Kauai South Shore Wiamea Canyon

 DAY 4

This day we road tripped to Wiamea Canyon. 

We stocked up on supplies at a little market, filled my hydroflask with ice and diet coke that stayed icy all day, ignored the guy walking down the street yelling and cracking a literal whip, bought wafer cookies and wipes for when nature would inevitably call in the wilderness.

PS we never buy wafer cookies unless we are on vacation with the Blacks.  

Onward we drove to the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". 

We hiked Canyon Trail to the top of Waipo'o Falls. 

You can see the full view of these falls from a helicopter, but not so much from the trail, because you are standing on top of them. You have to really lean out dangerously while gripping a tree trunk to see them. But there were little falls to dip your feet into and beauty all around.

We were sitting here having a lovely time when my phone alarm reminded me to check in for tomorrow's flight. boo waaa boo hoo. 

We hiked back to the car and continued up the mountain to a few more overlooks, and then to the very top where the road said "that's about as fer as you can go". So we got out and hiked along the Pihea Trail. 

I didn't realize we were going to be able to see the Napal'i Coast cliffs from here! It made me so happy. 

It is a ridge line around a bowl of beautiful. 

Joe sprained his ankle here. Good thing we were on our last hike of the trip. 

We made our way back down the mountain and over to Polihale State Park,

which is super remote, miles of beach, dirt road, four wheel drive only, road that led to an amazing beach.

 

For some reason I get very clinched and angry when four wheeling or doing any kind of rough driving. I imagined us being stranded out there with a broken car and no water and lots of desert heat. Or stuck in the sand and never ever recovering, and turning into skeletons.

But guess what? It was fine. None of those catastrophic things happened.

Instead there was the most amazing waves and sand and water to swim in. 

You can tell we are at the end of our vacation because this is the only picture I have of this fun place.

I haven't swam in ocean waves (the kind that puts you through the washer machine) in so long. 

It was such a blast and different that our usual snorkel water. 

On the travel day to Kauai, Jim was flying stand by, and the flight me and Joe and Lisa took was looking full. He opted to go super early in the morning that Wednesday, and beat us to Hawaii by 7 hours. 

During that time he got the rental car and checked into the house and stocked the fridge with drinks and had it all ready for us when we got there. 

The rental car took him one and a half hours because they were so busy and they couldn't find his car. So as a reward for his patience, they gave him this Jeep for the week. It was perfect. Except why does the back door of the jeep have to be so small with protruding notches everywhere to snag my hips? I got so many bruises getting in and out of that thing. 

We made it there and back on the sandiest beach and bumpiest dirt road without any problem, and I insisted we get some Jo Jo's on our way back to Poipu...and guess what, they were closed because of an ICE SHORTAGE.

That sounds fake to me. 

Oh! This day was Father's Day too. Happy Father's day guys. Darn we didn't get a dad and kids picture.

We stopped off at the "guy cracking the whip" market and got some weird treats as souvenirs for the kids (including these whistle candies). Did you know Lisa and Avery and my mom can't whistle? But they can if they have these candies. It's not an annoying noise at alllll. 

We got cleaned up and went looking for some food. We had a heck of a time finding open places or places that weren't packed full of dads getting their Father's Day meal. 

We landed on Brick Oven Pizza and waited a million hours to get a table. Then a million more to get a pizza in my mouth. 

We played the "name the artist to this song" game while waiting. The songs were all one hit wonders from the late 80s though, so it was very hard. Jim won by a lot. 

Back at the house for our last night in paradise, we laid on our lawn chairs and listened to 90 rap music, courtesy of the party right directly outside our house, cars parked in the street, dancing in their headlights, music so loud. It was fun to be prairie dogs to their party, until the cops came and said they couldn't be hanging out half in half out of the street with music that loud. 

It was an awesome day to end the most perfect vacation. I just loved it so so much. 

