After many trips to Hawaii, every visit continues to fill our hearts with excitement and peace! No place we have visited provides the level of joy as Hawaii! This trip, we of course visited Oahu. We know, so many people talk about the crowds, the commercialization, the lack of a "real Hawaii" feel. But face it- Oahu has so many opportunities for adventures and sight-seeing, it really is a go-to place to visit!!!! On this trip, we decided on a 2nd island. Usually, we add Maui, which we love! But thought we needed to expand our Hawaiian adventures😀. The choice was between the Big Island and Kauai. Kauai won! Wow! More beautiful than we expected!
Oahu- sights we love! When we visit Oahu, there are several things we always do. As we have visited often, these provide a level of comfort- or feeling of being at home- that we love! Sadly, the Arizona Memorial, one of the greatest historical sights, was closed for renovation when we visited this trip. Also, we had no time to climb Diamond Head☹. But this trip Diana and Lindsey were on their trip for a day and half when we arrived! Love those two!!
Kailua Beach- the wind-surfing capitol of the world, has long beaches with fine white sand, blue-green water, and a beauty that can't be beat anywhere. It is truly our very favorite beach in the world. To get to Kailua, you can either cross over Pali Lookout or drive around the island. It takes about 90 minutes, with stops, 45 minutes without stops. We chose the drive around the island on this trip!
First we stop at Kalapawai Market ( https://kalapawaimarket.com/kailua-town)
for excellent sandwiches and drinks before finding our spot on the beach. After eating, the beach walk brings us to a place of total peace because of the beauty! Then we hit the warm waters! Swimming here is nothing short of pure heaven! I must warn you, they have postings of Man O' War (jelly fish), so you do need to be aware of this possible danger. About 20 years ago, I got badly stung and laid on the beach for about 2 hours in agony! After they subsided, a lady told me the surfers cure (rub urine on the wound- the acid dissolves the stingers). This trip, Cody got stung- but luckily there are now life guards who have vinegar sprays- he was fine within 20 minutes. Lucky him!!!!
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| Haunama Bay |
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| wind surfers! |
Maita'i Catamaran sunset cruise (https://www.maitaicatamaran.net/)
We have taken the Maita'i Catamaran sunset cruise everytime we have visited Hawaii, even when they were known as Leahi- the green sail beings bring a sense of continuity to our visits to Oahu. The beauty of Hawaii is probably best exemplified by these cruises- the joy of being on the water, the views, the people you get to meet from all over the world, and the excitement the staff generate!!!
Mai Tai's on the beach
What is a vacation without drinks with friends!!! For 1 1/2 days, we were graced with Diana and Lindsay, sadly saying goodbye as they returned home. We then met up with Ohana Bobbi- a resident of Oahu for 20 years! The aunt to Rich's niece Renee, we have met up with Bobbi each visit to Oahu- her smile just lights up a room!!!
We would meet at the Outrigger hotel at the Reef bar- formerly known, and we still call it- the Shorebird! The bartender- Pedro from Ecuador- friend of Bobbi- made the very best Mai Tai's of the whole trip!!!!
For meals, we recommend Siam Thai on Lewers, and Marukame Udon on Kuhio- truly exceptional restaurants!
My very favorite thing to do on Oahu- wake up early and walk the beach! The beauty and alone time are priceless!!!
And we cannot forget the Hawaii 5-0 tour!!!
We LOVE Hawaii so very much!!!! While we had to say good-bye to Oahu, Kauai awaits!!!!
Kauai!!!
We had never been to Kauai- but reading about this island over many years, we knew eventually we would visit there. And this year was the time!!! Always been told it was the most beautiful, most lush island- but it surpassed every expectation!!! The highlights of this trip- a helicopter tour through Island Helicopters, a 5 hour catamaran ride to the Napali Coast, a drive up the east coast to Hanalei Bay, and a drive through Waimea canyon- all spectacular!!!!
Island Helicopter tour (https://www.islandhelicopters.com/ ). There are many helicopter tours of Kauai. On the recommendation of a waitress at a restaurant we really liked (Talapaki Joe's), we chose Island Helicopter. While I suspect all the helicopter tours are similiar, Island was spectacular! The reason- our captain, Brody, is a native hawaiian- his talks through the tour were inspirational and spiritual in what he showed us and talked about his love of the island, what it means to the Hawaiian people, the history, the meaning of so many points he took us to. Truly- he made the trip far more spectacular than we would ever expect- the the point I consider it one of the greatest adventures we have experienced. If you visit Kauai, please take this tour!
