. We drove to Wailua Falls. They were
amazing!
Then we drove to Opaekaa Falls. They were amazing but were a little further
away from us so they looked smaller but they probably weren't. It
was an optical illusion.
When Dad got done with his meetings, we drove to the
airport because we were going on a 70 minute chartered airplane ride around the
island of Kauai. (It was my Christmas present to my
family. Don't you wish you were part of my family?!) The company we flew on was
called Wings Over Kauai. They gave us a
great aerial tour of the island. I highly recommend them if you plan to do an aerial tour of Kauai. The office staff and pilot were very friendly. The pilot was very knowledgeable about the island. Mom got
the co-pilot seat in the front, Chris sat directly behind her, Allen was behind
him, I was behind Allen, and Dad sat next to me.
From the air, we saw the condo we were
staying at, Poipu Beach, the Cathedrals, Waimea Canyon, Hanalei, the highest
point on the island which was the wettest place on the Earth, and then back to
the airport in Lihue.
After our
airplane ride, we drove to the end of the road at Hanalei Beach. We saw exotic birds, a lighthouse, and explored a cave just off the road.
The next day, some of us attended church. At church, they gave all the visitors leis. Only in Hawaii can you get lei'ed at church.
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| Allen is rockin' the lei! |
All of us went to Waimea Canyon after church. We drove through Waimea Canyon and stopped and got out at a few look out points. The weather was a little cloudy and cold in
the canyon. At the
last stop, we were totally in the clouds.
Only Mom and I got out there. We
walked to the look out place and just saw white clouds everywhere. Who knows what was beneath all the
clouds?
We heard the restaurant next to
the museum in the canyon had excellent cornbread. We stopped to get a piece on our way down the
canyon. The restaurant had just closed
but they were willing to give Mom a piece of cornbread. It was delicious!
The next day, Dad went to
his convention. Mom, Chris, Allen, and I
ate breakfast at Ono Restaurant in Kapa’a.
The strawberry French toast I ordered tasted delicious! Mom and I took Chris and Allen to the airport
and they flew home. I promptly moved into their bedroom. No more couch sleeping for me! I walked the area
around our condo. There were shops, the
beach, and the Marriott hotel across the street. Mom and I laid out at the condo complex’s
pool all afternoon. We were the only
people there for a little while. Mom and Dad ditched me to have dinner at the convention so I had the condo all to myself! Woo hoo!
The following days were filled with morning trips to the beach so Mom could snorkel and I laid out while Dad was at meetings. Afternoons were filled with lazy lounging at the pool. I was invited to the convention’s
luau at the Marriott hotel. The luau was
on the beach in a secluded cove. It was a beautiful, starry
night. I ate delicious food and once
again indulged in the Kalua pork! The
luau was great!
Again, my favorite performer was the fire dancer. (I think you would have to be somewhat crazy
to dance with fire!)
Sadly, the time came for us to leave. We flew the red-eye flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, CA. I think I
got a little sleep but not nearly enough to function properly. I had the middle seat which was the worst
seat a person can have on the red-eye flight because I had nothing to lean
against. So not fun! We had a short layover in Los Angeles again. We got upgraded to first class from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. We all laid
back our seats and slept the entire flight!
Too bad we weren’t upgraded from Hawaii to LA! I honestly don't remember the flight from LA to Salt Lake. When I got home, I went right to bed and
slept for five and a half hours. I felt
a little better but went back to sleep a few hours later! Aloha! Mahalo, Kauai! See you soon!
