We woke up fresh in our new place on the south shores of beautiful Kauai, more than ready to explore a new part of the island. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tempting to stay put at our beautiful resort! The huge property spanned miles of shore along the rugged Shipwreck's Beach, was a surfers' paradise with its big waves and wild coastline, and provided quite the entertainment as one crazy person after another jumped off a huge cliff just off our resort. There was a large sand bottom infinity pool that bordered the beach, several quiet adult pools sprinkled throughout the resort, lots of places to grab a drink or a poke bowl under the sun. It was just another piece of paradise everywhere we looked!
But thanks to Beau's trusty Kauai handbook, we still had more to explore, including the Waimea Canyon, notably referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." We hopped in our jeep and headed west this time, in search of red dirt and waterfalls.
It was about an hour drive to the official Waimea Canyon lookout, but the roadside viewing points started much before. We of course stopped at nearly every one of them and the first few were my favorites. The views were expansive, far-reaching, and absolutely magnificent! Each viewpoint provided a unique opportunity to hike a little, and we had so much fun testing our limits and taking it all in together.
We had so much fun that by the time we actually got to the main lookout point, the clouds had settled in and we could see nothing! We had climbed 4,000 feet in elevation and were literally standing in the middle of a cloud. Disappointed at first, especially after literally everyone we walked by who had visited before said it would worth it to try again tomorrow, we had lunch at a little camp lodge, off-roaded through some very bumpy forest roads, and then headed back to Poipu for some time at the pool before dinner. Time would tell if we'd see it all.
But the pictures of what we did see were pretty amazing!
We ended the night fancy and full, partying with friends both old and new. My oh my we were living our best life!
Back to some Hawaii today! It's so fun to relive our vacation through these pictures. Pretty thankful for our early mornings at the beach with our coffee in hand and coral in our pockets. I think my favorite part of this leg of the trip was how remote everything felt. We were the only people on this entire beach. Never mind that our bed and breakfast, and this beach, were right next to the 700-acres of land Mark Zuckerberg had purchased pretty recently, a thorn in many locals' side. We became quite familiar with his land, driving by it multiple times a day, and sure wondered what he was putting in the dozens of fancy steel barns he was building.
The trail to get to the beach took about 20 minutes of walking. And it was almost as pretty as the beach itself!
We had a super fun night together, just us two, before we would join our Farm Bureau crew the following day. We decided to spend it in Kapa'a and used Beau's vacation bible, aka, The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, to score us a fab dining experience with a view to go with it. Now, we've traveled quite a bit in our almost fifteen years of being a couple, and I've come to expect that when a trip occurs, it's up to me to plan it. But this trip was different. I think the day after Beau officially learned he qualified for Hawaii, he ordered this book on Amazon. And he read it, cover to cover, a week later. He highlighted must-dos, dog-eared several pages, and soon became quite the expert on the history, the unique geography, and the top can't-miss sights and experiences of this island. He was my tour guide and I can honestly say our trip wouldn't have been the same without this guide. Highly recommend if you ever travel to Hawaii!
Sam's Ocean View for another round of fruity drinks and fresh island fish! Then market shopping and drinks and dessert at the neatest little restaurant/art gallery called Hemingway's Cafe.
We woke up one last time at the Palmwood and sadly said our goodbyes to this beautiful place we are so grateful to have stayed. Then we drove up to Hanalei one last time because I had my eye on a beautiful little church to spend our Sunday morning at.
Last year in London, Beau and I vowed to find a church to attend every Farm Bureau trip we had the chance to go on. There's something about stepping out of your comfortable and seeing a picture of God's community all over the world that makes you realize how big His reach is and how tied together we all are. So we found ourselves in a wooden pew at Waioli Huiia Church on a beautiful Sunday morning in Kauai. I knew I was in the right place as I sat on a bench before the service started to wait for Beau grabbing coffees across the street. While I waited, a sweet tan-skinned little boy in a Hawaiian shirt came up to me and handed me a flower he had picked from a tree on the side of the church. He didn't say a word, but stared at me with his big brown eyes and grinned a little when I stuck it behind my ear.
It's not hard to worship our great Creator when we're in a place like this! The service was a mix of English and traditional Hawaiian music, the Chinese-American pastor played the ukulele as the small choir sang along with him, and all the visitors from across the world had a chance to introduce ourselves and be welcomed by the congregation. The windows and doors to the church were all open, letting the perfect ocean breeze seep in, and I let my mind wander to what life would look like if we were to simply pack up our kids and move. It felt like the people who called this place home had it figured out.
After some post-church shave ice and burritos, we drove south to Poipu, our last destination of our trip. We checked into the Grand Hyatt Resort, marveled at the gorgeous change in scenery, and quickly changed into our swim gear and grabbed a beach chair. And we stayed there for most of the afternoon!