To The Heart of Kauai

 DAY 3

Man, the post vacation blues are so tough on me sometimes. But especially this time. I miss being with Jim all day doing whatever fun thing we felt like doing. 

This day we again woke with the roosters and went to check out Hanalei Bay. The views from this beach are amazing. This is one of the more popular beaches on this side. 

We stood under the covered dock while it misted rain down all around us. 

So beautiful. 

Good morning faces. 

We wandered over to where a freshwater stream flows into the ocean. 

Jim and Joe swam around while me and Lisa talked with the guy (in red behind us!).

He said he was going to pretend he was with us because his buddy and gal were going to walk up to this beach and he was going to photograph their surprise proposal. 

He said to watch for a man with a green shirt on and his gal with a white dress on. 

We saw them coming! But also Jim was walking towards us at the same time right where the rose petals were! He was almost in the way of the shot!

haha

But he veered out of the way just in time, and the proposal went well. We watched and clapped, and they took pictures over there for hours. 

 

Then this guy needed help pushing his boat upstream through the silt, so Jim and Joe jumped to the rescue. 

We stood and talked with the guy in the white shirt about what it's like living in Kauai. 

It's so interesting to hear about what it was like during covid for them, and if its hard to live on an island. 

He said all the locals have like two things they say over and over "how's the surf? got any weed?"

So talking with tourists is fun and exciting and a way to "get off the island". 

We had Greg take a picture of us with that beautiful backdrop, then we boogied home to pack and clean and check out of our Princeville house. 

Since we had our boat tour cancelled, Jim booked us a helicopter tour.

I was so nervous, but of course I shouldn't have been. 

Look at my nervous face. 

It was ammmmazzing. We loved it so much. 

There are so many incredible things to see that you cannot see any other way (legally). 

I had a death grip on Jim's thigh for about 30 minutes until I settled down and realized it was all going to be ok. 

There's John, our pilot. He was a fantastic tour guide. 

He said the weather was perfect (a little rainy and a little sunny) because the waterfalls would be "rockin" and there's a better chance for rainbows. 

Pictures are garbage compared to being in there, seeing it all. 

That's the Jurassic Park waterfall.

Napali Coast

Then John said "here is the best part. we are going to the heart of Kauai. It's a sacred place to the Hawaiians."

He said he can't always get into it because the weather is usually unsafe, but we were able to go in and see the millions of waterfalls, all around. I about died it was so amazing. 

The full cul de sac of cliffs was pouring with waterfalls. 

Gosh it was so great. 

Unfortunatly both Barbera and Lisa were sick by now, puking in their comfort sacks. 

Darn it. 

We had planned to go see Wailua Falls, but decided to head over to our new house on the south side and settle in.

On the drive to our new house we ate some Bubba's Burger (get the double bubba and the sushi smothered fries).

Our south side house was also so perfect. The back door led to a pool, ledge, street, the ocean. 

We went to explore the beach around here, and realized this side of the island has many more tourists. The resorts are over here, so there is definitely a different vibe. 

The beach we landed on was full full full of people, on the sand, in the water. 

We snorkeled around for a while, laid in the sand for a while, then got super hungry.

We ate at Kalypso Joe's after getting stood up by the fancy restaurant,

checked out the Spouting Horn,

laid on lawn chairs, watching the stars. 

And jumped in the pool. 

Kauai North Shore Chickens and Turtles

 DAY 2

We were supposed to wake early and head out to a boat tour, but instead we woke to an email saying it was cancelled due to rough seas. So suddenly we had the whole day to choose our own adventure. 

On the flight to Lihue, I sat next to a guy who was born and raised in Kauai. He told me of some good places to go that aren't well known and not so crowded. He also didn't have a ton of food recommendations because "I know most of the people who own the restaurants and I don't trust them." haha ok.

Anyway, we decided to start our adventure at SeaLodge Beach.

