Kauai – a week in 7 min

Well, friends, thank you again for visiting my blog and reading about my miraculous amazing trip.

Day 9 – as I said last night, was mostly traveling home. It was a good trip home and we were given great seats since I requested a wheelchair in Honolulu. I’m glad I did too… wow was I wiped out!

But oh my… I have known how a caterpillar feels when it is all wrapped up in a cocoon. Now I know what it’s like to get out and spread your wings!

As promised… here’s a slideshow that describes the whole week in 7 minutes. Many of these pictures you haven’t seen before, though you’ll recognize a few.

Enjoy!

(PS: You'll have to pause the background music so you can hear the music on the video!!!)

Beach Day on Kauai (last day of vacation)

Here we are… Day 8… that last full day we had in Kauai. I’m glad you’ve followed along on this fun trip of remembrance with me… come enjoy our last day with me and then tomorrow I’ll share a slideshow with music that I made :-)

We began the day with a final course of pancakes and Lilikoi coconut syrup and juice. Then we headed right down to the turtles to see how many were still in the cove. I was trying to decide if I should go in and swim with them.

Sadly, it was high tide (harder swimming) and there really were not many turtles left in the cove.

I knew I wanted one last day of snorkeling and Bill wanted some relaxing time on Baby Beach.

So we headed first to The Beach House – which is a great snorkeling beach.

I was quite disappointed that it was high tide… and because I’d had so much trouble with the snorkel on my last try, I was a little nervous too. I went and rented some fins for the day and instead of my snorkeling mask, I used my swimming goggles.

I headed out into the water and was totally amazed at the fish I began to see. I hadn’t see water this clear or fish this colorful before! So I went back on shore, and got the snorkle and attached it to my goggles. This worked great for me. I swallowed a lot less salt water :-)

Oh the fish!!! It was amazing.. if only the pictures could show the reality. But here are a few:

 

 

 

Here’s a group of fish eating

 

 

 

And here I am diving down into the middle of them.

 

 

Here is my favorite fish of all… and the picture just does not do it justice!!!

I followed this gorgeous fish all around… taking lots of pictures. He began to get a little nervous and found a larger fish to swim underneath for protection (hee hee)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, these yellow and black fish (sorry that my finger got in the way) swam right up to my face. They swam around me and I enjoyed them and then started to swim off. They just swam right along with me… like I was a fish too! It was so fun I had to take a picture of them.

I have a lot more pictures of fish… but I won’t bore you. Suffice it to say, I had a tremendous time!

At one point, another snorkeler swam by me and asked if I’d seen the turtle. I said “No! Where is he?” The guy didn’t know, was hoping I could tell him, but said many people were spotting a turtle swimming around.  I began to expand where I was swimming, but I never saw the turtle.

After I had rested in the sun a bit, we walked along the sidewalk to see the surfing area and The Beach House restaurant.  I took a bunch of great pictures of surfers – thought I just might paints some surfers sometime :-)

And then I turned back and took this pictures of where I had been snorkeling:

  And if you blow this picture up…. there is THE TURTLE!!!! No… I did not see it when I was taking pictures or I would have grabbed my goggles pulled of my wrap and jumped back in!!!! I didn’t see him until I got back home and was going through my pictures. You’ll see it circled in the slide show.

Then, after a little lunch, we headed to our second beach of the day – Baby Beach. It’s a great little beach – mostly locals hanging out there – safe swimming and gorgeous view (though I got my only coral cut of the whole time swimming there! It healed just fine though)

Mostly, I just enjoyed the sun… I’m wondering if I have a big Vitamin D deficiency… it felt so good to soak in sun! I also really enjoyed watching Bill. This was the beach he had chosen for this day and he had a great time with his new camera.

 

We finished our day off by going back to Keoki’s at the Poipu shopping center. But instead of eating in the restaurant side, we opted to sit in the bar and grill side – which was much the same… but a bit cheaper and there was great entertainment that evening!

It was a great way to end the day and our trip. Yes, I have a fresh Plumeria lei on here… we picked it up from a seller on the side of the road on the way to dinner.

Afterwards, we did some gift shopping and headed back to the cottage to pack.

Thankfully, our flight was not an early one – but we did need to be off by 8:00AM to drive to the airport.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful, memory making journey with me. If you’d told me, even two years ago that I’d be able to do this – I would have scoffed. Yes, my illness continues to progress… but we sure have advanced in how we deal with each symptom. What a thrill this trip was.

