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Mar 26, 2010

The Garden Isle

I love the island of Kauai. The lifestyle on the entire island is so laid-back and easy going. It is, in my eyes, the most relaxing vacation.
Sure there are the tourist areas such as the Catamaran, the lighthouse that can be seen for miles offshore, or the helicopter ride over the island showing areas where Jurassic Park was filmed. But then you have the beauty of the island.
The Garden Isle.
What a perfect nickname for Kauai! The island is covered with beautiful green life. It rains every night keeping everything fresh and clean.
The “locals” of the island are so kind and welcoming of everyone. They don’t care how you look or act. They could care less whether you are done-up and high class, or laid-back and carefree. All that matters is that you do what you want to do, and be who you want to be.
The beauty and life of the island are the reasons of why I love it so much.
This vacation was a little more relaxed than past vacations. We mainly did everything on our own, without tour guides, with the exception of the Zodiac.
Travelogue
Sunday was arrival, get settled into room, and walk along the beach at night Day. This day happens every time we first arrive in Hawaii. We always take that stroll along the shoreline under the darkened sky speckled with stars and planets giving their light to the life on Earth. Monday was drive around the island on roads we haven’t been before, off-roading to a beach, and Puka-dog Day. We drove around in the Jeep and found this 5 mile long dirt road that led to a massive beach inaccessible by paved roads. However the tide there is always strenuous such that one would not want to swim there. Skyler was in calf-deep water, had his hand and foot planted in the sand to keep him steady, and he got dragged about three feet towards the ocean by the tide. Afterwards we stopped at Puka-dog and ate massive deliciousness. Tuesday was hang out at the beach and attend a luau Day. The weather was perfect on Tuesday. It was sunny, warm, and the water felt so nice. The luau was a lot of fun. I have been to two luaus before this and this one was by far the best. We had great entertainment and unlimited food and drinks. Wednesday was realize how burned we were from falling asleep Tuesday, adventure in Princeville, and check out caves Day. Luckily it wasn’t sunny so there was not temptation to get to the sun and possibly burn ourselves further. A lot of people stay in Princeville and think that is “the place to stay.” HIGHLY MISLEADING!!! It rains almost constantly in Princeville. So if you are reading this and happen to be one of those people who have the pre-conception that Princeville is “the place to stay” on Kauai, well I highly disagree with you. Po’i Pu is the place to go! However, looking at the caves in Princeville was entertaining. Thursday was Zodiac and delicious shaved ice Day. We drove to a small area and snorkeled, then attempted to go other places, but the weather was not on our side. The water was too rough going north so we couldn’t see the Na-Pali, and it was too rough going south so we couldn’t do more snorkeling. However, because we couldn’t go anywhere we got a free short snorkel trip, free whale, turtle, and manta ray watching, a free ride on the ocean, and free lunch! After eating a huge (free) sandwich from Capt. Andy’s we drove to Waimea and got shaved ice at Joe Joe’s. DELICIOUS!!!
Friday was visit Spouting Horn, try finding a place with a cool Tiki Dude, catch some rays as they came scarcely, and watch a seal and a turtle on the beach Day. Spouting Horn is a natural place where the wake hits the rocks, travels beneath the rocks, the rockets into the air. After visiting Spouting Horn which is a Kauai tradition, we drove almost all the way around the island looking for something neat to take home to Rob and Caitie, but we found nothing. It would’ve been a pointless drive, but I enjoyed spending time with my parents. When we got back to the hotel we sat, and sat, and sat. Finally we saw the clouds open and sun came through. So Skyler, my dad, and I booked it to the beach to catch about an hour of good sunlight. While we were down there a seal and a turtle were just chilling on the beach. Chilling isn’t the right word… they were warming up before they got to the water again. Saturday was fly to Oahu, walk around the Swap Meet, drive around Honolulu, and fly home Day. Talk about a depressing day! However, we made it fun by simply being together. Skyler and my dad went to Pearl Harbor while my mom and I walked around the Swap Meet getting gifts and trinkets for Rob, Caitie, and my dad. We found cool Tiki Dudes for Rob and my dad and a pretty pineapple necklace for Caitie. The flight home was actually quite nice. Our stewards were so kind and willing to do anything. I woke up at 5:00 am (Utah time) and asked if they had any extra meals, the steward immediately brought out a delicious sandwich. Yum! It was sad to leave the place I love so much, but it is nice to be back home with the people I love so much. If only the two could be combined! Let’s all just move to Kauai to remedy this conundrum.

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