Honeymoon Blog: Day 7 - The End...

Saturday 7/2

Today was our last full day of paradise. We have mixed emotions. We could stay here forever but we miss home, normality, family, and most importantly, Otto.

We started the day off with breakfast, and what Connor claims to be a failed snorkeling trip. Elise had told him the night before that she wanted to snorkel but knew that come morning she would be too cold to go in the water so he would have to make her. He didn’t so we did not end up snorkeling… we failed. So we came and lounged around the hotel for a bit before heading, once again, up to the North Shore. 

On our way to the North shore we made a pit stop at Costco. We ran in to get genuine Hawaiian Rum and macadamia nuts! 

From there we coasted on farther North to stop at the Kilahuea Lighthouse. It was not worth the $10 but cool to see. We both agreed that seeing the migrating humpback whales in winter would be a much better use of our money. 

Our last stop, Hanalei we found to be much too touristy. We were there to get on our Catamaran tour, but being the early birds we are, we arrived an hour early. We looked around a little and grabbed a double Bubba burger and chili rice at Bubba’s Burgers. It was pretty good and allowed for some good people watching. 

The Catamaran Tour was fabulous. We took a 16 person Catamaran on a 4 hour tour (we sang the Gilligan’s Island theme song a lot today…) along the Na’Pali coast. We saw all the places we had hiked this week! It was great to be able to see the beautiful coastline from both angles. We were able to enter a few sea caves, see a few sea turtles, and snorkel along the coast. It was a great way to spend our last full day in Kauai. We returned home to eat our Tidepools leftovers, pack some, and pass out. Tomorrow we leave at 2 p.m. Kauai time for KS.

*We would like to note, due to some concern, that the entry that mentioned a “marriage ending hike” was merely a joke. No serious fights or interactions have occurred while on this fabulous vacation.

**Another note, we apologize for Connor’s Frisbee tan lines… ;)

Honeymoon Blog: Day 6

Friday 7/1

We woke up today and had a little change in the morning breakfast routine.  Instead of eating the complimentary breakfast at the Sheraton, we drove up to a highly recommended breakfast spot in Kalaheo.  Elise got the Hawaiian French toast covered with pineapple and Macadamia nuts while Connor got the Bonza burrito.  It was another excellent meal!  

After breakfast, we checked out the historic town of Hanapepe…meh

We then went to the southern tip of the island to visit the Kauai Coffee Company, the largest single coffee estate in the US.  We tried 10+ different varieties of coffee and went on the self guided tour through their coffee fields and processing plant.  We left with a few souvenirs and a caffeine buzz!

This was just the beginning of the shopping spree.  We headed east back to the main town of Lihue where we both got some “Red Dirt T-Shirts” dyed with the red soil native to Kauai (as seen on Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe).  We then bought some more fun coffee and macadamia nut souvenirs at a local coffee shop (where we got the last six bags of Royal Kona gold coffee).  We finished off the spree in the little town of Koloa (just north of the hotel) where we bought Elise this very colorful and elegant sarong (pictured above!).  OW OW!   

*Elise would like to note that Connor is writing this entry.  

After exhausting the travel piggy bank, Elise insisted on getting one more purchase, a Puka Dog!  A hot dog wrapped completely with a bun covered in a fruity Hawaiian relish.  Although Connor was skeptical, the Pineapple relish Puka Dog was actually quite good.

*Elise wants to note that she finally got her nap in at this point, after days and days of hiking and snorkeling.

 

Just East of the hotel along the coast are some fantastic lithified cliffs that have been eroded by wind and wave for millions of years.  The result is a beautiful twisted coastline of cliffs called the Maha’ulepu beaches and cliffs (a local treasure judging by all of the local fishermen and campers).  Unfortunately, no sea turtles (in Hawaiian they are called Honu) or Monk seals (called “Dogs running in the rough seas”) were spotted.  

After cleaning up, we headed to a nice romantic dinner at the Grand Hyatt’s Tidepools restaurant.  The food and atmosphere (not to mention the company) were amazing.  Elise had the Hawaiian Opah with crab and avocado stuffed shrimp while Connor had the macadamia crusted Mahimahi.  Lava chocolate cake finished off a wonderful night.  

We also made a last stop to get a nice piece of artwork for our house, a sea turtle engraving in a beautiful piece of native Hawaiian Koa wood. 

