Dinner Out

We asked a few people where the best fish and chips could be ordered. The overwhelming response was this little place.

Here Jason is waiting for our food.
Here I am waiting for our food.
We were both so happy with our meal. I had fish and chips, Mahi Mahi. The best I have ever had. Jason had fish tacos.
A perfect end to a perfect day.

All Day on the Beach

We left our room around nine thirty and did not leave the beach until four. It was a beautiful day. This is Tunnels beach and famous for snorkeling. We spent a good amount of time in the water looking at fish. I really wanted to see a turtle, but had no luck until we were almost ready to leave. The couple next to us told us to walk down the beach where they had sighted a few smaller turtles.

Sure enough, there were turtles. I can't believe I got to swim with a turtle. As we were getting out of the water further down the beach, Jason realized we had dropped a snorkel. He went back in the water and right there, there was another turtle. The water was only four feet deep and he was huge. We got to watch him eat and come up for air. Amazing end to a perfect day spent on the beach.
This beach is also famous for Bethany Hamilton, the young surfer who had her arm bitten off by a tiger shark.
Jason hunkered down for the day with his book in the shade.

Blown away at the BEAUTY....

We tried a new shave ice today, The Wishing Well. Not as good as Jo Jo's but still good. Love the macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom! This place has been making shave ice for a long time- notice the sign in the upper right--- and the lady making ours asked if we were honeymooning!

This is the hike we took down to the beach right by our hotel. A steep hike down and a workout on the way up.
The pool at the resort is not exempt from the chickens!! I was not feeding this rooster, but was faking for the photo.
This sunset was amazing.
So fun to think yesterday we kayaked around that point!

Kayaking Trip

Yesterday we got up at five and were on the road to our kayaking trip. It was amazing, breathtaking, HARD and so much fun. We kayaked seventeen miles along the Na Pali coast which can only be accessed by ocean or hiking trail. We launched out to sea and right off saw dolphins. The seas were pretty bumpy for the first half. A few hours in, I felt my seasick medication wearing off. So so so glad I brought it with me. I was sick for about thirty minutes, no puking but just SO queasy. Our guide told us he has had people curled up in a fetal position in the front of the double kayak. Once you are out to sea there is no turning back. Our guides took us into two caves, I swam in one of them. At one point we stopped for a swim, and there were Portuguese man of war jelly fish in the water. They had a little bubble floating on the top of the water and long brilliant blue threadlike tentacles, I was back in the boat so fast! No one got stung. Later in the day there were two sea turtles and a beached monk seal. We hiked back to a waterfall at lunch. The last part of the journey was not as difficult. The current and the wind pushed us to the end of our journey. We were tired and sore by the end, but it was the experience of a lifetime. We took a disposable camera, but the photos will probably not be great. You can link to this website to see the amazing company we went with. They have beautiful photos posted. http://www.napalikayak.com/

The Lighthouse

We spent the morning watching the waves and reading. Jason didn't put sunscreen on his chest and got pretty burned. We bought good food: brie, apples, rice chips, salami etc.

This beach has a reef so large you can see it from space. The snorkeling is some of the best in Hawaii. The ocean was too rough again today to go in so we just watched the ocean and read our books.
We went to visit the lighthouse. It's lens was shipped over from France and is the largest of it's kind.
This little isle is right off the shore of the lighthouse. One of the keepers of the lighthouse had two sons. One would swim to the island with a rope in his teeth, anchored to the other side. They would then drop shark bait into the sea and watch them swarm. The other would swim back to the main isle when it appeared all clear.
Winston, here is the car.

The End of the road

We drove to the end of the North Shore today. We swam and snorkeled, the water was pretty rough so we didn't see much as far as fish because the visibility was so bad. It was a great beach with lots of shade.

Some where back in those mountains is where they filmed Jurassic Park.
Another view from the beach. As I was taking this photo, hen and her five chicks were trying to get into my bag. It is so odd to see chickens on the beach.
A valley we stopped to look at on the way home. Jason is on the phone with Nora.
Another shot of the valley.

A Room with a View

This is the view towards the mountain. The golf course is being worked on.

This is the view from our room. We can hear the ocean and the roosters!

Beckie and John had this chocolate and fruit plate delivered to our room, it was delicious.
We had crab for dinner.
This is the beach that is just a short walk from our resort. It is a steep hike through a tropical trail.
A chef at the resort was showing how to filet a fish. It was caught fresh this morning. Some in the crowd said they would eat it as sushi.

More from day two...

We drove along the south shore and had great shaved ice. So so yummy! Macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom, shaved ice with mango and passion fruit flavor topped with coconut milk.

We ate dinner under this tree and just watched the ocean.

Signs of Hawaii...

Day Two...

We took a hike, a short hike because the trail was so narrow and steep. We both got a little freaked out about how high we were. It was beautiful.

We drove way back on this dirt road and no one was around, we were just going to leave but then came across someone who said there was a trail at the end of the road. We decided to find it and hike for a bit. When it leveled out there was a cave cut into the rock. There were markings on the rock beside the cave.
Jason pointing out the markings...
We both walked part way in, but stopped after it turned a corner and got way too dark. On our drive out we met a homeowner who told us it is part of an irrigation system. Tunnels that run through the mountains to bring water to the dry parts of the island. We saw a tent and covering back in the forest... could it be home to someone or just a hideout for some kids?
There was a little door on the side of a huge rock wall. Wonder what is kept in there...

Our Anniversary Trip!

We have been married fifteen years!! To celebrate, we are in Kauai. Jason attempted his first sudoku puzzle on the flight over...

We stayed at the Sheraton right on the beach for the first two nights. I was greeted upon our arrival with my very first fresh lei. This was our view from the room, garden side.
We went out to watch the sunset.
Sunset is Jason's favorite time to be on the beach. We are going to try to watch every sunset.
A little burger joint called BUBBA's. Cheap food.
Our first two days were filled with snorkeling, yoga on the beach, a run along the coast (only me, as Jason thinks running is stupid), breakfast buffet for Jason, reading and lots of sleep!

Adventures in the Kitchen

Jason made dinner. He likes to warm his tortilla chips up under the broiler. Next time he needs to watch them a little closer!

The boys thought this was pretty cool.
Another year of the all day three rounds of golf! Jason, Aaron, Caleb and Shane. See ya next year!

Life

Hanging out in the kitchen!

Nora, kind of by accident, started to collect stuffed hippos! These are her three biggest.
Benjamin's friend Ryan loves our guinea pig. He also LOVES frozen strawberries which he enjoys to the fullest (you can tell by the smeared strawberry on his face).
Seven kids, one stuffed hippo, one guinea pig all crowded around the computer. Oh the age of technology.