This Is Just The Beginning...: Hawai'i : Day 4

DAY 4 - Our 2nd day on Kaua'i was probably one of my favorite days of the trip. Well that's pretty hard to say as every day brought adventure. However this day, we saw the island from a whole different perspective. Via helicopter. I was little anxious at first as I had never been on a helicopter below, yet once it lifted off, I was totally fine. The views were amazing and this was both Caleb and my favorite part of the trip (if we have to pick just one).

But first, we woke up to this. Beautiful! I loved the views from our bed!

This is a mountain on the east side of the island called "King Kong." I never could make out which direction you should be facing to decipher the King or the Kong..

Yey! Helicopter time! Private ride with just Caleb and myself and the pilot, who was also named Caleb. Oh and we did the "doors-off" option. Definitely glad we did!

And we are off!

Waterfalls...everywhere!

Waimea Canyon aka "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific"

It is best to fly earlier in the day, rather than later, due to clouds. Although our flight was at 11:30am and we were told it was a wonderful day for a flight, we still flew into some clouds within the valleys of the mountains!

Headed for the coast!

First view of the Na Pali Coast! My favorite!!

Hanalei Bay

Mount Waialeale. Its summit is one of the wettest spots in the world. Here is a picture of water coming out of the side of the mountain!

Is it really over already?

Thank you, pilot Caleb, for bringing up back to ground safely!

Loved it!

See videos I have attached below of our flight!

After our breathtaking heli ride, we drove and explored the other side of the island we had not yet seen...the west side. On Kaua'i, much of the north/west side which the Na Pali Coast is located on, there are no roads. So basically there is a road that goes around the island as much as possible, yet stops at the north side at one end and stops at the west side at the other end. Each day we drove all around the island to get to one side or the other. Took longer than we thought when you can only go 35!

Along the way we stopped to get some Hawaiian Shaved Ice...in Hawaii! How fun! It was very good, but very, very sweet. After applying the flavor of your choice to the ice, they also cover it in sweet cream! Furthermore, the bottom has a scoop of ice cream! Yum! By the look of Caleb's face, he was a little taken back by all the sweetness...

We took a detour off the main road and went UP 18 miles to see views of the Waimea Canyon. Clouds were already starting to settle in the canyon, so luckily we had already seen its best side in the air.

Up the mountain, we took another detour as highlighted by our tour book, but made the wrong turn (or missed a turn) and ended up at the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility. Oops.

Once we finally made it all the way to the highest point of the road, unfortunately the clouds had really settled in and it had started to sprinkle. All we got was this... I try not to think about it or I get really sad. Just google this for images and you will see why! It would have been beautiful! Whatever...back down the mountain we go!

Once we got back on the main road, and were heading back south, we stopped at Kauai Coffee. I had no idea Kauai grew coffee, but found out Hawaii is the only state which grows coffee in the U.S. It is grown on the Big Island and on Kauai. The coffee on the Big Island is more well-known and is called Kona Coffee, which you may have heard of.

On the south side, we stopped at the "Spouting Horn." Pretty neat hole in the rocks on the shore which when the surf comes in just right makes water "spout" up!