Honeymoon Blog: Day 5

Thursday 6/30

After a quick breakfast, we headed back to the North Side of the Island to hike the famous Na Pali Coast. We figured we should get the inside view before we take the catamaran on Saturday! We arrived and found a spot relatively easily. We started the hike on the Kalalau trail and were instantly rewarded with breathtaking views of ocean, the beaches below, and the coast line. After 2 miles, and exactly an hour, we made it to the first stop,  the Hanakapi’ai Beach. We had brought our snorkel gear, but after seeing a sign the said “Do not go near the water, the unseen current has taken many visitors lives” which also had over 40 tallys to indicate these deaths, we decided to stay close to shore, though other people were not as smart. We had a quick lunch here then headed up the mountain for another 2 mile hike to the Hanakapi’ai Falls. 

The trail to the falls was nothing like the trail to the beach. We had to cross 4 streams, trek through mud, and dodge low trees along the way. This took us about and hour and fifteen minutes. Elise’s boots, needless to say, are thoroughly broken in. Once we reached the falls, it was totally worth it! They were beautiful. Connor even swam in the pool the falls had created. It was not as secluded as our previous hikes, but we were able to say aloha to everyone we passed and saw along the way. We ended up flying back, making it back to our car in less than 2 hours total (dropping about a half our off our time to get there). 

The trail head, nicely enough, was right by the best snorkeling beach in Kauai! The Ke’e Beach. We ran  (and by ran I mean barely walked) to our car, grabbed our snorkel gear, and headed out to the reef! We snorkeled over the reef with a clearance of about 5 inches between us and the coral and fish. Once we reached the other side, which we probably should not have gone out that far, we saw two ENORMOUS sea turtles! We could hardly stand it. They bounced along in the waves and current, close enough to touch. After about thirty seconds, they moved on, and we decided it best to head to shore. 

After our excitement of seeing the turtles, we thought we should start the 2 hour long drive back to the hotel, but not until after we stopped at HOT MAMA’s Burritos. We each got a chicken burrito and could not have been happier. 

We arrived back to the hotel, cleaned up, then headed down to the bar to obtain our complimentary champagne. We also decided another Hawaiian pizza was in order, being that we are in Hawaii. After scrounging up a table (hard to come by) and ordering, Con ran back to the room to get Elise a jacket, of course. And being her father’s daughter, Elise saw a couple looking for a table and invited them to join. Bev and Ken were probably about 60 and on their honeymoon as well. It made for great conversation. The pizza was later complementary after a 45 minute wait and the champagne remained free, making it a relaxing night after a solid day of hiking and adventure!

Honeymoon Blog: Day 4

Wednesday 6/ 29

Today, we woke up (in pain), ate breakfast and booked our Catamaran for Saturday!!! We then decided it was time to explore the North side of the island so we started the 2 hour long drive. Along the way, we stopped at what our Bible (the Kauai tour guide book) claimed to be a great, short hike to some swimmable tide pools. It lied. We slide our way down the trail being closely followed by a band of mosquitoes. Once out of the mud and trees, we hiked about a half mile over lava fields only to find the  tide was too high to get to the pools, don’t worry, we could see them from where we were. We had to back track… In the end, we made it to the Secret Beach as well as to the Secret Lava Pools. Connor took a dip in one and we got some great shots.

We continued to make our way up the coast to Ke’ke beach. It was a (for lack of a better word) shit show. Absolutely no where to park. Tickets being issued. Mustangs stuck in mud. Not a good scene… Connor’s sass also came out. We ended up back tracking, though Ke’ke is suppose to have the best snorkeling on the island, to the Tunnels beach. We got a spot right away and we were able to snorkel and have lunch. The “waterscape” was a beautiful sight to see!

We made our way back to our hotel stopping along the way at another farmers market! We got a lei, an avocado, and more apple bananas. We are obsessed with the farmer’s markets here. No idea why anyone would shop anywhere else. 

After the farmer’s market, we cleaned up quite well. Connor’s Mom and step-dad had prearranged an all inclusive dinner at the Beach House. It was amazing. The food was fabulous! We started with cocktail hour, of course! We split a watermelon salad and crab cakes while sipping on our Mojito and Lava Flow! Elise had seafood pasta while Connor had a 7 oz Ahi with mashed potatoes. We watched the fabulous sunset as we ate part of our carrot cake. We returned to the hotel full Full FULL! We cannot begin to thank Connor’s Mom and step-dad enough for the meal. It truly was out of this world.

