Hawai'i : Days 1-3

Our trip to Hawaii was unforgettable.  It was the one of the best, if not the best, vacation I have ever personally taken.  I know Caleb would undeniably agree.  

DAY ONE - It takes some time to get to Hawaii, no doubt. First we flew to LAX (which is roughly a 4-hour flight when flown nonstop).  On our planned 5-hour layover, we got to enjoy the company of one of my good friends, Kimber.  It was awesome to see and get to spend some time with her on our way out of the "mainland"!

We then flew from LAX to Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.  This took about 5 1/2 hours.  A lot longer than I originally thought Hawaii would take to get to.  But, oh, how the long flight was worth it!

I'm sure some people may think when you land in Hawaii, sweet tan natives greet you with a lei as you step off the plane.  Wrong.  This only happens on movies, including Blue Hawaii starring Elvis, which I vividly remember watching as a child and visualize being "leid."  

Well luckily we have good friends!  Landry and Kristina picked us up at the airport and greeted us with fresh flower leis!  So pretty (and so fragrant too!).

DAY TWO- We started this day off right by going to worship at Pearl City church of Christ, the church Landry and Kristina has been attending since they moved to Honolulu.  The church building was nice, as it was open-air.  Most buildings do not have air conditioning in Hawaii.  The people were even nicer.  Some sweet native elderly lady coming in at definitely less than 5 feet gave me sushi!  We met many nice people while we were there and even got good advice about things to do on our visit to Kauai.

After church services, we took our first hike!  This hike probably took about an hour to the end at a pretty waterfall, where many people climb-up and jump-in.  I was nervous thinking everyone other than me would have no problem jumping... 

I eventually managed to jump-off a lower area of the waterfall.  I will spare you my awful jump on screen.  However, my big, brave husband was the only one of the four of us who jumped off at the highest point.  See video below...

Later on during the evening, Caleb and I went by ourselves to see the famous Waikiki Beach.  We made it just in time for sunset.  Prettiest sunset we saw while in Hawaii.

Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head in background.

DAY THREE - We had lots awaiting us on day three, as it was our first day to be spent alone together on the  island of Kauai.  We took the 35 minute flight (ha) from Honolulu first thing in the morning.  We had a beautiful rainbow to greet us on the way out of Landry and Kristina's apartment (first of many, many rainbows while in the "Rainbow State"). 

First view of Kauai from plane window.

We rented a Jeep (ahh, more to come on that) and off we went!  Also, our travel guide in tow, which proved to be very, very handy.  We spent our first day in Kauai just driving and checking out spots along the way to our condo rental.  

First stop, another waterfall.  This one was easily viewable from road.  However, we couldn't stop there.  Caleb had to get closer.  A native which seriously only had 2 teeth in his entire mouth told us the quick route to the bottom of the falls.  So instead of taking the 1-hour hike down, we bypassed the "warning" sign and went down to the falls in about 10 minutes (after of course almost slipping and falling on mud and rocks).  Luckily there were some rigged-up ropes that had been let down we could grab onto as we scaled down!

At the time I took the picture of the "warning" sign at the entrance of the "short-cut trail" to the falls,  I had no idea this would be one of many, many warning signs we would see on our trip.  Practically every "adventure" we went on, we were first met with a "warning" sign.  Eventually, I began to rely on the warning signs as more directional signs of "ah yes, this is where we need to go next!"

Off-roading it just a tad.  I was so happy in "my" Jeep.

 Stopped at a lookout to see another waterfall in the distance and pretty views.

First beach to see on Kauai. This is the east shore of the island.

Alas we made it to the beginning of the north shore to our condo rental in Princeville!  Kauai is a more remote island than Oahu and is not highly-commercialized.  It has small towns scattered throughout the drive around the island.  Biggest road is a double-lane, max 50 mph, with 35 mph being the most common.  Needless to say, we enjoyed the views from our Jeep as we drove!

Our condo was the last unit in the complex and was at the corner.  The complex is located on cliffs which rise above the ocean.  Very beautiful.  A small 10-minute "hike" with trail down led us to the Sea Lodge Beach. 

Sea Lodge Beach. It was a nice, secluded beach.  We both snorkeled for a while, until I saw a nasty eel.  I then decided just to hang out on the sand.

Our condo.  We spent very little time in here.  However when we were here, the best part was the view!  In particularly, the view from the bed!  Morning picture from bed to follow later.  Ah, loved it!!

Our first day in Kauai was our 1-year anniversary!  June 11th.  Crazy to think it has already been a year.  Honestly, our first year has been sorta tough for the both of us for various reasons, and I do not mourn its passing.  I am more thankful for the year to follow and many more upcoming with Caleb!! 

Caleb had already found a place for us to have dinner for our anniversary.  So thoughtful.  In hindsight, this restaurant was our favorite place we ate while in Kauai!  Tapas!  It was very tasty and we got to sit outside and enjoy the scenery.  Highlight tapas for me:  Ahi (Tuna) and Ono Fish!

Days 4 - 9 to follow.  So much more left untold!