Aloha Hawaii!

I've regretted not blogging our past two European adventures, so I figured I would start blogging our Hawaiian adventure immediately. As I've said before, Joe & I were originally planning a camping trip, most likely to New Mexico and Colorado, as a way to get some last minute vacation time in before school begins. Thanks to my foot surgery & inability to do much hiking, we eventually decided to splurge and head to Hawaii. It wasn't a destination either of us were dying to go to, but one we wanted to eventually go to and we figured we might as well go now.

Within 4 days of booking our trip, we were headed to Kauai. Yay for last minute planning! Armed with 2 guidebooks from Jon & Leslie, we tried to pack as much into the trip as possible. I believe we were quite successful. I'll touch on some highlights.

Saturday we drove to the northwest part of the Island for a bit of hiking. Did I say I couldn't hike because of my foot? Well, somehow I decided that didn't apply in Hawaii. :) Anyway, we opted for the 2 mile out & back trip to Hanakapiai via the Na Pali Coast line. It was a bit of a difficult hike, I admit, but well worth it. It took us about about 90 minutes to get to the beach thanks to the rocks, switchbacks, slippery trails, and the fact that I'm out of shape.  But look - the trails are kinda tough, see?

Of course had to stop to check out the view a number of times. (read: catch our breath!) It was gorgeous from the getgo, and just kept getting more and more beautiful.

Yay! We made it a mile!! (I could have sworn it was 2 or 3 miles by this point.)

Then we made it to Hanakapiai. We crossed a stream, navigated over rocks, and then... beach!!! I was so happy. This hike was reminding me of the hikes I did when I spent six weeks in Israel many years ago, and as much as I claim the Austin greenbelt is cool - it has nothing on this.

Hi beach! Why, you'd like us to come rest at the bottom of the cliffs for awhile? Well, if you insist!

We hung out on the beach for about 20 minutes, exploring the caves and watching the waves. We could have ventured out another 2 miles to go see a waterfall, but we opted to head back. Honestly, it was the right decision because my body was not cooperating by the last half mile and I was turning into a grumpy foot monster. At one point, I just stopped until Joe turned around and I asked "What do I do!?" He responded, not surprisingly, "Move your foot to the next step." I wasn't going to live that one down!

After cleaning up a bit, we headed into the town of Hanalei for some recovery. Mmmm, Kona Brewery Fire Rock.

We then tried to find some beaches to explore, but we were not having much luck finding either the beaches or the parking, so we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way we passed this lookout point below. Not too shabby, huh?

Then I pulled the second of my daily embarrassing stunts. I turned back from the view and tried to get back into our car. As I was halfway in, Joe called out to me that I was getting in the wrong car. The family whose car I had invited myself into just stood there and looked at me. Awesome. I guess someone's gotta be the embarrassing one - might as well be me!

Anyway, just in case I don't get around to blogging the rest of my trip, here's how it went down:
Saturday: Na Pali Coast hiking
Sunday: Drive south to Poipu Beaches.
Monday: Raft & Snorkel the Na Pali Coast, drive around Waimea Canyon
Tuesday: Helicopter tour of Kauai, more beach time at Poipu
Wednesday: Zip N' Dip at Princeville Ranch, happy hour in Hanalei, and a hike to Queen's Bath
Thursday: Fly to Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor. (Far and away the best part of the trip.)
Friday: Deep Sea Fishing (or, as I shall forever remember it, "How much can I throw up into this bucket and pretend to be invisible while the rest of the boat has fun?") & a Luau
Saturday: Breakfast in Kaapa, hang out by the harbor, fly back home

It was a whirlwind trip, and I believe Joe & I both have fulfilled our Hawaiian vacation quota, and me my fruity drink quota! I think Kauai was definitely the best island for us.

Now onward to the next chapter!