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.

Playing Tourist in Boston

Two of my favorite people moved to Boston this summer for a yearlong escape from Utah. So, of course, I had to pay them a visit. My sister's birthday fell on a Friday and Mike and I always go somewhere for our anniversary (Belize then Iceland/Ireland the past two years). This year we flew 6000 miles to the gorgeous city of Boston.

After an overnight flight, breakfast and a nap, we rented kayaks and paddled the Charles River, then rode on Hubway bikes just for the freedom and novelty to Boston Commons. Next, we had fancy cocktails on the top floor of the Prudential. We walked back to Em's place and "got all gussied up" as Mike says. Then we had an amazing dinner at a jazz bar and restaurant called The Beehive. It was fabulous!

 

The next morning I woke up feeling like a superhero, weird since I drink so rarely. I talked Mike into running a loop around the Charles over a few bridges. It was gorgeous! We took off feeling pretty good. A mile in we joined a huge group of people doing a walk for heart disease. Two miles in, I realized I was not doing quite as well as I had though. Three miles in we did some walking and took some pictures. After five miles, we were back at the apartment. 

Em and James took us to the Boston Public Library. Its a super beautiful marble historic building with the coolest place to study. It also leads into the new library which is also amazing, but more modern. After that, I was finally ready to eat something. We went to a salad place called Sweet Green. Oh my gosh! So freaking good. I need one of these next door to my office, or maybe my house.

James was called into work on Sunday, boo! Emily, Mike and I went on a Duck tour. Our guide was a pirate with great jokes and a good attitude. Unfortunately, 3/4 of our boat was non-native English speaking. So most of his jokes went WAY over their heads. We were the three giggling in the back corner. Anyway, it was a great tour with a ton of history.

Next, we picked up a Zip Car and Emily drove us to Nashoba Valley Winery for apple picking and wine tasting. It was delightful! There were tons of people there with kids and dogs and picnic baskets. Everyone was just hanging out enjoying the beauty. The trees were just barely beginning to show signs of fall. We picked a peck of Gravenstein and Macintosh apples, sampled a bunch of red wines, and took silly pictures in the apple orchard.

On our way back we stopped at Trader Joe's (I miss this store so much! Pleeeeeese come to Hawaii!!!) and picked up meats and veggies. The rooftop at Emily's apartment building has grills, tables and chairs and even a big TV with cable. We watched a lovely sunset and had a feast. I made an apple pie for dessert. I think it turned out ok, but should have baked longer.

Monday we went whale watching. We sailed way out of the harbor until Boston was just a blip on the horizon. We stopped to watch a mola mola fish sunning itself in the water. These are the strangest looking creatures. They are gray and flat with long gray fins on top and bottom. They move by waving those fins. They don't have the tail and side fins most fish do. Super odd. I'd never actually seen one in person before. We ventured further and started seeing spouts. We found five or six fin whales which are freakin gigantic. We looked them up after the trip and realized we were only seeing maybe five percent of the whole. Then we found a single young humpback. It was a calf from last year and had NO fear of the boat. She swam right underneath us a few times. Seriously the coolest!

On recommendation, we had to try Tiger Mama. It's an Asian Fusian place with clever pairings. We ordered a bunch of plates and split them four ways. They have an extensive gluten free menu and are very conscious of it. The food was amazing! I can't decide whether their papaya salad or their seared scallops were better.

For our anniversary, Mike and I went to the aquarium. You'd think with as much diving as we do the aquarium would be nothing more than amusing. Not so. We spent a full 45 minutes in the shark exhibit. They had rays and sharks you can TOUCH!!! It was amazing! The place in itself is so dang cool. It has four levels with a huge cylindrical tank in the middle. A concrete ramp spirals up around the tank which is full of fish, rays, bonnethead sharks (!!!!) and even a huge old turtle. The first level has three penguin exhibits. They're super stinky but also super cute! Each has a colored band around one wing which lets you identify it on an ipad nearby. There are all kinds of fish on each level including a big octopus. Additionally there were poison dart frogs and anacondas. Yikes. Finally, they have some super cute seals, which are hilarious animals if you just sit and watch them for a bit.

