Last May, my husband Tom and I took the family (daughter Caitlin, son-in-law Chris, and son Kevin) to Kauai, Hawaii to celebrate our 35-year wedding anniversary. It wasn’t an easy task to coordinate everyone’s schedule but we did it! Now my idea of a vacation is typically hiking or skiing in the mountains. A tropical beach location never crosses my mind but I have to say - I absolutely loved Kauai and I’d go back in a heartbeat! Of course having the entire family there made it even more special!
We rented a house in Poipu with a view of the ocean. There were high surf warnings during our stay. The waves made a booming sound (like exploding artillery) when they hit the cliffs and the spray rose up to 30 feet in the air. I got up early each day for sunrise which was amazing. The first image below was taken at sunset on our first evening. The other coastal images were taken at sunrise or during the day. You’ll be able to easily tell which is which.
For me the best part of the trip was having the whole family together for a week. We hiked, walked and/or ran the coastal trail in Poipu, saw the Napali coast on a sunset sail, spent time on Poipu Beach & Hanalei Beach and ended each day with an outstanding dinner.
Funny story - the five of us were walking along the coast and I commented that I felt like I was getting heat exhaustion. [sidebar - it was probably in the 40’s or 50’s in MN before we left.] Tom and Kevin agreed the heat was hard to take. Caitlin (a resident of Dallas, Texas) said “What are you guys talking about? I wish I had grabbed my sweater!” We concluded the Texan’s had become cold weather wimps in the three short years they’ve lived there.
The above image was taken on Shipwreck Beach before our anniversary dinner reservation at Tidepools. A couple nights earlier the kids treated us to an outstanding meal at Dinner Eating House 1849. I highly recommend both restaurants!
Cait and Chris during our sunset sail.
Kevin, taking in the view at the Sleeping Giant.
And what a view it was! We hiked up from the bottom. Man was was that workout!
The eight images (above) were shot with my iPhone. Click to enlarge.( Image 1: view from our house looking east, images 2-4: Napali Coast, image 5: Tom at Poipu Bay Golf Course, images 6-7: plant life, image 8: Da Crack - a really good Mexican food stand with an even better name.)
