Kauaii: Day 4

So Day 4 started with at trip to Princeville Valley Adventures. We went on the Jungle Valley Adventure. The trip consisted of a mile hike, 3/4 mile of kayaking, followed by more hiking and then the zip line. The zip line was 480 feet over a valley 150 feet below then across a swinging bridge to 450 feet of zip line back. Then more hiking to a waterfall that we jumped off the rock ledge into the pool below. We had lunch and then hiking back, kayaking and more hiking. This was probably the most unexpected fun part of our trip. We all loved the kayaking and wished it was a longer ride.

Our Little Miss was the first on the zipline. She had been on a zipline diet of brownies all summer to gain enough weight to be able to ride.

Here's her momma's reaction.

The brother was being a little showoff.

Later that night, we went to the Smith Family Luau. The food was good and the performance was pretty awesome.

Little Miss jumped up on stage to do a hula dance. She's a preformer.

The opening ceremony with a real live cooked pig.

Kauai Day 3

Day three we found ourselves on a catamaran around the Napali Coast. The ride around the island was great. We saw three pods of dolphins. The weather was awesome and we were able to go further up the coast line than normal. On the way back, we got to stop and snorkle along the coast line. The Napali Coast is rated one of the top 10 coastlines of the world and it's easy to see why. It was a beautiful cruise. My brother-in-law wanted to tough it out and didn't take any motion sickness pills, needless to say, he fed the fish most of the trip. Poor him, but I didn't feel sorry for him.

This excursion was fun. I love snorkeling and boating. Mom handled the trip well.

The rest of the day was spent boogie boarding and then having a nice dinner at home.

Kauai Day 2

Kauai day 2 started with being up before the sun came up. The five hour time difference made getting up at 5am feel like sleeping in. I went with the brother and family for a drive up the north coast. We stopped for some mountain shots and just to look at the beautiful island. Then it was off to find Hanalei Bay for a little beach time.


We then went to the famous lighthouse on the island and were able to see amazing views of the coast line form the point. The lighthouse was under renovation so we didn't get to get great picture.

Next it was off to meet up with the whole crew. We drove down the south coast and around to the west. We stopped off at Spouting Horn to see the water come in through the lava flows and we saw several sea turtles. Sea turtles are supposed to bring good luck.

We were then on our way to Waimea Canyon. It is considered the Grand Canyon of the island and it was beautiful. We had a great time there. It was the beginning of our planking experiences. (more on that later).

The day was amazing and so much fun for all.

Day One of Kauaii

August 2nd was the beginning of our very first family vacation since we all left home. Mom wanted to take all her kids to Hawaii so we planned our trip to Kauai and we were off. There were 13 of us total. My mom, sister Kim and her husband Darren, sister Suz and her husband LeeRoy, me (my husband wanted to stay home and take care of the house and dogs, whatever!), my brother Rob and his kids, Braden and Haley, and his wife Missy, her mom Catherine and her sister Brenda and Brenda's daughter Jamie. What a Crew!

The first surprise happened at the airport. My neighbor who works for the airport, bumped my mom and I up to first class for the first leg of our flight. Then he found me and told me he had two more first class seats, so I had him bump my nephew and niece up to first class. This was their very first flight and my nephew's 16th birthday. They were so excited, the look on their face was priceless.

At the Phoenix airport, I made arrangement for my uncle to be at the airport to see my mom. Both are in poor health and this will most likely be the last time my mom sees her brother. It was great. Brent had never met my sister-in-law or the kids. It was 27 years since he had seen my oldest sister. The picture below is the family minus the two brother-in-laws.

Mom also got to fly first class to Kauai, thanks to Brenda. Mom looked so happy when we finally got there.

If you ever wondered what luggage looked like for 13 people-here it is. We were all so excited to be in Kauai.

The picture below is from the first sun rise on our semi-private beach. We rented a house near on Anahola bay. It was a small slice of heaven.