Friends Trip Round 2

2018 was the second annual friends trip with Rachel, Brad, Thomas, and Camille. Last year we spent three days on Lanai. This year we visited Kauai. We also had an addition this year. Rachel and Brad brought Iris, their lovely five month old baby girl. Having a baby changes the dynamic just a bit, but the trip was no less fun for it.

We spent the first day on the west side of the island. We drove to Waimea Canyon and did some hiking above beautiful Kalalau Valley. It was super muddy, but we had a great time. Afterward, we caught sunset on the perfect powdery beach at Barking Sands. I tried to get us a room here, but apparently Veteran's Day weekend on a military installation is popular. Who knew?

We stayed in Princeville on the North Shore in a big, open Airbnb. Saturday, we left Iris with the boys and took off for a girls morning. Everyone wanted to float the canals on tubes, but babies aren't allowed, so we split up the two days. Floating the canals sounded fun enough. The actual adventure much exceeded my hopes and expectations. It was way fun playing bumper tubes with random people. On the way home we stopped for the most amazing acai bowls.

The boys with baby in stroller were at the park playing frisbee when we made it back to Princeville. The girls joined in for a bit. Brad and Rachel went to feed Iris. So, Thomas, Camille, Mike and I went to Queen's Bath. When I visited last time, Queen's Bath was a raging, dangerous place and Mike was almost lost at sea. This time it was calmer, not summer bath time calm, but we weren't at risk of dying. So that's cool.



After showers and lunch, the group headed out for drinks at the St. Regis hotel. Everything was as expensive as the name would suggest. They did a little Hawaiian ceremony at sunset where the manager came out in a Hawaiian sash, headpiece, and arm bands and sang a couple of songs. Iris was completely enraptured by him. He was so touched by it that he brought us all free champagne, minus Iris, of course.


Princeville hosts a Saturday night market with food, live music, etc. We wandered through the market and picked up all sorts of stuff for a house party. Too many chips, a couple of bottles of wine, and lots of HeadsUp later, everyone was out.

Sunday was the boys turn to go tubing. It was nice to sleep in a bit. The girls took a walk around the neighborhood with Iris. We found free avocados. We cleaned up the house, ate some leftover junk food and headed to Poipu to meet the guys. We stopped at two waterfall overlooks along the way before ending up at a glass beach. I'm not sure if there was a bottling company there, or if it's just a landfill. The beach is covered in tons of shimmering seaglass in all colors. It's a really cool little spot.


We grabbed lunch in Poipu and walked around some shops. Brad and Rachel hit the airport early since they had more stuff. The rest of us found a beach to visit before we headed back. It was such a lovely trip!