Kauai, Hawaii
- Gladys Roberts
- Feb 16, 2022
- 8 min read
2021 was a year of so many changes and exciting life events. Settling into our new home, Liam's first birthday, our first time skiing, camping trips, summer festivals, a trip to D.C., visiting family in Florida, Travis finishing his MBA and so much in between! After the hustle and bustle of a crazy and busy year, we wanted to wind down as 2021 came to its end. Hawaii seemed like the perfect place for that, but unlike Oahu, we wanted to be total beach bums and enjoy our time relaxing in the sand and the sun. This led us to the beautiful island of Kauai.
Sunday Oct. 17th
Our flight arrived in the afternoon. I'm not going to lie, with the covid restrictions and having to pre-register our vaccination cards, getting into the island was quite a long process and we had to wait over an hour at the Kauai airport, standing in line as they checked all of our paperwork.
We were relieved to finally get through customs and see that the mini van we rented for $450 on Craigslist was, indeed, not a scam! We started making our drive to the north shore where we'd be staying in Princeville with a pit stop at Walmart for groceries and at The Fish Express for our first authentic Hawaiian meal. Driving up the eastern coast of Kauai was beautiful, incredible ocean views, the most lush green mountains, rolling hills and small streams leading to waterfalls cascading down the sides of rocks. After our welcoming check-in at the Wyndham Ka Eo Kai, we found treats on our bed, set up the pack n' play for Liam and hit up the pool first thing!
The resort was on a beautiful property, up on a cliff from the beach and with views of an expansive golf course and roosters free-roaming around the greens (the entire island really!). After the pool we headed out to find dinner and then crashed after a long long day of traveling and getting settled.
Monday Oct. 18th
Thanks to the time difference we were all up by 7 am. We had cereal for breakfast, rented some beach gear from guest services and headed to the local beach downhill from the resort. It was a bit of a hike down through a dirt path with humongous trees that looked like something out of jurassic park, but nothing our tevas couldn't handle ;)
Upon arriving at the beach, it was completely vacant. The water was calm and shallow, the sand was coarse and the sky was perfect, cloudy, but not too much. Liam played with his sand toys and waddled in the water for a bit while Trav and I laid out and watched tiny hermit crabs dumping out sand from their homes on the shore.
After a couple hours and an afternoon nap we headed out for lunch and also picked up some smoothies at Moloaa Sunrise Fruit Stand.
We ended our day by going on a hike to Queen's Bath. Not going to lie, this hike was quite treacherous with steep muddy trails and sunken areas of mud around huge tree roots. We initially started the hike with Liam, but quickly bailed and decided to go one at a time while the other parent played with Liam in the parking lot.
Once through the forest though you are immediately greeted by some breathtaking waterfalls leading right into the ocean and the not so welcome marker of the several deaths that have happened there as waves have unexpectedly swept tourists off the rocks and into the sea... yikes! The reward was the beautiful view of the Nā Pali coast and endless ocean- totally worth it!
We ended the day with some more pool time and Liam running around the golf coarse chasing roosters.
Tuesday Oct. 19th
Today we got up at the crack of dawn to get ready for a family photo session we booked at Hanalei Beach. Over the years we've done family photos by ourselves up the canyon with a tripod and our iPhones. But with these breathtaking mountain backdrops and incredible beaches, I thought it'd be special to hire a professional for the first time. The beach was absolutely vacant, we had the sunrise and waves all to ourselves. Our photographer Prudence was from the UK, but had been living on the island for some years now. She was the sweetest human being which was so nice with a cranky lil' toddler who did not want to smile for photos. She gave us great direction so that we could capture some magical shots, even some of Liam with a little smile! By the next day she had all the photos ready and edited for us, I was in complete shock and amazed at her skill! Her instagram is @kauaifamilyphoto for anyone who might want couple or family shots in Kauai.
We had packed up all the beach gear before heading to our photo shoot, so after a quick wardrobe change we were ready to spend the rest of the morning playing at Hanalei Beach. This would become our favorite spot and where we'd spend every morning and afternoon for the rest of our stay in Kauai.
After some lunch from a local food truck and Liam's afternoon nap, we headed back to the Hanalei to try our luck at skim boarding and dig our toes in the sand. For dinner we had the most delicious pork grilled cheese sandwiches and haupia and chocolate macadamia ice cream from Pink's. Another great spot in Hanalei!
Wednesday Oct. 20th
Today was another relaxing day at the beach. This morning we were greeted by a lot of surfers in the water as the waves started to pick up. We had some delicious garlic shrimp with Mac and rice from Wake Up Delicious which became our favorite local spot to eat. And of course, what's Hawaii without some melt in your mouth Hawaiian shaved ice!
