Birds in Paradise

Day 5: Thursday morning we drove back to Port Allen for my extra special treat of the week. I had the opportunity to go on a 60 min powered hang gliding experience with Birds in Paradise. It was incredible! We (meaning the pilot Eric and I) took off in a small ultra-lite that was about the size of a golf cart and got a bird's eye view of Kauai. The center of the island is only viewable by air, due to limited road access and snobby private owners (yes, one family owns 1/5 of Kauai). I got to see dozens of waterfalls, including the one from "Jurassic Park", and Mt. Waialeale, the wettest place on earth! This crater averages 423 inches a year!!!!! How crazy is that New Mexico??????? (we get less than 10 inches/year)

The views of the coast especially were absolutely gorgeous! You could see the reef, the surf, the color change of the water as it got deeper.... you're not as high as in an airplane where you'd miss details, but high enough to get that amazing perspective!!! Thanks babe for making this happen!

   Afterwards, we took a drive up Waimea Canyon and hiked for a few hours in Kokee State Park. Unfortunately, it was so misty that we couldn't see any of the views of the Na Pali Coast that we were hoping for... we were really disappointed. We were basically inside clouds the entire time... But the mountain was till pretty.

beginning of the trail

quite steep at points

I felt like saying, "get off the road - quick!"

end of our trail - time to turn around!

  After PB&J sandwiches in the car, we headed back... stopping by the coffee plantation to get some for home and me falling asleep in the car (what else is new?). Back at our cottage, we had a slow evening where we grilled some teriyaki chicken, veggies and pineapple for a home-cooked meal. Yum!!!