Aloha

    Day 1: Sunday, we got up at 4:00am and headed to the airport for a 6:00 flight. After a 2 1/2 hr trip to San Fran and short layover for breakfast, we boarded a 757 for the long stretch, destination Lihue - the only airport on Kaua'i (pronounced the same as Hawai'i). Despite some extremely rude French-Canadians traveling nearby and the fact that "economy" seats just don't have much room to move, it was a good flight with some in-house movies/TV shows, snacks, and Dramamine.

    New Mexico to Kaua'i is a 4 hour time difference. When we landed at 11:45am local time, it felt like 3:45pm to our bodies. Needless to say, we got our rental car, drove around a bit to explore the area, got some delicious Hawaiian BBQ, planned some activities, and checked into the Palms Hotel. It was a very small room, but enough for our needs --- SLEEP! We crashed around 7 (felt like 11), and woke up 10-12hrs later, adjusted to the right time zone.

delicious BBQ beef sandwich

     Day 2: Monday, we checked out of the hotel and hit the road! About 15 min up the main highway, we found the Opeka'a Falls and the Wailua Falls, both beautiful! A little later, we walked along the Wailua Beach, had a picnic lunch ($20/lunch stuff at Safeway), drove around downtown Kapa'a and checked into our VRBO cottage. After talking with our local host, we decided to go check out Anahola Bay & it was great for swimming. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Wahooo & picked up some over-priced groceries for the week ($75!). Everything is very expensive here --- $5 for 1/2 gallon of milk, $3/lb of apples, $6/lb bell peppers, $5/bag of chips, $9/lb chkn breasts! But with some bagels, cereal and PB&J, we will do what we can to save $ on eating out as much. 

all boys like playing in the dirt

walking along Wailua Beach

swimming in Anahola Bay

Kaua'i is BEAUTIFUL. We are surrounded by lush vegetation, green everywhere, unique and vibrant colored flowers.... think Jurassic Park (actually partly filmed here!). It's so different than Albuquerque, or any other place we've been for that matter! The trees are incredible, the humidity is crazy, and wild chickens are roaming all over the place!!! (which makes for very noisy mornings) There are avocado trees, mango trees, papaya trees, and coconut palms everywhere with fresh fruit laying around. The beautiful plants and trees are amazing... covering the mountains, lining the roads, and providing natural fences between homes. We are just trying to soak every second, every view, every smell in! They so loudly speak to us of the creativity, design, and care that God used to create this gorgeous place! Praising Him for this beautiful gift & the opportunity to explore it together!

ginger

our view at dinner last night