You go into the apartment/housing, and park at the visitor spot, then take the trail down to the beach. 
"no one will be there. you will see turtles. that's where I spear fish for lobster".

It was an awesome beach. Mostly empty. 

it was low tide, so a lot of the coral was exposed.

We were able to walk on the coral all the way out to where the trenches are. Under all that dull looking coral is a magical world of fish - big, little, colorful - it's like swimming in an aquarium.

Then I spotted a turtle! We swam around with it for a while until it met up with its buddy turtle and they hopped the surf wall and were gone. It was my first time swimming with the turtles. 

As I was swim/float/flying along the reef, I realized this awesome feeling I was feeling was "no time limits".

Usually when we are snorkeling in Hawaii, there is a pull in the back of my mind, reminding me I need to get back to the shore to check in with the kids or swap turns with Jim. 

But this time I swam and swam until I got cold or wanted to take a break on the warm sand. 

The tide started to come in, and we thought it would be better out there with higher waters, but it actually made the conditions more tricky. At times you had to brace yourselves from the waves by holding onto the reef, which causes all kinds of micro cuts on your hands and legs. 

I also slipped and fell on some rocks and caught myself with my arm, so the rest of the week my right shoulder was so sore - all little reminders of adventuring. 

There are one billion million chickens and roosters all over the place. Joe caught one and brought it over to us to say hi. 

This sand was big sticky grains that looked like art stuck to the skin. 

I love that all four of us have about the same longevity meters when it comes to hanging out at a beach. About two hours and we are ready to go find another adventure. 

We went home and had a little siesta, showered up, and ate lunch at Chicken in a Barrel. 

On Google Maps we noticed that there is an obscure beach on the North Shore called Larsen's Beach! 

So of course we had to go check it out. 

As we were driving there, Jim mentioned as we passed a big gated property, "that's probably where Mark Zuckerburg lives". 

We would come to find out that yes indeed we were on Zuckerburg property. I didn't even know he lived here, but through the rest of our stay we would talk to a man who works for him, and I saw a map that shows his property line, which includes Larsen Beach. 

Also Larsen's Beach is a nude beach. There were only about four other people there on the whole stretch of sand, and two of them were nakey. haha.

We didn't really know what to expect with this beach, but it was amazing. Something cool around every bend. 

We started out trying to snorkel. The surf was a bit rough. 

I was still on the sand adjusting my mask. Jim and Joe were submerged in the water. I looked and saw a "shark fin" sticking out of the water, and Jim about a yard away, swimming right at it! 

I yelled "JIM! JIM!"

He stood up and yelled to us "STING RAY!"

It was so so big! They followed after it for a while, until it met up with another ray and they slipped away into the ocean. 

We researched it, and it was most likely a manta ray and totally rare to see in the wild!

I think because the beach is so secluded and the sun was setting - it was perfect conditions. 

We decided the surf was too rough to snorkel, so we walked along the sand to see where the beach goes. 

We came up some monk seals. They are so cute - faces like dogs.

They are endangered, so there was signs up letting us know to avoid them and the mother nursing its baby:

We came upon so many turtles crawled up on the sand, resting. 

We saw maybe 6 different turtles. 

This guy got a bite taken out of him. Look at that perfect bite mark!

We walked along until the end of the sand to where rocks obscured any further advancement. 

I sang "that's about as fer as we can go..."

Do you know where that song is from? 

I told Jim I would give him a million dollars if he guessed right. He didn't.

It's from Oklahoma, and there were many more times I sang that song in the next few days when we would run into dead ends. 

We walked back through the sand to where we came from. It was a long slog through that beautiful sand. Me and Lisa walked in Jim's footsteps for a while because it was easier walk in sand already pushed down. 

The next day my calves were so sore. 

We ended the night with Jo Jo's Shave Ice for dinner of course, 

then we hit the hot tub to soak our sore bodies. 

In the hot tub all our micro cuts from the reef were stung and cleansed.