It was getting into May and the conversation went something like this. “If we don’t do something soon, we’re going to manage to miss the summer without taking a vacation”. It wouldn’t be the first time. We had been talking about going to Florida — Miami and the Keys. But summer didn’t seem like the right time of year for Florida. Plus the BP oil spill was starting to come ashore. So we turned our eyes westward. What about Hawaii? We had been to Maui the year after Daniel was born. And the Big Island in 2006. So what about Kauai?
Okay, but we know nothing about it. So we hit the Internet and a few hours later we had a condo in Poipu, a car and plane reservations. Who says we can’t move fast when we want to?
We didn’t get a lot of time to anticipate the trip, but then again we didn’t spend a lot of time worrying about it either. We got our friend Les to take care of the kitties and packed up what available t-shirts, shorts and sandals we had, plus a pile of photo gear and off we went. But not before Marion had a misstep and managed to sprain her ankle a few days before we left.
If you want to see where everything is, here’s a map of Kauai and some of the places we visited.
- Day 1 – Portland to Poipu
We fly from Portland to Poipu and get our first taste of Kauai - Day 2 – West to the end of the road
We take the highway west to the end of the road - Day 3 – North to the end of the road
We go to the end of the road on the north side and just miss Johnny Depp - Day 4 – Waimea Canyon, Poipu Beach
We marvel at Waimea Canyon, visit the Na Pali overlook, and eye the fish at Poipu Beach - Day 5 – Kayaking and snorkeling up north
We brave the rain to kayak the Hanalei River into the bird sanctuary and snorkel at Anini Beach - Day 6 – Snorkeling, Botanical Garden, Waimea Canyon
We snorkel at Poipu beach, visit the Botanical Garden, and tempt fate for a 2nd look at Waimea Canyon - Day 7 – Na Pali coast cruise
We cruise the awesome Na Pali coast with Captain Trent - Day 8 – Poipu to Portland
We bid a fond farewell and start planning for the next trip