Captain Brody explained that Kauai is the northernmost island and long since volcanically active. At one time, Kauai was the size of the Big Island. Over the past few million years the size had diminished significantly, estimated to have about 500,000 more years before she disappears in the sea which gave her birth.
He also explained that Island Helicopter is one of the few locally owned and operated helicopter company's- another reason to book through them.
This tour took us up the west coast, to the Jurassic Park falls, through Waimea canyon, over and through Napali Coast, down the east coast, and through the extinct volcano cone that gave birth to Kauai!
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| The 3 of us with Captain Brody! |
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| Cody created this beautiful picture! |
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| This is the furthest point on the east coast- Hanalei Beach. We drove here! |
The drive to Hanalei Bay-
The drive on the east coast is a 2 lane road once you leave Kapa'a, just north of Lihue. Beautiful does not describe it, with awesome beaches, lush forests, cute small towns. On the recommendation of a friend, we stopped in Princeville to eat at Tiki Iniki, a cute, old Hawaiian restaurant and bar. Once we got to Hanalei, another totally cute town!, the small road ends at a parking lot. Advanced parking permits are available on-line only. No parking is allowed without this permit. The road has numerous one-lane bridges with very specific rules of the road: you stop and wait for about 5 or 6 cars to go, then the other side stops and your side goes for 5 or 6 cars. At one point, we thought we had it down, until crossing the bridge I am waving and thanking people for waiting- an older woman shaed me, and a young man flipped me off- guess I got that one wrong😇😂😂.
We watched the sunset from this area! Spectacular!!!!
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| drinks on the way home at Tiki Iniki |
Tiki's in Hanalei
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| some of the trees on Hanalei Bay have roots showing- it is quite cool |
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| the last spot you can walk before the island plunges into the sea at Napali Coast |
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| tiki iniki bar |
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| Lighthouse on the way to Hanalei |
Waimea Canyon- the Grand Canyon of Hawaii!
The drive along the canyon is incredible! On the dry side of the island, what they call the desert side- although it is apparent they have never seen a desert😂😂 from how lush it is.
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| Cody stylized this awesome picture |
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| The Waimea canyon extends to this awesome over-look of the Pacific and Napali coats! |
Holo Holo Catamaran ride (https://www.holoholokauaiboattours.com/)
We took the 5 hour Holo Holo catamaran ride to the Napali coast! W sae the coast from the helicopter tour, from the Waimea Canyon drive, and now from the sea!!!! The staff on our Catamaran, Captain Kelly, and crew Ally, Max and Dave were fantastic! Always looking out for the visitors! The concierge at our hotel who booked the trip said they have a continental breakfast and deli sandwich lunch. When I hear continental breakfast, I think old dead bagels and dry muffins- not so much! Eggs scrambled with spinach, french toast, and a fruit platter is what met us! A pod of about 10 dolphins swam and jumped while we went up the coast- they stayed for about 10 to 15 minutes!!!! Once at Napali Coast, snorkeling- they provided all the equipment! The snorkeling was ok- more rocky than reef, and some large fish, but spectacular none-the-less! Once snorkeling was over, the bar was open- soft drinks, wine and beer- were served. Then the fun began, with maneuvering the catamaran under a waterfall, and inviting the visitors for a baptism of Kauai waters! The captain then opened up the engines and we hit the waves- sitting in the front, we were soaked with ocean water- it was awesome!!!! The deli lunch was then served, the sails went up, and we sailed back to port. It was such a good day!
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| Crewman Max talking about the dolphins! |
In addition to the drives, helicopter ride, and catamaran ride, we went to Kauai Coffee Plantation- excellent coffee!!!! Great little museum! Restaurants we liked included Kalapaki Joe's with the best poke nachos and seared ahi tacos! At our hotel, the pool was incredible! And no evening was complete without the hot tub!
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| Our hotel- Kauai Beach Resort |
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| Beach at our hotel |
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| hotel pool |
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| Chickens/roosters everywhere! |
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| Cody's beach art! |
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| Me in the morning!!😂😂😂 |