Hmmm…. I still have some Lilikoi coconut syrup… wonder if Bill would make pancakes in the morning? *grin*

A Day of Art and Sunsets in Kauai

Day 7: Our trip was winding down, but we still had an exciting day planned for Day 7 and one more day on the beach before we headed home on Day 9.

Way back when Marie told us she was sending us to Kauai for our anniversary, I contacted a online art friend that lives on Kauai. I wanted to see her studio and meet her, and then I found out she also teaches art classes. We sent emails back and forth about the best places to eat, shop, and stay on Kauai for months before we even knew when we could go. Once I knew when we were going, I signed up for an art class. Day 7…This was the day! It was in the afternoon and I was really looking forward to it.

We started our day again at Starbucks – such an easy breakfast and Ellen wanted me to get one of their “Hawaii” picture gift cards (she’s now the only Washougal employee who sports one).

Then, for the morning, we planned on driving the short way up the coast to Spouting Horn, checking out the beaches on the way so we knew which beaches we wanted to go to tomorrow.

One of the things I do remember from our Honeymoon trip, was visiting Spouting Horn. But it wasn’t anything like what I remembered. Oh well… it was beautiful anyway and we spend a lot of time taking pictures again!

Here are a couple of my favorites – this first one especially!

  There were a lot of venders selling jewelry and basically the same souvenirs at every stand. But I did find a couple of unique gifts – a musical instrument made out of a coconut with a turtle painted on it for Chris and some chopsticks in a bamboo holder (for me when my stomach flares and all I can eat is ginger rice)

We drove to a few more beaches and walked around Poipu beach for a while. Looks like great snorkeling and the section right here behind me was great for boogie boarding.

 

Bill also found a hidden treasure… X marks the spot!  (hee hee – you didn’t know we were pirates did you)

My art class was in Waimea, and we hadn’t been to the Waimea Plantation yet, and they have a little restaurant and Brewery there, along with restored plantation cottages you can rent.

So we went and had lunch there. Just as the books say – the ambience was great… the brews interesting and the food so-so. But all in all… it was a fun lunch because of the environment! (this one time I did not like Lilikoi… they brought us a few samples of their brews and Lilikoi beer is disgusting!) We also had to keep the Ferral cat off of our table – and he was quite put out that we were not wild cat friendly and didn’t feed him!

(Though… the people at the table near us let the cat sit on their table…)

 

 

 

 

(that’s probably why he glared at me)

 

 

 

Looks very tropical though, doesn’t it? The temperature was perfect for a lunch on the lanai.

 

 

 

Then… it was time for my long awaited art class… my first ever art class!!!! At first I was going to take a watercolor class with Marionette. But then I saw that she also taught a silk painting class. I have never done any silk painting and don’t have a clue how to start, so I chose that one instead.

Online, we all have avatars to represent us and our stores in discussions. Marionettes avatar is a beautiful Plumeria painting that I have loved for a long time. So I had planned to purchase a small print of it. You can check out my art blog to read more about the painting class here at The Creators Palette – but here are a few fun pictures from my time with Marionette:

  

And here’s a picture of my silk painting that I did in class – the salt is still working here… but when it’s framed, I’ll take another picture so you can see the finished product!

We had hoped we could have dinner with Marionette and her husband, but I was really wearing out by this time. So we passed on that and headed back to the cottage. By the time we got there, Bill had a great idea for dinner. A sunset picnic!

So, while I rested, he went and bought us a little “hawaiian” pizza and Rootbeer and we headed to a place we’d seen earlier that day. It’s a small boat landing – so there’s not much beach, but the view is gorgeous and there are picnic tables there.

We settled in and had a nice quiet picnic and took lots of pictures of the sun setting, the new moon and the palm trees… many of which I hope to paint soon!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another lovely day – and though tired, I was really looking forward to my last beach day. As it turns out… it was the best snorkeling of the whole trip. Come back tomorrow to hear more!

A busy day in Kauai – Waimea Canyon and more!

Before I begin Day 6, I must share that we lost a very dear family friend last night. Barbara went home to be with the Lord – and is now rejoicing in heaven with Mom and Dad Pruitt.

But it brings a lot of sadness with it too, because it causes us to re-examine our own pain, as Dick and Barb and their family were such an integral part of Mom and Dad’s life, of Bill’s whole life, and my life since my teen years.

