So a little more than a month ago now Scott, Jen, Paul, and I packed our bags and went on a week-long trip to Hawaii. We rented a car and stayed at a cute little rental home in Po'ipu, which is on the Southeastern side of Kauai....
Just down the road from our home were some beaches and a fantastic view of the ocean...
Every morning at around six, we were roused by sweet bird song....
The local wildlife had taken roost in our backyard. In fact, we're pretty sure it had taken roost in EVERYONE'S backyard.Oftentimes, we gave up on the idea of sleeping in and decided to try to catch the sunrise over the ocean....
Apparently we were on the wrong side of the island for a fantastic sunrise view, but really we weren't about to complain. After a day of relaxing and adjusting to the Hawaiian lifestyle, we decided to go on a road trip to see the Barking Sands. The road was washed out, so we went to Glass Beach and another beach that was less touristy. There I collected nuts that had been washed up by the ocean....
We caught a beautiful sunset while at this beach, but Jen has all the really great photos from it. I'll have to nag her for some of them. At any rate, Scott and I snuck off and cuddled on a log as we watched the sky turn bright red.
The next day we went hiking in the Na Pali mountains. It rained throughout most of the hike, but luckily the clouds managed to clear up just as we reached our destination...
The photo doesn't do it justice. The views were fantastic! We were very glad to have made it there and back before dark, as the trails got confusing at points.
One day we decided to drive up along the east coast to the north side of the island. We checked out a bird reservoir where the blue-footed boobies nested...
Here's a baby wedge-tailed shearwater...
AWWW! It's like a fluffy bunny, but with a beak!After that we went to Secret Beach, which was surprisingly hard to find considering it's one those openly discussed and very popular secrets. After missing the correct turnoff and then having to push the car out of a ditch, we were relieved to discover that the trip had been worth all the effort....
Chillin...
What I particularly enjoyed about this beach was the fact that you had to hike through the woods to get to it.
While we were at the beach we found a coconut that had fallen from a tree. We could hear the juices when we shook it. Scott carried it all the way up the hill back to the car so that we could later enjoy the fruits of his labor. Mmmm. Fresh coconut....
It was getting to be later in the day when we made our way to Queen Anne's Bath. We hiked down to the ocean and climbed over some rocks. I was wearing a skirt and flip flops, which was not ideal. I like this picture Scott took. It looks like I'm dancing. More likely I was trying not to fall over.
This was along the hike to the bath...
The Queen's Bath was a place where the rocks carved out a little protected, pool-like space. The water in the bath was very clear. We could see fish swimming underneath us. We watched the sunset. It was very peaceful.
One evening we went to see a luau. The poor dancers got rained upon, but it made the performance very dramatic! Oh, and see the person on the far right? That's Scott!
(Just kidding... He's on the left.)One of my favorite parts of the trip was when we went on a boat ride around the West Coast of the island.
We went into a few caves along the coast....
We saw some Spinner Dolphins (or, as Scott calls them, Sniper Dolphins). These are miniature dolphins that aren't very smart. They swam along with our boat for a while.
Apparently these little fellows have a very developed sonar sense such that when a pregnant woman is in the water, the dolphins can "see" the fetus. Unfortunately, the dolphins are also stupid, so they mistake it for a dolphin fetus and surround the woman to protect her. Any person who tries to approach the woman while she's surrounded will immediately regret it, apparently.
My favorite part of this boat trip was when we went snorkeling in an alcove where the sea turtles hang out. A large sea turtle rose to the surface for a breath right next to me. For a moment he just hovered there and looked me in the eye. Then another one came to the surface, and we swam side-by-side for a time.
These were the highlights of my trip. I hope you enjoyed glancing through them. Really, the most amazing views were the ones I beheld under the water. I wish I could share them with you! I have never snorkeled before, so it was a very eye-opening experience. I hope to do more in the future!
