Kauai 2019

Kauai was beautiful, wild and remote, at least to me. I love the vivid greens and foliage. If there was ever any doubt that Kauai is our favorite island, that doubt was erased this past week! We felt very relaxed, pretty much the second we landed. It's just so low-key, with the chickens running around and lack of any real freeways or big towns.

Great Beavs plane!

First gecko spotting at Kauai airport

Nice view from our lanai

Condo was perfect. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms! It was one of the best airbnbs we've stayed in. It seriously had everything we needed (laundry machine, great view, so many bedrooms and bathrooms, nice TV's - haha - huge kitchen with everything we needed). It even had a Brita and Vitamix and beverage refrigerator. 

Lee Turkey Trot. A grand total of .7 pavement-pounding miles.

Merriman's for Thanksgiving Dinner! We ate at 3pm. It was great. We made a lot of our own food throughout the week (Costco food - fried rice bowls, ramen, bagels, veggies, burritos, eggs). The restaurants we tried were: Paco's Taco's (close to our condo - it was decent and was fun to see frogs on the walk back over the golf course in the dark), Kiawe roots (pretty decent food but kinda salty), Anuenue cafe for breakfast (good)

Poipu Beach. Because who doesn't want a photo in a bikini on Thanksgiving Day. ha!

Very nice older Swiss gentleman asked if we wanted our family photo taken.

He can do that tongue thing with the rivets. I can't.

Same lookout above Waimea Canyon that I love

He was so scared of the heights. He wanted to venture a toe out toward the edge but only when safely tethered to somebody.

2012, 2017, 2019

2012, 2017, 2019.

2012, 2017, 2019

American Ninja Warrior course. Olin kept yelling "I can't spread my legs any wider!"

Waimea Canyon

Uncle's in Kukui'ula Shopping Village for shave snow. I thought it was ok, but people seem to really like it. The haupia snowcap (cream topping) was a must.

Hawaiian cousins reunited in Honolulu for the day. Joshua (13), Caleb (11), Elizabeth (8)

We flew over for the day because Haraboji asked if we might get a family photo together.

The "Spitting Cave" about 1-2 blocks from their home. 

They use their dining room table as a ping pong table. Uncle Sung saw how much our kids liked it and ordered the net and paddle set for our house too.

More Spitting Cave area

Caught H & H playing Trouble by themselves on the floor. I think Haraboji won. Halmoni is VERY competitive in everything, including ping pong. She does not know what taking it easy on the kids means. hahahah.

Photo session set-up. This is their house view. So pretty.

Acai bowl and various vegan-like raw products at this grocery store/juice stand in Poipu. My açaí bowl was ok, but Dae's was better. His was more traditional.

Favorite tree-lined road.

Stumbled upon this beach (Donkey Beach/Paliku Beach) on our way up North when there was too much traffic so we just stopped. It was very pretty and pretty much deserted when we arrived. We liked standing on that ledge and sometimes the waves got so big they went over the ledge! 

Sunset Dinner Cruise on Captain Andy's adventures! Weather was too windy for them to do the traditional path up to Na Pali  coastline so we sailed around the Poipu area. This pod of dolphins stayed close for quite some time and even flipped over and did seeming tricks. The kids loved this cruise.

They really loved the two trampolines in the front. You don't jump on them but you bounce a little when it gets wavy, and there were definitely some big waves. Good thing we all took dramamine.

I saw him absentmindedly picking Olin's toenails. Didn't realize that was a normal thing amongst the two of them.

Kauai ATV tours! Our last full day here. The photos they took were beautiful but terrible resolution. I didn't bring my phone to take any photos because I was afraid it would be too muddy and I was right. We were absolutely covered in mud by the end. So much fun.

Dae would drive through these puddles fast and get us all sprayed. When it was my turn to drive I drove medium but not nearly as fast as some of the drivers.

WWII bunker. It was SO dark in there.

Dae jumping in the waterfall and surprisingly losing an aqua sock (they float!). We can't figure out where it went so quickly out of sight.

You can't tell the extent of the mud, but we were covered - at least Dae and I - the kids in the back were less covered but they did NOT like being dirty. So funny.