It’s difficult saying goodbye to all of these special people. Dick and Barb were the couple that went in with Mom and Dad Pruitt to send us to Kauai on our first trip 25 years ago – our Honeymoon.

So it’s with thankfulness and sadness that I write today.

DAY 6: Though I was totally exhausted on Day 5, by the time we went to bed I was feeling a bit better. A great nights sleep and Bill and I awoke to another lovely morning in Kauai.

Not as many birds and no gecko’s this morning. But we did have our usual tea and then were tired of our two breakfast options and decided to head to a nearby Starbucks for breakfast.

We wanted an early start because we were heading up Waimea Canyon and to the top of the mountain where you can get a great view of the Napali Coast.

It was a bright day, but the clouds can settle in pretty early on the top of the mountain. So we bypassed all the lookouts – heading straight to the top.

What a view!!! You’ll see quite a few pictures in the slide show when I post it in a couple days, but I can’t resist showing a few now too!

It was funny how many of the same pictures Bill and I took !

At the lookout – there’s a large flat red dirt area you can walk to… and then a red path – where you can still see the trail of lava. I just couldn’t resist – and we headed down that path – taking lots of pictures as we went.

This series of pictures was taken for Dr. CFS. We’ll be writing him to remind him that this time last year I was visiting him in a wheelchair. He’ll be thrilled that his treatment has brought me to a place that I could walk/hike this much!

By the time we were back up to the top, the clouds had settled in and it was beginning to mist. All those poor people who stopped at the lower lookouts were going to miss out.

After we descended a bit, we too stopped at the lookouts and took even more pictures. Mark Twain described the Waimea Canyon as rivaling the Grand Canyon. I’ve never seen the grand Canyon, but this sure was gorgeous!

At one point, we stopped to take some pictures and I wondered off on a little trail. I took this picture – and later that night, we found out Bill had taken the exact same picture back by the car!

I got a bit lost – only for a moment – but I wondered too far and couldn’t find the road. I was calling “Bill… Bill…” and after a slip in the gravel and moment of panic – I saw the road. Bill had returned to the car.

We stopped for bathrooms at Kokee Lodge and Bill took a bunch of Rooster reference pics for me while toured the gift shop and bought a wonderful CD of Hawaiian nature sounds mingled with music. These are my favorite type of CD’s to paint to – so I figured I ought to have a Hawaiian one!

Then we headed back into the town of Waimea. There is a little stand there that serves “The Best Coconut Shrimp in the Universe”. It was packed and it really is just a little sidewalk stand! But it was true… that was THE best coconut shrimp I’ve ever had! Mango salsa to dip it in too!

Then we met my friend, Marionette, whom I will tell you about tomorrow. After meeting her and seeing her art studio, we headed to tour the Kaui Coffee Company!

It was fun to see the coffee growing, and even more fun to do the coffee tasting! I really wished I had Ellen with me – but I walked around tasting all their different roasts. I narrowed my choices down to a couple – but wasn’t sure what Ellen would want, so I called her. Her description fit one of the roasts perfectly. I bought several pounds of Kauai coffee… including Coconut Caramel Crunch. I don’t usually drink flavored coffee’s but this was so yummy and unique I had to buy it!

Was I getting tired by this point? Yeah, I would say so! Neither of us was very hungry for dinner after our huge lunch. And there was a Sorbetto store nearby, so after I made some juice and Bill had some leftovers, we went for Ice Cream. Then another stroll down to Turtle Cove to watch the turtles again. 

From there, we knew there was a beach called “Baby Beach” just a few blocks away, so we walked past some gorgeous houses and found Baby Beach just as the sun was setting.

After the sun was set – we headed back to our cottage and flopped into bed. I had an art class scheduled in Waimea for the next day, and there was still so much more to see and so much more time I wanted to spend on the beach!

So we said goodnight to Day 6.

Come back tomorrow to hear more about another full day on Kauai!

Kauai’s North Shore to the South Shore

Day 5

I was exhausted. I slept in, then we packed.

It was time to leave our lovely little private cottage and beach and move on to our next cottage down on the south side. Saying goodbye was hard, but we hoped our next cottage would be a brand new, fun adventure.

I got a picture of the “Sleeping Giant” as we left. This isn’t the best side to photograph it from, but can you see him lying on his back with his hands folded over his chest?

