Once we made it to Hawaii all my stress magically disappeared. I forgot how beautiful it is there.
We were very limited as to what we could do because we had two children under the age of 2 with us. We didn't think they would be too thrilled with helicoptor rides or 4 hour boat tours. Plus, we had to revolve every day around their nap times. But it was great because we did get to relax A LOT.
What we did do a lot of, however, is eat. You won't see it in any of the pictures but we had some delicious food.
Day 1:
We got there pretty late (Utah time) so we just ate and went to bed.
Day 2:We woke up and went to the store, ate, napped, and then went to the pool. We stayed at a timeshare resort so you never know what you are going to get. But the pool was actually pretty nice! I didn't go in with very high expectations so I was very impressed.
Day 3:The day of driving! We started out the morning driving to the beach where South Pacific was filmed. I am not sure what the name of it is so we will call it the South Pacific Beach. The waves were huge and no one was really there so we just took a few pictures and left.
We wanted to see a lot of things that were all on the opposite side of the island from where we were staying. So we thought it would be a good idea to cram all of it into one day. It was not a good idea. We spent at least 4 hours in the car. The kids made it very clear to us that they were not very happy with us. But we saw some amazing places.
We first went to the a lighthouse but it was not open so we could not get very close. So once again we just took some pictures and headed on our way.
Next, we wanted to go see a waterfall that we had heard had a great lookout area. On our drive up to it we were turned away by a police officer who informed us that they were "performing operations" so it was closed to the public. So we turned around and headed for the next destination, Waimea Canyon Lookout.
We drove up a very long and narrow road to what looked like a scene from Southern Utah. It was ridiculous, but still beautiful.
I may be smiling but I was not very happy to be posing for this picture. I hate heights and this was way out of my comfort zone.
We didn't stay here very long because by this point the kids were almost at their limit and we still had one more place that we really wanted to go. The Na Pali Coast Lookout, which was about 20 minutes further up the canyon. It is a view of the Na Pali Coast which is only accessible from a boat. And since we couldn't take a boat tour, we decided that this would be the next best thing. Clint had read about it online and apparently they have filmed quite a few movie scenes there, including Jurassic Park, King Kong and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After driving all the way up there with 2 crying kids in the car, this is what we saw. We were very disappointed. But after a few minutes it started opening up to one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.
The pictures really do not do it justice.We then decided it was time to make the long journey home. We were not looking forward to it because the kids were hungry, tired and grumpy. This next picture sums it all up.
Day 4:The next morning we decided that we should probably spend some time swimming at the beach. We drove down the street to the St. Regis Hotel, which is where I will be staying next time I go to Kauai.
As Soph's Grandpa would say, "What starts in fun.......
Ends in tears." Apparently someone is not a huge fan of the sand.
Sophia spend most of the morning asleep
It wouldn't be a vacation for Clint if he didn't get to go golfing. And apparently Kauai has one of the top ten golf courses in the world. So Clint and Steve spent the afternoon golfing at Princeville Golf Course.
Meanwhile, Liv and I relaxed with the kids.
Day 5:Liv really wanted to go paddle boarding but the waves were really high. So we went down to a beach in Hanalei where they have a river connected to the ocean where you can paddle board and kayak.
Day 6:This was the only day we really got rained on so we didn't do a whole lot. We went to a beach that has a little cove so it is great for little kids but it was also good for snorkeling. Unfortunately, we didn't really do much of anything because of the rain. We drove around sightseeing and then ended up at Hanalei Bay. It was one of my favorite places on the island. It was beautiful so we stuck around to watch the sunset.
Day 7:
It was our second to last day so we decided we should get some more beach time in. We went back down to the beach at Hanalei because we had another day of our paddle board rental. Luckily, the waves weren't as high so we were able to take the paddle board out into the ocean. And when I say we, I mean everyone but me.
Liv paddle boarding
Still not a fan of the sand. She really is my child.
Clint paddle boarding
Day 8:We had to check out of our hotel at 11 am and our flight home wasn't until 8:30 that night. So we had to figure out what to do with our last day. We didn't want to go to the beach and get all sandy so we decided to do some more driving. We went up to the waterfall that we tried to go to on day 3. We had learned that the reason it was really closed was because a man from Seattle had drowned while swimming at the falls.
Next, we drove to a plantation that Liv heard about. We knew it would be a hit with Soren because they had a train. He loved it! It was actually a really cute place.
Soph and Soren on the train.
I thought this would make a cute photo. I forgot that Soph hates grass as much as she hates sand.We had such an amazing time. It reminded us that we need to take vacations more often!
