Hawaii Day 4

This was our last day in Hawaii. This beautiful rocky shoreline and a tidepool called Queen's Bath were just a few minutes drive from our room. We wanted to find a spot to do some beginner snorkeling. 

 I will just tell you right now that Nate and I have awesome tan lines. We are both outside a lot, but we are not in our swimsuits a lot. So go ahead and gaze on the beauty that is my farmer's tan. At this point I think I was still trying to get up the nerve to snorkel. We both ended up doing a little snorkeling in that pool behind me.

I was googling a little about this place (after the trip) and apparently it's actually considered quite dangerous because of the unpredictable waves. SEE! Sometimes my worrying is justified! I was always worried Nate was going to drown or something on this trip.

Cutest little turtle in all the land.

Kilauea Lighthouse was our next stop after snorkeling. It's also a National Wildlife Refuge, and Nate loved the birds soaring along the coast.

Next stop was Poipu Beach where we did some more snorkeling. It was like being inside an aquarium, and I fell in love with those pretty fish.

We stopped to see this waterfall before going to catch our flight from Kauai back to Honolulu that night. I can't remember what it was called, but Nate will remember. The rainbows are always my favorite part.

That night we flew back to Honolulu and stayed at the Aqua Wave Waikiki. Apparently it was "Thirsty Thursday," and the city was loud and crowded that night. Very different from what we'd been experiencing earlier in the week, but still fun to see as part of the whole Hawaii experience.

Hawaii Day 3

Our 3rd day in Hawaii we visited Waimea Canyon. It's sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and it's breathtaking. We were so sad when we got to the first lookout point because we couldn't see a single thing because of the clouds. We hiked along the trail hoping the clouds would pass.

This was one of the awesome views we had once the clouds passed. Minutes later the clouds would cover everything again. It was amazing to watch the clouds dissipate and open up to beautiful scenery every few minutes.

We had to get a picture with our awesome car that made every minute spent driving extremely enjoyable.

That afternoon we had a sunset dinner on a sailboat. We both agreed that this was probably our favorite thing we did in Hawaii, although it was VERY hard to pick one.

Our captain let us take the wheel for a minute. He and the crew were so friendly and fun to talk to.

I absolutely loved seeing dolphins.

Can you see the face of King Kong?

 Dinner was salad, steak, shrimp, and lots of delicious vegetables.

I was blown away by the color of the water. It was really this blue!

Thoughtful Jessica. Scheming a way to spend another week in Kauai.

And a beautiful sunset to top off the day. 

Hawaii Day 2

Oh Kauai, I love you. This was our view from our hotel room. Most mornings there was a rainbow. The inside of our room was actually a disappointment. It needed to be renovated, and for vacations we only do every 10 years or so, we wanted something nicer. We felt like the pictures we had seen online were misleading, so we complained and got moved to a bigger, renovated room. I was sooo grateful. 

It is such a treat to wake up whenever you want. We didn't ever sleep past like 7:30, but that's sleeping in to us! We had a quick breakfast Tuesday morning at a little place in Princeville. There were tons of wild roosters hanging around.

Our big plan for the day was to hike along the Na Pali Coast. This was an amazing day. I am just in love with all that green!

Someday I may add more detail to this post, but suffice it to say, it was BEAUTIFUL. The colors were unreal. 

This is where we stopped hiking. You can keep going to a waterfall, but it was just a little too far for me. I would love to have another chance to do it someday. This beach was a great place to have a snack and rest for a bit.

After the hike we stopped at a little farmer's market. I'd never had coconut water right out of a coconut, so we got one of those. I didn't really like it much.

Now this I did like. Shave ice! It's got shaved ice, ice cream, and sweetened condensed milk. 

We spent the evening at the beach within walking distance from our hotel. 

The trees are incredible!

We ate dinner at a local taco shop that night. I insisted we stop for some ice cream at the store so I could do one of my favorite things that night - eat and read in bed!