Thursday Oct. 21th
Today we went and explored the island a little. We drove to all the nearby lookouts including Kilauea Lighthouse lookout and Kalihiwai Beach Lookout. After our drive we headed to the shopping center nearby where we were staying to window shop and grab lunch. While Liam napped, I reserved the hot tub for a 30 minute soak all to myself before we ended the day watching the sunset and the surfers on Hanalei Beach. Liam of course was super excited about playing with his new truck in the sand we got him at the shops.
Friday Oct. 22th
Friday was another beach day. This time we were feeling daring so we rented a surf board for a couple days and with a little courage and luck hit the waves! At first we had no idea what we were doing. We sat on our boards looking at the other amateurs and trying to examine and copy what they were doing. It was tough to get the momentum to catch a wave so a random stranger who was also teaching his friend how to surf gave me a couple pushes to get me going and I caught my first wave! Travis followed soon after with zero help, of course. Eventually clouds came in and it started to rain so we headed back to the resort for Liam's nap and a much needed nap after our first exhausting surfing attempts.
We watched some YouTube videos and grabbed some extra pointers before heading back out to the water that afternoon. This time was much better! I was able to catch some waves on my own and finally got the timing down. It was exhausting and my body was so sore by the end of the day and my head was ringing from all the wipeouts, but we had a blast and were so proud of ourselves for picking up a new skill!
Saturday Oct. 23rd
Saturday we got up early to go check out the Anaina Hou Farmers Market. I loved the vibes here. Lots of food options, live Hawaiian music and all tucked away inside these really beautiful gardens. We grabbed some crab rangoons and homemade dragon fruit popsicles to munch on while we shopped around.
Later in the day we had tickets to go check out the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge. Because Kauai is the only Hawaiian island without mongoose, birds thrive here and especially endangered species like nene (Hawaiian goose), different species of albatross, frigatebirds and other ground-nesting species whose eggs are usually victims to mongoose. We walked around and learned about the history of the lighthouse, saw so many birds flying and diving off the cliffs into the water to catch fish and even some ground nests with the most adorable fuzzy albatross babies.
After our tour it was back to the beach to catch some waves and keep improving our surf skills until sunset.
Sunday Oct. 24th
Today was supposed to be our last day on the island (more on that later...) We headed to our favorite lunch spot on Hanalei, Wake up Delicious, and ate some poke bowls after packing up and checking out of our hotel and also did a little souvenir shopping.
Then we headed to the South side of the island to explore a bit. We went to the Kauai Plantation Railway where we got a train tour of Kauais first railroad system that is now a beautiful plantation growing a variety of fruits and vegetables and also raises and takes care of a variety of animals from chickens, to pigs, cows, horses and the likes.
As soon as the train would come by they'd all come running after it and we got to take some breaks off the train and feed the animals.
Then we headed to a nearby mall to kill some time before our flight. That's when we got a notification that due to winds in San Francisco our flight had been cancelled! After figuring out our new flight times and scrambling to find a place to stay, making sure chip could stay at his doggy daycare one more day and letting the craigslist girl know we'd need the van for one more day, we sat down and made some plans of how to take advantage of an extra day!
Monday Oct. 25th
Last night we checked into the Kauai Shores Hotel. For being the cheapest hotel accommodations, short of a hostel, the place was so nice and I would definitely recommend it! The decor and ambiance was beautiful, very tropical and bright. They had a pool. hot tub, in-house restaurant serving 3 meals a day and also a to-go area for in-between meals. In the morning I went to their yoga class and after checking out...again...we grabbed some breakfast nearby.
Since our flight wasn't leaving until the evening, we decided to check out the west side of the island and drive to Waimea Canyon State Park. There are a variety of look out points at each one. So we'd take pictures, walk around and then head to the next spot. This side of the island was vastly different from where we'd been staying on the north shore and looked a lot more desert-like and similar to Utah with its red clay dirt and rocky canyons. My favorite spot was this little ravine that cut through the red rock and soil, it looked like you were on mars (if mars had trees)!
After our drive we made a few stops on our way back to Lihue. We visited the swinging bridge in Hanapepe which is over 100 years old. Then we made a stop at the Spouting Horn blow hole which was in such a gorgeous neighborhood and area on the island. Then we drove through the tree tunnel on our way to check out Ninini Point Lighthouse.
I was so grateful we had this extra day on the island because we got to see a whole bunch of other landmarks that were originally too far from us in Princeville. Eventually it was time to take out flight back home. But not before stopping by Walmart and picking up all my favorite Hawaiian Sun pancake mixes!
The flight home was long and hard. Liam doesn't do well on red-eye flights since it is his bedtime. But we survived and had the most epic and relaxing week and made so many family memories. Hawaii is becoming one of our favorite vacation spots for a relaxing time.
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