aloha kauai

ned and i took a little vacation to kauai a few weeks ago.  it was a nice 

little getaway to a beautiful island.  it was a little chillier than i expected, with lows

in the 50's at night and the water a little bit too cold for me, but since we aren't much

for laying on the beach we had plenty to do and see!(these pictures are not in chronological order,

i was lazy)

this is a view from the top of the sleeping giant.  it was our first hike off the plane.
we try to take advantage of every minute we have on vacation to explore, so we make
plans as soon as our feet hit pavement.
my memories from this hike was that it didn't feel as humid as maui and while it was
warm hiking, at the top it was windy and chilly. we also met a mom and a daughter from
 slovakia, which i thought was kind of neat.

i tried to do more selfies this trip.  i am not a selfie picture taker.  for some
reason i just can't do it right.  

another view from our hike.  it was about 4 mile round trip.

the pool at our hotel.  we stayed at the st. regis in princeville.  it was a nice
 hotel, but i didn't love it as much as i loved the hotel in maui.  

beach views in hanea beach, north shore.

dry cave by hanea beach on the north shore.

ke'e beach, before our hike along the napali coast on our 2nd day.

looking down at ke'e beach from our hike.

along napali coast.

this is at black rock beach(can't see the black rocks) about 4 miles in along the napali coast.
the napali coast is this coastline that is only accessible by hiking, helicopter or boat.
it is famous for backpacking the 11 miles, 22 round trip.  you need a permit after mile 6.
this first few miles of the trail is popular with tourists and at this point most hike up to
some falls.  because it was a busy trail, we decided to keep going to the 2nd set of falls that
was less of a tourist attraction.  it was 6 miles in and was near the campground the backpackers
stay at on their way to the end of the 11 miles.

the terrain of the hike is pretty rigorous.  sometimes you are climbing boulders and
rocks, walking through or rather sliding on mud or stepping over tree roots,
 and it is not just a walk on the coast or through the jungles.
it is pretty uphill at times and then you do a steady decline into the jungle.  it is not
for the faint of heart. in fact, it took us about 30 min. per mile.  by himself, ned
probably could have gone faster, but still i am no wimp but it did give you quite
the work out.

more napali coast views

the waterfall we are headed to in Hanakoa valley.

the waterfalls were beautiful but very cold.  lots of helicopters
kept flying over too, which was kind of annoying and disruptive.
but there weren't any other hikers around.  everyone was camped about a 1/2
mile down the trail.

the sunset at ke'e beach.  we ended up hiking 14 miles this day and we felt it when
we got back.  we left that morning at 1045 and got back to the trailhead at 7.
it was a long but fulfilling day!! i'm so glad we did this hike! it was beautiful and challenging.

ready to take a helicopter ride to see the views!

pretty mountains

napali coast

mikes place.  this little dive we found in our blue book(the guide to kauai).  it
had yummy food.  so kalua pork isn't so popular on kauai as it is on maui, but fish tacos are super
popular.  also, a dish called loco moco(2 hamburger patties on rice with gravy-huh?).

a cool looking stream in the grand canyon of hawaii.

roosters and chickens were all over the island. we bought william
a plush stuffed rooster, which he totally loves.  

we tried to go to one of the highest points to see the view from about 5100 feet, but
it was quite cloudy and foggy.  we had this same problem on maui.  this was also
one of the wettest places on earth.

the beach by our hotel.  we went snorkeling here and saw some fish and sea turtles.
if you notice the clouds, it was often like this in kauai.  the weather was always
changing, rainy, cloudy, sunny, windy,etc.

they have some great rocky coastlines with crazy wild waves.
the ocean around kauai is full of rip tides so you have to be very careful swimming.
in fact, the beaches are often closed because of the dangerous conditions.

northern most point on kauai, so of course, they have a light house!

more views from our helicopter.  

lots of rivers and streams on kauai

hiking the sleeping giant

lihue, kauai

grand canyon in kauai

a little hike to queen emma's bath.

great rocky coastlines.

i can't decide if i like maui or kauai better?  there is so much to do and explore.  kauai is definitely less touristy, which is nice, but i feel like maui still has so much left for us to explore.  i feel like we saw most everything we wanted to on kauai and i don't need to go back for a little while.  also, i don't love the inconsistent beach conditions(it is partly because of the time of year too).  i do know that they both have amazing and picturesque landscapes, which i love!!  such a pretty place to visit!! plus everyone speaks english and you don't need a passport to travel there!!  aloha!!