Ben and I found ourselves with a bunch of skymiles, a good deal on a vacation rental, and some major itchin' for some sun...which naturally led us to Kauai, Hawaii; aka heaven on earth.
I'll let the pictures do most of the telling (although they do NOT do the island's beauty justice!). But swimsuit pictures are not my fav, so you won't see those on here. :)
Fresh fruit smoothies...yum!
Boogie boarding. He got eaten up by those waves. The only other people out there were the locals.
He kept me company while Ben was out boogie boarding. His calm, laid back demeanor kept down my anxiety about the possibility of my husband being swallowed up in the waves.
Just a beautiful picture out the car window. No big deal.
Eight-mile mud hike. Not everyone's idea of vacationing, but that's what my husband
loves...and it's what I
like...and that I am a good sport about! :)
But the scenery and Hanakapiai Falls were beautiful!
So much mud=so much fun! We ended up switching to watershoes halfway up. :)
Halfway through the hike is this beach. So we stopped to meditate.
For obvious island-beauty reasons.
Bamboo forests--so cool!
It looks like I'm talking to the tree...I guess I just became one with nature.
The beautiful 300-foot Hanakapiai waterfall! (This is still pretty far away, and again, pictures do not do it justice.) It was soo powerful!
Sunset at Hanalei Bay. (Surfer's central.)
Hideaways beach...My favorite.
White sand? Check.
Blue water? Check.
Warm water? Check.
Secluded? Check.
Heaven on earth? Check check...
Reading on the beach on a Sunday afternoon.
Queen's Bath--a little nature made pool.
My all-time favorite fruit/smoothie/organic/natural food place...my mouth is watering.
Only a very small percentage of Kauai can be seen by car, then a little bit more by foot or boat. The rest you have to (have to) see by helicopter!
We got to sit in the front!
Pictures we took from the helicopter. Gorg-eous-o Na Pali Coast (north side of Kauai).
Just another secluded beach. Seriously, every beach we found had very few people on it.
Fish Express--Macadamia Nut-crusted fish. To die for.
Rope swing--so much fun! It's about a 30-foot drop from the rope into fresh water. Then you just swim and swim to your little heart's desire while you gaze at the waterfall and other beauty around you. *sigh*
We video-taped ourselves on the rope swing for posterity. Maybe I'll post it sometime.
Duke's Restaurant on the beach at sunset. Coconut shrimp and hula pie!
Just another beautiful waterfall we drove by.
Pit stop.
I made (asked nicely) Ben get out of the car and pretend to take pictures across the road at "something" to divert the attention of any passerbys. Haha. What a good husband.
This is "Secret Beach." My other favorite.
And that's my handsome husband.
And that's our not-so-handsome sand castle. The waves got to it.
One day we found some vines. Naturally, we swung on them, like George of the Jungle (which was filmed there, among several other movies).
"...Watch out for that TREE!!"
Our last sunset. We can't wait to go back someday.
I loved spending every minute of eight days straight with my husband.
