Final Aloha

With only one last day of our vacation left we wanted to head back up to north shore with our friends. 

We stopped in Hanalei again. This time we stopped at wishing well for coffee and acai bowl and then to our favorite little mini donut spot, holey grail.

Good thing they don't have these too close to home. 

The waves were raring to go to ride wild style. Gemma and Elias getting rocked! The life guards seemed more than annoyed with having to watch and warn the haole tourists. 

The kid crew also made a trek with the dads over to the snorkel beach. They saw lots of turtles and eels. 

The local beach dog roams around looking for free snacks. 

It's always showering at some part of the island and we got plenty of rainbow action. 

Before our flight on the last morning we made  it to Hanalima bakery for their voted #1 best malasadas. They were pretty good. It is always too sad to leave the island behind.

Aloha Hula

We decided to spend one morning catching some good waves at the boogie boarding beach in poipu. We rented a boogie board for the day and hit the waves. 

Normally this beach is for serious skilled boarders only and can be quite dangerous but luckily the conditions were mild and plenty of kids were in the water safely. 

Gem could not get enough. 

After hours in the water we needed refreshment. We headed up to Koloa town to get some fresh shave. 

The little food truck shave ice has now got it's own store front.

After lunch at the condo we went to relax by the pool for a little bit. 

Pre- luau cocktails are a must! 

We had booked tickets to the Smith family Luau show with the Pofahls. We had decided to skip the cost of the whole two hour meal that is never very good and come for the show only. 

We got great seats before the rest of the Luau guests had even arrived.

The show was really good. It featured classic native dances from many of the Polynesian islands. 

We gave it two thumbs up!

More Aloha

Teenagers don't seem to get jet lag. They were able to sleep in from the very start. Well Lily was actually, Gemma would wake up early and turn the TV on in the bedroom causing a loud start to everyones day.

The views from the coastline at the condo are still stunning. It has been bought out by Hilton Timeshares so time will tell if they make any big changes. The lots in front of the ocean are also starting to be developed so we will see how that effects the views.

Turtle feeding ground as always. 

Alex and Gem made an early morning trek back up to Wailua shave ice to pick up a forgotten credit card and grab some Starbucks and site see. They made a pit stop at the Wailua falls.

We decided to stay close to home and have a pool day. We love lounging by the pool getting some sun and resting. 

We had dinner reservations that night at Keoki's in Poipu. We always love coming here. 

Then a stop after dinner to see spouting horn and try to catch the sunset over the marina. 

The next morning we got to Poipu beach in plenty of time to see the sun bathing seals. I don't think I've ever been to the island and not seen the seals claiming the beach here. 

The hawaiian monk seals are endangered so you have to respect them and give them space. They do wake up and roll over but they don't do much else all day. 

We also saw a number of sea turtles hanging at the beach as well. 

We went for a jaunt to Hanapepe town to give the swinging bridge a go. The girls don't remember coming here years ago. 

It does have a good bit of swing to it. 

This town was apparently where the location scouts found their inspiration for the movie Lilo and Stitch. 

They have a cute little independent book store which claims it is the farthest west independent book store in America. 

We can never come visit without getting a shot in front of the Kauai aloha sign at the beach. 

We spent more time at the beach with friends this time!!! Kristen, Nate, Charlotte and Elias made it to Kauai for their Spring break vacation a couple days after us. 

Beach time is so much better with friends! and cocktails! and floaties!

 

Aloha Style Easter

Spring break brought with it not only Easter but a much needed break to the island of Kauai!

We arrived the day before Easter and luckily the Easter Bunny knew where to find us. He brought some fun jibbitz charms for their crocs slides, some stickers, candy and more.

We took use of the early rise from jet lag and drove up to the North shore for Easter morning. The town of Hanalei was already buzzing by the time we reached there. We stopped in town for some delicious coffee and breakfast from Hanalei bread co. We also saw the world famous surf legend Laird Hamilton in line to order. He lives up in town and he is hard to miss. 

We headed to Ha'ena beach park which we knew from previous visits had great waves to roll around in. 

We spent all of Easter Sunday in the water living the good life.

On the drive back to Poipu we stopped at he lookout to the taro fields. They had gotten plenty of rain and your could see so many tiny waterfalls on the mountain side.

The chickens are still thriving living their best island life. 

We had to stop in Wailua for some Wailua shave ice. This is one of our favorite ones. So fresh made with local fruits and no fake colors or syrups. The lilikoi passion fruit is the best. 

Gem went for strawberry coconut, another solid choice.

That evening we grilled up a feast back in our condo. Dinner on the lanai to close out the day.