Kaua'i.

Ok, we're officially out of control when it comes to vacationing.

Justin is working on formatting a book as a side project and came into some extra dinero.  Should we put it in savings?  Should we use it as payment towards our Mediterranean cruise next summer?  Should we use it towards various home projects that I have been meaning to get around to?

No.  We use it to travel to the beautiful and small island of Kauai.

I cannot stress to others enough that when you come across some extra cash you should spend it on a vacation.  There has never been a time when I have experienced buyer's remorse when it comes to spending a pretty penny on  traveling to interesting places.  The sights and experiences are worth every dollar spent.

Day 1:  Another early flight, only one layover in LA.  LAX probably has the worst seating arrangement for waiting customers.  They are formed in this tight half-box shape where it forces you to touch knees with a stranger.  This has been added to my list of why Los Angeles is the most annoying city out there.  As soon as we landed in Kauai, every single islander we ran into had a smile on their face and had helpful information or recommendations to provide.  Seriously, the nicest people on this big round planet live on this island.  There is a sense of community and high quality of life that just radiates from everyone living there.  After checking in, we did what we do every time us desert creatures are near the ocean - change into swimsuits and hit the beach!  This is the first resort we've stayed at where the beach wasn't right in our backyard  (although it was only a 3 minute walk across the street.)  The waves on the south shore were a little rougher than usual but still not as rough as they were in Maui when we visited.  I was a bit hesitant, as I always am since waves always seem to want to take off with half of my swimsuit, but Justin dove right in.  He loves diving into waves and I love seeing him jump into them and splash around like a kid.  After beach time we strolled over to the pool and grabbed free Mai Tais and listened to some live ukulele music.  One of the managers worked his way around the pool and welcomed each guest.  We chit-chatted with him for a few minutes and he was curious to know about the Haboob we had in Phoenix.  Kauaians are lucky they don't have to deal with all that pesky dust.  The guy providing the musical entertainment was hilarious and was desperately trying to spice up the crowd participation.  Justin got him to play the NBA theme song and we shared a few laughs with him before he dedicated a song to us.  For dinner, we went to Restaurant 2978, which also dubs as Richie's Bar and Grill (never found out why.)  We ordered three sushi rolls:  the California Roll (for boring ole me), the Garden Roll, which included tempura broccoli, yam, avocado, cucumber, some other deliciousness I am forgetting, and a sauce drizzled on top, and the UB  Roll that had spicy tuna, macadamia nut, and avocado in it.  They had a special where if you mentioned Yelp you received  a free ice cream smores dessert.  Heaven!  This meal was amazingly delicious.  So delicious that I wanted to go back the next day for lunch!  Justin isn't into repeats so we didn't actually go again. Ho-hum.  Chef Yoshi came out from the kitchen to ask us how we liked our meal, gave us recommendations for things to do, restaurants to eat at, and just chatted about the island in general.  He was a young guy originally from San Jose, CA who had traveled to and fro to Kauai throughout his life and just decided to plant his roots there once and for all.  I admire that desire and courage to just go for what you know feels right and make it happen. We kept missing our turn-offs on our way back to the hotel, but driving down moon-lit, quiet roads with puffy clouds and bright stars peeking out in between them while listening to Island Radio isn't a bad situation to find yourself in.

Day 2:  Woke up early, grabbed breakfast.  It was mediocre, but it was free!  Walked over to the beach for a swim and left a couple of hours later when we were kicked off of the nice shady cabana we overtook.  We headed to Old Koloa Town to look around.  The marketplace consisted of a cute assortment of shops, restaurants, and a grocery store.  Many scrumptious smells were floating our way but we went with slices of pizza at Pizzetta and then some shaved ice at Koloa Mill Ice Cream and Coffee shop.  We sat on a bench and ate our goodies while taking in the view of the lush field across from us.  Before heading back to the hotel, we picked up some snacks and a bottle of pineapple wine at the market.  Husband has been craving that wine ever since we bought some when we traveled to The Big Island in March.  Later in the afternoon we headed over to Port Allen on the west coast of the island for our Napali Coast sunset cruise.  I was SO looking forward to this!  We boarded the catamaran with a few couples, what seemed like a ladies church group, and a party of 26 Kauians.   The captain warned us that parts of the ride would be "really exciting", meaning rough, which is a term he doesn't like to use.  Thankfully, I took some meds beforehand.  The Kauaians were a loud and hilarious bunch that took full advantage of the open bar.  Their rowdiness eased my worried mind when those "really exciting" moments hit.  It took about an hour and a half to sail to our destination, but with the scenery and all the mai tais and beer we could drink, it seemed like no time at all.  The beauty of the Napali coast is overwhelming.  You just can't take your eyes off of all the amazing-ness.  We scoped out different beaches, some that you could only get to by boat, some where naked people congregate, and some where royalty lay buried in sacred ground.  On our way back to land, I spotted an older lady (from the church group), standing by herself on the side of the boat with her eyes closed, whispering to herself.  I imagined that she was communicating the feeling of the wind, the smell of the ocean, and the peace that was brought on while taking in all the beauty around us to a long-gone loved one.  Perhaps her husband?  Either way, I held Justin a little tighter and felt extremely thankful for life.  Not just my life, but life in general.  It bought a few tears to my eyes, which was shocking to me since I'm not usually the emotional type.  It was that powerful of a feeling, though.  Thankful.  The word of the day.  Justin and I stood on the deck of the boat most of the way back to take in as much of surroundings as possible, but had to run for cover once the ocean spray started soaking through our clothes.  As the sun was setting the crew passed out champagne and we toasted at sunset.  The rambunctious and inebriated Kauains thanked us for putting up with their shenanigans on the trip and we all said our alohas.  Driving back to the hotel we had a craving for more sweet goodies at Koloa Mill Coffee House.  I ordered chocolate macadamia nut ice cream in a sugar cone and Just ordered homemade blueberry cheesecake.  Perfect ending to fantastic experience!

