Kauai

Everywhere on Kauai, people asked us "are you on your honeymoon?" We did go to Kauai on our honeymoon - four years ago, and we liked it so much that we came back again for a quiet vacation. Last time we stayed in Poipu on the south side of the island; this time we stayed in the Princeville hotel on the north side of the island.

Here is a view of Hanalei Bay from our room.

The hotel has a pretty swimming pool that is right next to a poolside bar. There are even underwater barstools that you can sit on while you sip on a drink!

Behind the hotel is a very nice beach with very few people. There are several cold freshwater streams that run down through the beach and into the ocean. When you stand in the cold streams, you can feel the surf wash up the beach, warm seawater swirling around your feet.

Here is a view of our room from Hanalei bay, in the style of Monet.

The nice thing about Kauai is that it's small enough that you can explore the island without running into a lot of other people, if you want. Until a few years ago, Kauai was so small that they only had one set of traffic lights on the whole island.

One day we followed a little dirt road to what a sign reported were "ocean bluffs". It was a stretch of undeveloped land by the ocean. Here is Heidi exploring the bluffs.

Another day we stopped at a beautiful beach on the side of the road - with nobody there but some sand crabs like this little one captured in a mars-lander-style photo here.

When you're on vacation, it's easy to lose track of the time. So.... we went to Wal-Mart and got.... a time beetle! It's a little clock inside a silver beetle pendant.

At Wal-Mart we also stocked up with snacks for our daily adventures - and we found a little pair of blue fuzzy slippers to bring home for Anthony.

Here is a picture of an X-files alien encounter we had while on Kauai:

David's favorite tuber is taro. (Do you have a favorite tuber?) On Kauai, they have special taro farms that are also part of a protected bird reserve, in the valley below. "Maybe we can live on a taro farm someday," said David.

We went kayaking through the reserve. Here is Heidi paddling hard while David takes a break.

If you're very quiet, you can meet some of the taro farm inhabitants, like this one.

Around the corner from the taro farms is a hiking trail that goes up the Na Pali coast (which has very high cliffs that go straight into the ocean). The trail was very steep and muddy. Right around here, large branches started to fall off the trees around us. For some reason we don't have any other pictures of this trail.

Somewhere in the mountains is a sleeping giant. Heidi thought she caught a glimpse of the giant here....

But he seems to have settled down for a nap here instead. Can you see him?

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