Vacation Journal: Farewell Kauai

Oh sad day... time to go home. Due to our frequent flyer tickets we had separate flights from Lihue to Honolulu. Lia and I flew on Island Air. It is a tiny little plane and flies really low so you get amazing views of the islands. This picture was taken after we landed in Honolulu. Lia was a little nervous and big eyed about walking out on the tarmac to board and de-plane.

Try as I might, I couldn't get her to pose for me here. You can see our sticker project which kept us busy on the plane ride.

We reunited with Chris, David and Emily at the Honolulu airport. We had a pretty long layover there so we checked out the Chinese and Japanese gardens.

And while the kids ran around the gardens, my husband found the Kona Brewery Co. Restaurant. He thought that was a very nice place to wait for our next plane.

And Lia was more than happy to keep him company. That is a Mai Tai he is drinking. ;-)

Vacation Journal - Ridge Trail

This was our last vacation day and we wanted to get one more hike in. The ridge trail has some elevation gain but not like the Okolehao trail the day before. Here is Chris with the big kids on the trail.Everything was very lush and green.

Chris and Lia at the overlook. We had a picnic lunch here.

Cool flower.

Before we head home, we always wash our feet off in the river. It is very cold but feels great on your tired feet.

And the coolest part is that the river crosses the road here and you get to drive across it!

Vacation Journal: Okolehao Trail

When it finally stopped raining, Chris was ready to take the family hiking. Okolehao Trail is very close to my parent's condo and is one of our favorites. Here is a family picture at the trailhead. There is a stream that runs under this bridge. David would have been perfectly happy to drop leaves and sticks into the river and watch them float downstream... and just pass on the hike! This activity probably comes natural to children, but we always think of Winnie the Pooh and his game of Pooh Sticks from our read alouds.

Hiking sticks are very important. My Dad was sweet enough to save the kid's hiking sticks for them in his garage... the ones they picked out last year! By the way, this trail basically takes you straight up the mountain. It is hard work just to hike it... but my sweet husband likes this trail so much he actually pushes Lia up the mountain in her jogging stroller. I have no idea how he does this but he must burn about a thousand calories.

Nana and Emily had lots of quality time to talk on our hikes. They both enjoyed this time.

No... Chris isn't checking his email. He pulled up the GPS to see where we were on the mountain. Technology is pretty cool.

We remembered there were wild orchids on this trail from last year and were very happy to find a few. Emily always has the job of picking flowers for our dinner table each night and she takes this work very seriously.

Lizard!

We were proud to identify the Koa tree by its sickle shaped leaves. Koa wood is highly prized by the Hawaiians for its hardness and is used to make outrigger canoes, surfboards, hardwood floors, etc...

So yes, it is great excercise to hike up a mountain but the best part of working so hard is the view you are rewarded with at the end. You can see beautiful Hanalei Bay behind us. I also made chocolate chip muffins to enjoy at the top. The thought of those muffins kept us going as well.

Emily did her job well. She gathered a beautiful bouquet to take home.

Amazing Sunset

You could get spoiled here.

Vacation Journal - Kilohana Plantation Train Ride

Our "big" event for this vacation was a train ride at the Kauai Plantations. We don't usually do a lot of "touristy" things because we are already familiar with the island and we like doing our own thing. However, I had never been to this plantation and I thought the kids would love the train ride. We arrived early enough for the 1:00 train to have a picnic lunch on the plantation grounds before boarding. We all gathered at the train depot and we were excited to hear the conductor call out "All Aboard!"

We chose to sit in the first car and had it all to ourselves. The rest of the passengers sat in the second car which was a little bit more open air but we enjoyed being right up front. Everyone looks excited!

Our conductor gave a great tour as we drove through the plantations and we got to see all the crops and fruit trees. We saw guava, pineapple, lichee, orange trees and avocados growing in neat and tidy rows. The best part though, was when we stopped to feed the wild boar and goats.

David is anxiously waiting for his bread. So are the animals.

I think my Mom liked this little goat.

Since they have luaus at this plantation, we wondered if these were the Luau pigs...? However, we were informed that these boar were simply pets of the plantation and that they had to purchase FDA approved pigs for the luaus. :-)

After taking care of business, we finished up our train ride. The boar were treated to some leftover pineapple and we were on our way. Aren't the mountains beautiful?

On our way out, we admired the gigantic hibiscus blooms. These were some of the biggest and most beautiful flowers I had ever seen.

Hawaiian Shave Ice

To call this treat a snow cone, would be an insult... Hawaiian Shave ice has the texture of snow and this place in Hanalei doesn't mess around. They serve macadamian nut ice cream at the bottom of the shave ice cup. These two look pretty pleased don't they?

That's a mighty big Shave Ice for a 3 year old. Do you think she shared with her Mommy? Nope.

And guess what? We had an extra special guest join us at the picnic table. A very tame red headed cardinal got to have some Hawaiian Shave ice on his own personal spoon. We were so pleased.

This is the life.

Vacation Journal - Beautiful Kee Beach

We got a break from the rain one morning and headed to the world famous Kee beach. We were not the only ones there! The kids were able to swim, Emily hiked some of the Na Pali trail with her Daddy, and by goodness, we got to see the sun for a little bit!

The kids are enjoying the ocean with their Nana.

Lia is telling me we picked an excellent place to sit. She loved playing in the sand this trip and chasing the Hawaiian chickens that were everywhere!

A perfect shallow place for Lia to play.

Drip castles.