Kauai, Hawaii

Our view from our hotel

About a year ago, a friend of mine asked if we wanted to take a couple's trip to Kauai.  We decided we'd go.  Things have been so crazy and out of control since school started that as the trip got closer, I felt like we shouldn't take the time to go.  But, we had already made the commitments and didn't want to bail, so we went.  I couldn't be happier that we went.  Bo and I had such a great time together and with our friends.  We got to see so much.

Kauai felt so much smaller than Oahu, and there weren't many beaches for swimming, so it felt like a much different place.  We went on some gorgeous hikes and saw many turtles and some other sea life.

Be ready for a picture overload:

Day 1:  We snorkeled and swam at Anini beach and then drove and saw some pretty spots.  I didn't get any pics at the first beach.

This pic definitely didn't do justice.

 Day 2:  We took a boat ride up the Napali Coast.  It was so majestic and beautiful.  It's hard to explain the beauty of this area, and the boat ride was so worth it.  It was probably my favorite thing we did.  Here are some pics.

 Day 3:  We took a hike with the whole group.  It was gorgeous, and we saw some magnificent waterfalls.

 After the hike, we went on a golf cart ride.  It ended up being kind of silly.  We just drove around a golf cart.  But the view at the end was so amazing.  It was worth it.  But, I wondered if I was going to freeze to death.  It got frigid!

Albatross

 Day 4 and 5: Waimea Canyon

The other favorite.  We spent two days here.  It was rainy the first day, so we didn't get to do what we wanted.  So, we went back.  Day one, we got some great pics in the canyon.  The second day we took a fantastic 7-mile hike.  It was way easy going in.  Mostly downhill, so the way out was killer.  Mostly uphill.  It was rough.  But, totally worth it!

 After we left the canyon the first day, we took a hike along the coast.  It was mostly cliffs.  It was beautiful with tons of sea life.

 Back to Waimea Canyon.  Here is the view at the end of the hike.  These are the cliffs that we saw from the Napali Coast boat ride.  It was crazy to see it from both views.  It was very high and steep, though.  Very out of my comfort zone, but it was good to make me stretch.

This was our view as we ate lunch.

 After our hike, we drove out to another cliff.  This is on the dry side, so not very green but still a gorgeous spot.

 The day ended with an ocean sunset.

Thanks so much for a great trip.  Thanks so much to my parents for watching our kids AGAIN so we could get away!  It was so nice to escape the craze for a while and just enjoy a beautiful spot in this world.