Big Family Fun in Kauai

Each Hawaiian island is completely different. If you think going to Maui or Oahu means you've experienced the whole state, you're missing out. Where Oahu is packed full of activities, city life, and adventure, Kauai is rural and loaded with free ranging chickens. It is exactly what you picture when you think of Hawaii: lush forests, huge tropical plants, giant trees draped in vines with big leaves, perfect beaches with turquoise water and sea turtles. It is an idyllic place.

I convinced my family to come to Hawaii for a week to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday (and step-dad's birthday too). All three of my sisters flew over, two with significant others in tow. We stayed in a big, beautiful Princeville home on the North Shore and stocked the fridge with food from Costco.

Activities:

Kilauea Lighthouse

Wailua Falls

Waimea Canyon

Lithified Cliffs

Queen's Bath

Poipu Beach Park

Kilauea Mini-Golf

Hikes

Sleeping Giant (4 miles)

Hanakapi'ai Falls (8 miles)

Okolehao (4 miles)

Pu'u Okila Trail (3 miles)

Kaluapuhi Trail (2 miles)

Sleeping Giant was probably my favorite hike. We woke early and started the hike before dawn so that we would be at the top for sunrise. We reached the top just before the sun crested the horizon. It's not a long hike at only four miles. The sun broke through the low hanging ocean clouds scattering golden light throughout the valley and kissing the tops of the waves coming to shore. It was glorious!

The next greatest hike was Hanakapi'ai Falls which is the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail with the addition of another two miles following the river to where the canyon ends in a huge gorgeous waterfall. This one was fun with only two miles of really rough elevation gain, which are the miles on the Kalalau Trail. Those two miles have spectacular peek-a-boo views of the Na Pali Coastline, which is even more scenic in the winter with the waves crashing on the shear cliff faces. The boys swam in the pool under the falls, but it was friggin' cold so I skipped it.

Kilauea Lighthouse is a bird sanctuary and national wildlife refuge (or as the park ranger told me, "the bastard little brother no one remembers exists where it's perfectly ok to yell things like 'look at those boobies' and 'frigate!'" *snicker* Anyway, it's a beautiful place high on a cliff surrounded by crashing waves, and home to albatross, nene (the Hawaiian goose and state bird), red-footed boobies, and frigate birds.

The Lithified Cliffs are an shoreline of petrified sand dunes on the South shore of Kauai near Poipu Beach Park. They're like white lava rock: sharp with exotic shapes. We saw a huge turtle here after snorkeling and watched a great sunset.

Queen's Bath is a serene and beautiful pool in the summer time. In the winter, the surf turns it into a raging whirlpool of waves and currents. It's unbelievably beautiful and intense and should be handled with extreme care. Many people have died there. We all survived, but there may have been a scary moment or two. I'll protect some dignity and keep that story close. No picture because my phone died in that incident.

For mom's 60th birthday we took a little road trip to the other side of the island to see Waimea Canyon. This is known as the Grand Canyon of Kauai. It's a huge rift in the earth. The major difference is where the Grand Canyon of Arizona is dry and arid. This canyon has walls dotted with green. It's alive and thriving with a big waterfall. Along the winding road through the park are vistas of the canyon, hiking trails, and rest stops. And the best part, no snakes! Yay Hawaii!

In the park, we hiked Pu'u Okila Trail at the Kalalau Overlook. It's a 1.7 mile trail out along the ridge above the Kalalau Valley. It's mind blowing. The valley fills with clouds, overflows the trail, clears, and cycles again. It's stunningly beautiful, saturated with color, and has amazing ocean views.

For the most part, we ate a ton of yummy food we made in our big kitchen, drank pina coladas with scavenged coconuts and oranges, and played games. The house had a resident gecko that takes care of any bugs and randomly skitters across the wall. We went to the beach and played in the water even getting Anne, who usually stays out, in with some snorkeling gear.