Day 3:  After breakfast we drove to the Northwest side of the island to Waimea Canyon.  It took about an hour and a half to drive there and I slept through most of it.  I was still recovering from the bumpy boat ride the evening before and sometimes it's just better to fall asleep rather than feel motion sickness.  The winding road up the mountain didn't help either, but it sure was beautiful!  We stopped at various lookout points along the way but we couldn't seem to find the hiking trail Justin wanted to try.  We ended up at the top of the mountain and decided to just hike the trail that was available up there.  Again, the gorgeousness that surrounded us was unreal.  We stopped and stared out into the canyon multiple times on our hike.  While looking out at the ocean, you could tell where the water ended and the sky began.  The rich blues blended into each other perfectly.  It started to rain pretty heavily during our hike, and our trail was already a difficult one to begin with.  We had to hold onto tress at times just to cross certain mud-filled areas.  It was such a peaceful hike, we didn't want to turn back, but after an hour we were forced to head back because our clothes were soaked along with our backpack that held lots of different pieces of technology.  When we reached the starting point once again, we took in as much of the canyon view as we could.  It's so hard turning your back on all that beauty!  Before going back to the resort, we just had to stop for lunch at Mark's Place for a plate lunch.  My mouth watered just waiting in line to order.  I got the Chicken Katsu combo, which was thinly sliced breaded chicken pieces with a sweet dipping sauce, and Justin ordered the Moco Loco combo which included two burger patties with fried eggs on top.  The combos came with white rice, lo mein, and macaroni salad.  So much tastiness!  Unfortunately, I didn't get though much of my meal because of that damn motion sickness still haunting me.  When we got back to the hotel, Justin headed for the beach while I headed for bed, hoping to calm my dizziness.  Later that evening, we sat out on our balcony with the pineapple wine, fresh green grapes, and the hawaiian version of fiddle-faddle.  Our room overlooked the pool area, so we were able to hear the live music that was being played poolside perfectly.  The highlight was hearing him play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as the sun was setting.  We dressed and had dinner at Kauai Pasta.  I ordered the pesto pasta and Justin had the Pesto chicken.  They served an enormous amount of food, and I was sad to send back so much tasty pasta.

Day 4:  Last day.  Swam in the ocean one last time after breakfast then finished packing up.  Since our flight didn't leave until 10:50 at night we headed out for some more sightseeing.  We drove to the north shore, which took about an hour and 45 mins.  We saw Hanalei Valley, caves, the lighthouse, mountains with waterfalls, and scenic views straight out of Jurassic Park.  We were convinced a brontosaurus was going to lift it's long neck at any moment from the tall grassy fields.  The twisting, narrow road up the mountains was loaded with one way bridges and lots of pedestrians walking over to the many beaches lining the mountain base.  This side of the island was just as breathtaking and it was home to many residents.  I hope they know how lucky they are!  We drove back to old Koloa Town for dinner, where I drank the strongest Mai Tai of my life, and had one last goodbye dessert at Koloa Coffee house.  We sat for a bit in the coffee house and again outside on the benches watching the sun go down before heading to the airport.

Kauai is my favorite Hawaiian island.  It's breath-taking scenery, kind, smiley residents, and the smallness of it made it a relaxing and peaceful experience.  I got a real sense of what it means to "Live Aloha" while visiting.  I hope to make it back there someday and share this experience with more of my loved ones.