Thursday

Today we got up at 5:00 am and set out for our two hour drive to the other side of the island. We went to Holo-Holo Charters to take a 5 hour snorkeling and sailing tour of the Napali coast. We stopped at a Mcdonalds on the way for a quick to-go breakfast since we had so far to drive. We arrived safely and got checked in. There were about 30 people on our catamaran. We set out from Port Allen and went about 15 minutes before the captain anchored and we went snorkeling. He told us the water wasn't cold, just invigorating! We didn't see tons of fish but we did enoy the experience. We snorkeled about an hour then they told us that breakfast was ready. It was a continental breakfast with bagels bread and fruit. We were warned that if you think you might get motion sickness not to eat the fruit because the acid in it could make the problem worse. Several people found that to be true when we turned the bend around the northwest side of the island and hit the turbulent waters and high waves. It was quite a ride! The cliffs were magnificent and could only be seen by either a boat or helicopter. We saw where the helicopter flew into a the beginning of Jurassic Park and an archway that I am told a helicopter flew through in Six Days and Seven Nights. After we had gone about 2 1/2 hours the captains crew hoisted the sail and turned off the motor and turned back. Sailing was very nice. We would actually "catch" waves with our boat and kind of surf them. Shortly after we started sailing the crew served us lunch. We had sandwiches with pasta salad and vegetables with spinach dip. Of course all kinds of drinks were available and unlimited. The way home seemed a little long. Although we enjoyed it immensely we were glad to be back on land.

On our way home we stopped at a Safeway store and got more food for the week that we were not able to get at the other small grocer. We also stopped at a starbucks for a drink. On the two hour trip home we found two geocaches. Our first to find on Hawaii. I also found my first trackable coin. I was very happy about that. I logged online that I found it and will either take it back with me or let britt put it in a geocache in Thailand.

We got back to our "home" and showered and then I cooked a pot of taco soup. I knew it was a recipe that Brittany liked and it was delicious. The waves are really loud tonight and the full moon has not come up yet. I think we will sleep well tonight!

Wednesday afternoon

This afternoon we sat on our balcony and watched the ocean waves roll in. Tommy and I walked around the resort and took some photos and looked around in the artsy gift shop. We bought Brittany and me a mango papaya smoothy and then we hopped in the jeep and went to discover what was near us. We drove to the end if the road passing by tunnels beach and Ke'a beach. We stopped and looked in two different caves that we saw on the side if the road. We also spotted the snow cone stand that Brittany wants to visit sometimes this week. And a guy selling coconuts cut in half looked good to me.

From there we drove to Hanalei Bay to watch the the sunset from the pier. It was absolutely gorgeous. We took lots of photos of the mountains towering over the bay and the sailboats anchored to watch the sunset. We also saw the standup paddle suffers and decided we might want to try it. I heard it is more difficult than it looks though.

After sunset we went back to the grocer for a few more things for dinner. Tommy grilled barbecue chicken outside on the grill while Brittany and I made stuffed mushrooms, a green salad, and corn on the cob. It was a lovely dinner at the end of our first full day.

We have to leave at 5:45 am tomorrow to make the 2 hour drive to our catamaran snorkeling tour. We are excited and know that it should be an awesome experience!

Kauai, Hawaii October 2011

Today is our first full day in Kauai. We arrived yesterday afternoon about 2:45 pm. Our flight was about 1 1/2 hours late because our first plane had mechanical difficulties and they had to get us a new plane before leaving LA. When we arrived in Kauai, Brittany had been waiting in the baggage claim area for about three hours for us because she arrived earlier and had to claim her bags and then couldn't get back into the gate areas. It was so good to see her after six months. We claimed our baggage and then made our way to the budget rental shuttle bus to go get our rental car. We got a red jeep with a black top. It's very pretty we are going to have lots of fun exploring the island in it. We barely got all our luggage in it to get to the hotel. Our first mission was to find a place to eat as we were all starving. We stopped at the Paradise Cafe and had some seafood and Britt had a grilled fish sandwich. Then we were off to find the Hanalei Colony Resort. The scenery turned more tropical the farther we drove and we had to wait for oncoming traffic to pass on many one lane bridges. It reminded me of the road to Hana on Maui. We found our condominium and our location did not disappoint us at all. We are on the second story with a premium ocean view. Nothing but a couple thousand miles of ocean in front of us. No air conditioning in our room which was a concern to me but there is a powerful breeze blowing through constantly. We slept very well last night with the sounds of the crashing waves. Actually they were very loud!

Today we got up about 9:00 and I cooked sausage eggs and toast for breakfast. We had gone to the grocer last night to get some food for the week. It was very nice having breakfast with the beautiful ocean view and fresh Ginger flowers on our table. Our spot is not luxurious but as my nephew Patrick described it it's location, location, location! We decided to go for a walk down our beach we walked for a little over an hour down the beach and made our way to tunnels and kea beach and the beautiful cliffs of the Napali coast. The sand was course and rough and the water was a gorgeous blue. The beaches had signs warning against swimming due to the high waves. There were some snorkelers in the calmer spots. We discovered that we should have turned back when we were halfway tired instead of pretty tired because the walk back was much more difficult. When we made it back we fixed a sandwich and fruit lunch and sat on our balcony to soak up the beautiful view. This is where I still sit typing this blog. The strong breeze is turning rather cool.