Honeymoon Blog: Day 3

Tuesday 6/28

We woke up early, ate breakfast, grabbed our new camera and headed to the West Side of the island to view the sights of the Waimea Canyon. After a winding drive up 16 miles to the trail head, we took an 11 mile, almost marriage ending hike, out to view the Na pali Cliffs  from above. Photos do not do this view justice.  We both agree that it was the most amazing sight we have ever seen. Connor would like to clarify that this was not an almost marriage ending hike, though an hour of Elise at her worst. After an earlier discussion of believing that we would be done with the hike at 1 p.m., we later realized we would be done at 3:30 p.m. Elise had a right to be a little bent out of shape. *Connor would also like to declare that Elise is writing this.

After the hike, we descended the mountain to arrive at the much acclaimed Shrimp Station, which is more of a Shrimp Shack. We arrived at 4:58 and were able to get the last order of the day! Over priced Coconut Shrimp, which were actually great. We then headed to another dive hole, Jo-Jo’s Hawaiian Ice, also much acclaimed, however they were lacking in sanitation as well as friendliness. We found this quite delicious. Our shaved ice was Tropical Rainbow: On the bottom was Macadamia nut ice cream topped with ice flavored of Passion Fruit, Mango, and Pineapple. 

After making our way back to the South side of the island, we went for a little swim in our backyard to cool off. Con ended up making a “sand castle” and then we ended up watching the sunset. After an 11 mile hike, we called it an early night.

Honeymoon Blog: Day 2

Monday 6/27

• First walk on the beach at 6 AM, and we saw an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal resting on the shore.  He had similar sleeping habits and demeanor to Otto, so Elise named him “Ottwo.”
• Went and hiking along the Poi’pu coastline amongst the Lithified Cliffs.  One sea turtle was spotted, rolling in the waves along the shore.
• Snorkeling along the Poi’pu shoreline, with our favorite finds being an eel and multiple parrot fish.
•  After a lunch break, we headed to the local farmer’s market, where we drank some coconut milk straight from a freshly macheteed nut.  We also purchased locally grown mountain apples, apple bananas, mangos, papayas, avocados, carrots, and pineapples.  A success to say the least.
• Then we headed to Costco to purchase some necessary provisions for the week.  We also purchased a new Nikon camera for the trip.
• Next, we headed inland to the Wialea waterfall.  Once seeing it from above, we decided to descend to the bottom to swim in the pool below (despite the “DO NOT ENTER” sign posted along the trailhead).  It was breathtaking and we were in awe.
• Free Maitai’s at the Sheraton this evening, followed by a trip to the Sprouting Horn ocean geyser and dinner in Kalahou.    

Honeymoon Blog: Day 1

Sunday June 26^th:

                Woke up at 7:30 AM and went down to meet the family for breakfast at the Five-21 restaurant at the Oread Hotel.  After some pancakes, omelets and warm conversation, we packed our things into our parent’s car and headed to the airport for our flight to Kaua’i! 

                After a relatively seemless check-in (minus the near confiscation of Connor’s cologne bottle which was “nearly” over 3 ½ ounces), we got ready to board the plane for the first leg of our trip with a layover in Denver; however, right before getting on, a couple with a small child approached us and offered to swap seat locations for the flight.  While we were booked to ride with the cattle in the economy class, these kind strangers had two tickets in first class.  At their insistence, all we could do was say, “Thank you.”  This random act of kindness was completely unexpected and was just the beginning of our good fortunes. 

                Following two relatively painless stops in both Denver and Los Angeles, we boarded the plane to our final destination, the garden isle of Kaua’i.   Nearly 11 hours of total flight time brought us to the island around 8 PM local time (1 AM Kansas time).  Fortunately, our bags made it with us too, and we headed for the car rental area.  What we found was a nightmare...  Two attendants were running the check-in counter at a snail’s pace.  Being the fifth in line, we waited nearly an hour just to see an attendant; however, they were most gracious with us, and decided to upgrade us for free to a splendid Ford Mustang convertible.  Winning!

                While driving on the island at night was slightly unnerving, we finally got to the hotel at around 9:30 Kaua’i time.  The Sheraton at Poi’pu was just as generous and upgraded us to an Ocean side view free of charge.  We finished the night with our first ever Hawaiian pizza (both of us had never even tried it before). It was created with locally raised pulled pork and pineapple. Delish!