Adventure #31: Kauai Part 1

"Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace." - Paul Theroux

May 1 - 5, 2015

To celebrate me and Jordan graduating from college, and Ryan graduating High School, my family took us all on a trip to Kauai!  Jordan and I were looking forward to this trip the entire semester. And since we had just taken a break in Park City, we were all set to have some adventures in paradise! 

**I've already split this trip up into four segments, but each segment is still going to be pretty long so I apologize in advance.

May 1st

Our trip began early Friday morning. We couldn't find anyone to take us to the airport, so we had a friend drop us off at the Trax. It only costs $5 to get from Provo to the SLC airport AND we had never taken the Trax together so we thought it would be fun. It really was fun! We got to the airport in plenty of time to have quick meal. I am so glad we ate because the rest of our travels that day were not as smooth. 

I don't know why, but I was so excited to go on the Trax with Jordan!

Our flight arrived at LAX early, but it ended up not mattering because our bags didn't show up until an hour later. So poor James was waiting for us outside while we waited for our bags. We finally made it on the freeway and we hit MAJOR traffic the WHOLE way home! Our delay at the airport caused us to run into terrible rush hour traffic. We tried to use alternative routes using Google Maps. It helped a little, but we also accidentally took a toll road that we had to pay for later. By the time we got to Murrieta, we realized we could have gotten there at the same time if we had just driven the whole way instead of flying! haha Even though it was a long day, we were grateful we didn't have to drive.

May 2nd

Saturday morning was another baby shower for me, thrown by Aroha's mom. It was so fun and I was once again spoiled. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from this shower yet and I'm trying to catch up this blog before the baby comes! 

That afternoon, Jordan paid for me and my mom to get our nails done as an early Mother's Day present (isn't he so thoughtful?). It was very nice to have my hands and feet taken care of and massaged. My mom and I were also happy that our nails were going to look so pretty for Kauai!  Right after we got our nails done, our whole family went to see the Avengers. It was a great day, but we were also excited for what was to come tomorrow!

May 3rd

We got up early, loaded our bags in the car, and started to make our way to the San Diego Airport! Everything went smoothly and before we knew it, we were flying to Kauai!

I have to note, every time Jordan sits down on a plane, he immediately grabs the magazine and looks for the crossword puzzles. As you can see in the picture, he already has the magazine on his lap and a pen in his hand.  :)

We arrived in Kauai and the sun was still shining! Our bags came in quickly and we were ready to go!

Our first family selfie in Kauai!

On the way to our resort, we saw a coconut water stand off the side of the road. We pulled over and bought two coconuts. It was so cool! The guy selling them just pulled out his machete and opened the coconuts right in front of us. And the water was yummy and oh, so refreshing!

Mom was the first to get a taste.

We arrived safely at our resort and it was just beautiful! We were pretty tired from traveling so we played a few games and then headed straight to bed. 

May 4th

On Monday, we got to spend time doing lots of fun things at our resort. First we went to a breakfast by the pool where some people presented fun things to do in Kauai.

One of those fun things was a quick scuba class at the other pool at our resort. The class was also that same morning. My mom was super excited and so she threw on her swimsuit and soon enough, she was scuba diving!

Later that same day we all rented some tennis and volleyball equipment and hit the court.

We're trying to get our Hawaiian on... lol

Kauai has some pretty cool looking trees. And they are every where!

Tennis was so much fun! My family is good at tennis so we can actually rally and play a full game. It was also nice because I was actually able to play and it wasn't strenuous at all!

I love this picture of my dad. Still smiling while hitting the ball. :)

Ryan and James were hilarious to watch. They were so hard on themselves when they missed.

While we watched each other play, my mom and dad made sure that me and the baby were safe on the sidelines. 

After tennis we played volleyball. This was one activity that I was not able to participate in, but it felt great to sit in the shade and watch my family have fun.  :)

May 5th

Tuesday morning we had planned to go on a hike along the Na Pali coast. But when we woke up, it was raining A LOT. Like, more than the usual morning rain. We tried to wait it out for a little while, but because our schedule was pretty tight, we decided to go hiking in the rain! Honestly, I've never had so much fun in the rain! It was still warm enough that the rain felt good. AND, the hike was absolutely beautiful! So green and lush, and right on the coast!

A lot of the hike was like this - climbing over rocks. But it ended up not being too difficult for me (especially with help from family).

The trail is called the Kalalau Trail. It goes 11 miles down the coast. We probably went a mile and a half or two in. Basically, you just hike in and turn around whenever you want.

Pictures never fully capture it, but it's hard to forget such a beautiful place.

We were surprised how red the dirt was. It was so pretty next to the lime green foliage.

This was the most gorgeous part of the hike. Looking down the coastline was just breathtaking.

James liked to pretend that he was "not impressed." lol

Dad hanging out by a cliff.

Jordan and I had so much fun on this hike. I mean, how could you not have fun when everything is so beautiful?

As you can tell, my parents were also having fun.  :)

And so was James - drinking water dripping from a leaf. We all ended up trying it, and the water was actually really good!

Mom and Ryan weren't afraid to venture off the trail to find cool rock faces.

Preface: Jordan loves dinosaurs. My whole family loves dinosaurs. So when we are staying on an island where most of the Jurassic Park movies were filmed, we tend to think of dinosaurs wherever we go. And on the hike, we found some interesting footprints...

Jordan also found a tree where we are pretty sure raptors hide their eggs.

Once we finished the hike, Jordan and I checked out this little forrest that was right off the beach.

On our way home, we stopped to explore a beach (Tunnels Beach) where we were hoping to go snorkeling the next couple of days.

Jordan said he had fun exploring this cave. He walked all the way to the back of the cave while everyone else watched him.  haha

Seriously, everything was beautiful about Kauai. Even the random cliffs by the highway.

We were VERY hungry after our hike so we stopped by Bubba's Burgers in Hanalei. It was delicious! And they had a wall of fame for all the famous people that have eaten there!

This is only a portion of the wall, but President Clinton, Jimmy Kimmel, and Adam Sandberg were some of the many to have eaten there.

We went home and showered and then we stopped by a farmer's market before we ended up at Hanalei Bay. Again, everything was gorgeous.

Jordan and my mom were the only ones left with enough energy to go snorkeling. It was cute watching them snorkel together.

They didn't get to see very much, but Jordan and my mom always have fun no matter what they are doing.

My dad and I enjoyed those camping chairs. I was pretty tired after the hike!

I love my momma. She is one amazing woman.

Jordan was taking pictures of us and he started to walk around us in a circle... still taking pictures. We were so confused at first, but then we just started laughing. Thank you, Jordan for this precious moment. 

Every where we drove was so pretty! On our way home we drove by these fields.