Kauai 2015

Paradise.

Even that word does not describe how amazingly gorgeous, breathtaking, peaceful, and incredible the island of Kauai is.

This was our second trip there, and it definitely will not be our last.  We are hooked.

A few months back, my mom mentioned that she and my dad would be going to Kauai in September.  I said, "How fun!" to which she replied, "Come with us!" and I said, "Okay!"

A little while later my mom and I both had the thought that we needed to see if my grandma wanted to come with us.  She didn't hesitate to say yes.

The best part is, a few weeks before we were to leave, we mentioned to my Aunt Cheri that we were going.  She said, "I want to come!"  So we said, "Come!"

And she did.

It was awesome.

It was a week filled with a ton of sights.  It was hard to take it all in.  I was exhausted every single night, but it was a good exhaustion.

The first night we were there, we went to the Smith Family Luau.  I have to admit, I had a hard time staying awake by the time the luau actually started.  What I saw of it was great though. :)

The second day we found "Nurses Beach."  This is the beach where they filmed the nurses scene in South Pacific.  It was gorgeous.  We actually started out on another beach that we thought was the one we were looking for.  When we realized we were not at the right place, we started walking, thinking that it would only be a short distance.

It wasn't actually a short distance, but it was a good workout, walking through all that sand.

So, this is what I get for asking Mark to take some pictures of me so that people would know I was on the trip too...smart aleck

At the "Nurses Beach" there is this great little cove area where the waves crash over the rocks.  We couldn't get enough of watching the process.  It was incredible.

One of the days we went to the Kauai Chocolate Farm.  I wasn't too sure if I would like it, even though I love chocolate.  Let me clarify...I love chocolate when it has a lot of sugar in it.  I don't love it when it is the dark, sugarless kind.  I knew that the tour would include taste testing, but it would all be dark chocolate.  But, I was interested in learning how chocolate is made, so I decided to give it a chance.

I am so glad that I did.

It was one of the best parts of the trip.

Another day we headed to Poipu Beach and discovered an amazing sunset.
My camera just could not do it justice.

It was breathtaking.

(Do you like our failed selfie attempt? :)

One of the things that I really wanted to do was hike along the Napali Coast.  When Mark and I were in Kauai in 2011, we were only able to see the Napali Coast from the cruise ship.  I remember crying the whole time we silently glided past that incredible shoreline.  It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen and I knew that I wanted to see it up close someday.

The hike ended up being harder than we planned on, but the beauty of it made up for any discomfort.

Since it was the rainy season, the pathway was pretty much a mud bath.  It was slippery and a few of us suffered some minor injuries, but again, we were hiking the beautiful Napali Coast!  We'll take a few injuries! 

And a little mud...:)

Our second to the last day there, we drove to Waimea Canyon- the Grand Canyon of Kauai.

Again...there are no words.

Absolutely incredible.

I can't fathom anything more amazing.

Since we had red-eye flights, we spent our last day cramming in as much as we could.  We found "Queen's Bath."  I really wish that we could have swam in there.  It looked amazing.

We also stopped at the Kilauea Lighthouse.

How many times can I use the word incredible in one blog post?

It was so sad to leave this beautiful paradise, but I was definitely ready to get back to my kids.  I missed them.  Apparently they missed us too, at least Abbie did.  This is the note she gave me when we got back.

(Oct. 2, 2015  I didn't feel good this past week because I am allergic to you being gone.)

I don't know about being allergic, but I do know that it was hard to be away from them.  We were definitely happy to be home safe and sound, but it was very hard to leave all this...

Goodbye, Kauai, my dear friend.

Don't worry, I'll be back someday.

(Here is a video compilation of all the video footage I took.  It's a lot, and I don't expect you to watch it.  I am mostly posting it for my family, but who am I kidding, they are probably 5 out of the 10 people who are reading this post anyway. ;)