Before going through Kapaa – we stopped at Starbucks to use the internet. We checked up on our email and baseball teams – and then headed off to the Poipu area.

Our cottage was ready early for us, so we drove straight there. A beautiful drive – and it took us through the “Tree Tunnel” which was cool.

We arrived at our second cottage and were a bit disappointed to find that the cute little Lanai (patio) they had shown on the website, was also where we had to park our car!

We had imagined sitting on the Lanai, BBQ’ing our dinners. There was a private back Lanai – but as it turned out, we never used it or the BBQ!

I was still exhausted, so Bill headed out to find us some lunch. We had joked about a place we’d seen advertised in the tourist brochures called “Puka Dog”. Little did I realize, Bill really did want to try a Puka Dog! LOL! So we shared two very unusual island dogs – a polish dog with starfruit relish and a vegetarian dog with pineapple relish. A bit disappointing – but hey… it was food!

We found out we had internet at this new cottage so we both got online and did a little resting.

Just down a block from our cottage was Turtle Cove – a little cove that was fed by a stream at one end, and the waves washing inon the other.

So we walked down and found it was a very pretty cove.

Then, as we were sitting there on the rocks, I saw something way down at the end. At first I thought someone was swimming. Then I wondered if it was a monk seal! But then, little heads began to pop up in several spots and we figured out it was sea turtles. We spent over an hour watching them, and trying to get good pictures of them. It was almost impossible – but we sure had fun watching them.

I got to pick where we had dinner that night. So some of my rest time was spent researching restaurants in the area. I settled on one that seemed to have a great ambience, served fresh fish and chicken or steak for Bill.

We had our first real dinner out that night and it was really lovely. Keoki’s had a man made lagoon and as soon as the lights went down, an employee went and lit lots of torches all around. The whole restaurant is open air and it was a fantastic dinner!

After that… we went back, talked about what we would do tomorrow and went to sleep.

Not a real exciting day – except for seeing the turtles and our dinner out. Both of those were great fun!

But, my body really needed the rest and it’s a good thing we did, because the next day was an amazing day!

Come back tomorrow for Day 6!

Kauai’s North Shore Day 4

DAY 4: The time change began to catch up with us – along with all the activity so we didn’t get quite as early a start on our fourth day as we had on previous days.

We often woke up to a completely overcast rainy morning, only to find it clearing up within an hour and becoming hot and sunny again.

This morning, everything was wet from the rain and loud gusting wind that had swept through in the middle of the night. But by the time we were up and ready for the day, it was bright and cheerful again.

We wanted to take a day to see the whole North side of the island. Several guide books helped us, but one that belonged to the cottage described every beach – how to get there and what kind of beach and swimming it offered.

So we packed up – grabbed the book and headed out for an adventure with our camera’s.

The North side of the island is very green. It is known for great summer swimming and the South side is known for great winter swimming. There was one beach – Tunnels Beach – that was supposed to be superior snorkeling, so we decided we’d explore and then spend some time at tunnels so I could try some more snorkeling.

Our first stop was just a pull out with an overlook that had a great view of the taro fields lined with mountains.

There were several waterfalls you could see, far off in the distance. (hard to see them in this picture)

There was a lady at the pullout, who had a towel over the hood of her car, selling jewelry her husband made. Many of the pieces had things they’d collected from around the island.

Of course, I had fun talking to her, while Bill took lots of pictures. Her husband was sitting off on the side of the road, working on some of the shells and jewelry they sold. I bought a wire wrapped sharks tooth for Chris to wear around his neck.

Our next pull out was a beautiful view of Hanalei Bay! I looked for Puff – but didn’t see his cave (that song always makes me cry!)

 

Then we stopped at a beach that was one of the most gorgeous beaches we had seen. Bill headed off to take pictures…

(please remember that all of these photo’s are copyrighted to either Bill or myself. Please do not copy them or reproduce them in anyway. Thanks! Bill took this one and it may be for sale in an Etsy store soon)

But… I was drawn to the horses across the street.

I got a bunch of great horse reference pictures. There was one dark Mare that seemed to be posing for her pictures. I got quite a few before the Stallion in the group came in between us and shooed her off into the Pasture.

Then… I met “Ginger”. She walked up and put her nose over the fence. I looked down at her hooves and there was golden ginger hair falling down over each hoof. I carefully reached out to see if she would let me pet her (staying far enough that she couldn’t bite me) and she just stood there and let me stroke her forehead.