 

We went to Legal Seafoods for lunch. I'd heard they had a GF lobster roll (at $30! yikes). The one we went to did not. Also the service was poor at best. However, we had really good lite clam chowder, a salad and seafood casserole. Very tasty, but we were stuffed for the rest of the day. So much for anniversary dinner. Haha!

Afterward we went back to the aquarium and watched a 3D IMAX film on great white sharks. So cool! I find sharks fascinating. Most people are terrified of them and think they should all die. Those people don't understand how important they are. Sharks are vital the the health of the oceans. They clean up dead and dying animals. They should always be treated with respect and awareness, but they're not mindless killers. I hope people realize that before it is too late.

We stayed at a cute AirBnb in East Boston just blocks from great dining, an amazing view of the skyline, and the airport. Easy peasy. Thanks to Emily and James for a fast and furious weekend in an amazing city!

Hiking Mtojingtake and Enoshima

36 hours prior to a previously cancelled trip I receive a phone call: "Hi! We changed our minds and we'll be there to see you soon!" Oh great! I have a day and a half to not only cancel my weekend plans, but also book hotel for 9 nights. I managed to find 5 nights of it right off the bat. The biggest problem was finding Saturday nights and there were two of them during the stay. The flight was delayed 3.5 hours which allowed me to go check them into the hotel and check the room out. Once I spent the 3 hour train/bus ride getting to the airport, I waited a scant 15 minutes before they appeared through the gate. Another 3 hours of trains and walking got us to the hotel around 2330! I dropped them off and made it home in time to crash.

Saturday morning came bright and beautiful. We moved their luggage to my room, grabbed some water and lunches, and went to the train station to meet my favorite hiking guide. We took a train to a train to a train to a bus to another bus to the trail head to Myojingtake. The hike began in a lovely cedar forest and climbed steadily, steadily out through ankle deep mud to a view of Hakone and Fuji-San! Part way up we came across a group of French hikers and a group of Japanese teenagers. Immediately it became a race to the top, though I was the only one competing. I would like everyone to know: We won that race! Yes, I am that silly. Emily was in full performance mode, so we had a great time playing off each other with movie quotes and impressions, singing songs, and playing "remember when...". We had lunch at the top and ended the hike with another seriously long bus ride to a train to a train to a train. Finally, we finished the day with dinner at my favorite Indian restaurant and piled into my tiny shoebox hotel room. Let me tell you, 3 people in that room was absurd!

Sunday we took a trip out to Kamakura to see the bronze Buddha and Enoshima Island. I've posted a million pics of Buddha, so I will skip to Enoshima. I've been dying to get out to this little island for months! Its a total tourist place with street performers, gardens, a temple, etc. To reach the island we had to traverse a fairly long bridge surrounded by restless waves. Since the wind was still blowing like crazy, the waves were crashing against the walls of the bridge, occasionally spraying little droplets of water at us. Once we arrived, we immediately met Davinci, who is a street performer. Davinci wore a multi-hued bodysuit complete with awkwardly different booty shorts and topped by shiny, silver chaps. His black thong was clearly visible and the gold cape blew in the wind like a banner. He was enormously entertaining to Emily and I. We took a photo with him, though he exchanged the cape for a hot pink boa. Past the performance area, we walked through a market full of strange (to us) foods and all sorts of trinkets. Beyond the market stairs begin to lead through gates to the temple at the top of the hill. We climbed up and up and up and came upon different views and interesting objects at each level.

At the top, there were gardens, a cave shrine with a dragon, and more food. I bought Dad and I each a skewer of grilled baby octopuses. Emily took a tiny bite and couldn't stand it, but at least she tried. We found a little nature trail that leads to an entire fence covered in padlocks. They ranged in size, color, shape, and amount of rust, but all had initials on them. Lovers professing their undying love. When a section of fence is filled, it is moved to another area near the trail. There are thousands of these locks. Next we walked around to the beach side of the island. The waves were crashing on the rocks while the wind whipped at our hair and clothes. It was incredibly beautiful with the sun beginning to set over the water and each wave glittering as if it were not full of salt water, but gemstones. We made it back to shore and the beach while the sun was still up and returned to Yokosuka with just enough time to grab everything and go to Tokyo for the next hotel.