Kauai------Finally back on the island!!!

Made it back to the island once again.......Ahhhhh, I miss this place!!!!

What a great surprise, we got an ocean front room!!! These are usually given to those who own here in Hawaii, but the gal at the front desk said since we were here for 2 weeks it was easier......YEA for us!!!!

First day took it easy, went to the stores to stock up on food and supplies and rented surfboards.......

 all waxed up and ready to go. Not sure where to go, so had to check out some of the surf shops and find out the best spots......(I realize there are probably a lot of spots that the local are keeping to themselves).

Spent 2 days surfing in Hanalei. A long paddle out to the waves, but they were fun!!! The longest rides I think I have ever had!!!! After a nice long session we ran into a farmers market so had to grab some papaya and some other goodies.



This is Secret Beach. 

A bit of a walk down, but absolutely gorgeous!!!!  There were 4 or 5 guys out on boogie boards and these waves were big and heavy!!!!   Fun to watch!!!  You can kind of see how big these waves are and they break right on the shore.....these guys were good......and nuts!!!!!

Also went snorkeling at Tunnels. This is one of the largest reefs in the world. (It can be seen from the satellites) I do have to say that I was very disappointed. There were fish to be seen, but the reef itself is dead......sooo many people stepping all over it, the fish hardly have anything to eat and there is no living plants on the rocks. Guess that is what happens when something of beauty is discovered....... We drove to the end of the road to Ke'e beach. It is much different from what I remembered even just a few years ago.......sooooo many people!!!! They have areas marked off for parking lots, not the old way of find a place to park under the mangrove trees. I am soo glad I got to see these places before they changed.....wonder what they will be like in another 5 years!!!! or 10!!!!


Went up to see Waimea Canyon on Thursday, WOW is all I can say.....Absolutely Beautiful!!!! I took lots of pictures, but no picture can do it justice!!!!! It is impossible to share the experience.

We went all the way to the top to Kalalau Point to see the Napali Coast. Again, absolutely beautiful!!!! The clouds come and go so it is hard to get a clear picture, but it is AMAZING!!!!!



While we were up there we stopped and got some info on some of the hiking trails and decided to go for a short hike to Canyon Trail. This was about 3.2 miles round trip and went to a waterfall and to the edge of one of the cliffs. On our way back out we gathered some Passion Fruit and some Strawberry Guava. (YUM- already ate some) Got back down to Waimea just in time to get a shave ice!!! I have never had a shave ice.....(oh, it is shave ice, not shaved ice) :-) Macadamia Nut ice cream in a cup with shave ice on top and then I had Passion fruit, orange, mango and apricot syrups......It was soo delish!!!! Couldn't do that every day!!!! Jo-Jo's is supposed to be the best shave ice on the south part of the island........now we will have to compare them to Paradise Shave Ice at the north end so we can decide ourselves!!!! Hee hee

On our way back from the canyon we saw a bunch of cars parked along the road and a couple people with surfboards. We had to pull over and see where they came from. From the top of the canyon you could see the waves at this point, just marching in, in perfect formation.........so we pulled over and started looking for the path....it was a small path, but it led down to a great beach with waves that were perfect!!!

So......the next day we loaded up the boards and headed back to that spot and surfed for about 3-1/2 hours!!!! Oh it was awesome!!!! Sunburned and salty and tired, we headed back to hit one of the farmers markets to pick up a little more fruit and veggies!!!! Can never have enough!!! Then also hit Costco,,,,yes, costco!!!! They have great prices and we are on a budget, sooooo.....gotta go where the dollars go farthest.....

Today we woke up to rain, rain, rain. It is always wetter to the north and dryer to the south, so once the rain stopped long enough, the boards got loaded and we headed south, back to that great surfing spot. The waves were smaller today, but still fun.......got a little more accepted by the locals, spent some time talking about whatever, and we were invited back whenever we wanted, so that was nice. We will probably spend a few more days surfing there......

On the way back to the resort we stopped at the quilt shop......Oh goodies!!!!  Bought a handful of gorgeous batiks.........

The days have been long and FULL!!!!  Tons of FUN!!!!!!

One more week to go!!!!  I'll post again soon,

Have a great week!!!