So I took a step nearer, and stroked down to her velvet nose. Her lips didn’t move and she just stood there. So I slowly moved forward (not wanting to scare her off) and started to give a good scratch behind the ears, on the neck and petting that lovely forehead and velvet nose.

When I reached to scratch under her chin, her eyes began to close half-way and I knew we friends. She was the sweetest, gentlest horse I’ve seen off-road, in a pasture! She too posed for quite a few pictures which gave me some great head shot reference photo’s. You’ll be seeing some paintings of “Ginger” soon! Bill took this picture from across the street, as I was meeting “Ginger”

Since we didn’t get an early start, the further North we drove, the more crowded it got. We drove all the way to the end, stopping at a few more lookouts. (at one, we saw the hide of a wild boar just hanging on the highway rail post. You could see the ears and snout and the hole of the bullet or spear that killed it. Yukka!) At the very end of the road, there are two caves, and the trail head for hiking the Napali Coast.

You can take a 4 mi hike to a great waterfall… and you can even take longer hikes, and some people even take tents and camp. It sounds amazing – and very difficult hiking – especially if a sudden downpour occurs (the trails get very slippery and muddy). But Bill has promised me that, if ever, I can say I’m truly healed, he will hike the Napali Coast with me! *grin*

We really don’t like crowds, so we merely hit the end of the road, turned around and headed back. I’d seen a sign for a Coffee Shop and Art Gallery, so we drove back there for a bathroom, to browse the art gallery and I got blended frozen mocha. Then we decided it was time to find Tunnels Beach and settle in for some beach time.

One of the interesting things about the island is that ALL beaches are public! But that doesn’t mean every beach has easy access! One beach we wished we could see, was only reachable by sea kayak!

Tunnels Beach is very popular, but there is very VERY limited parking for it. If you park out on the street (the highway) you get a ticket! I finally jumped out of the car, looking down the little dirt driveway for a parking spot – and stood in it while Bill pulled in!

But it was worth it! Tunnels Beach was fantastic. You know, you can see it’s coral reef from space! Bill took so many pictures – some even looking like a deserted beach (which it wasn’t). I on the other hand, did more snorkeling, but I was having a hard time with the snorkel that day – and definitely got my dose of salt for the day!

Here are some fun pics we each took on Tunnels Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that there was a Hawaiian Cardinal? Way Cool! We saw them a few times, but this one on the beach made us laugh as he carried away one of my Parmesan Goldfish crackers in his beak.

 

On our way back into town we stopped by Wioli Mission Church. At that point, I took a couple pictures and then took advantage of having cell service and called Ellen while Bill took reference pictures so I might paint the church.

Even after this long exhausting day, we still had one more hike to do.

After having a dinner of leftover BBQ, we once again walked out to our beach. There was a hike up to the point that overlooked the ocean above our beach, and we both wanted to see that view before we left to stay on the South Shore the next morning.

We didn’t quite get to the top. I took too long collecting shells on our way around the beach (the tide was just going out). So we didn’t make it to the top (plus I was exhausted). But we did get a gorgeous view and got down off the hillside and back to our cottage before it got dark.

It was just a bit windy up there on the point. I couldn’t resist taking a couple of pictures of Bill’s wind swept hair *grin*

 

Another restful night, then we awoke to pack up and head South.

Day 5 tomorrow!

Aloha on Kauai Day 3

I loved the “Aloha” spirit… relaxed – friendly – caring – fun! Not all tourists understand it but many do and the island itself can lure you into it if you let it.

Day 3 of our long awaited trip to Hawaii was another full, yet relaxing day.

It began for me at 4:00AM. For some reason, I awoke while it was still dark and quiet and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I’ll never forget that morning.

I laid there in the quiet, and watched the dawn begin. I will always remember looking out the window at the bamboo and palms as the first bird began to sing. One by one, it quickly turned into a jungle full of bird singing and then the rooster crowed. The sun began to rise, the fresh air blew through our room and I sighed with total delight.

When Bill awoke, he got up to get my daily morning injection and fluids (tea) and then he made us… now if you’re a Jack Johnson fan – hold onto your seats… Banana Pancakes!!!  They have a delicious little banana called an apple banana. It’s not crunchy, but does have the slightest apple flavor and none of that over-ripe banana flavor. (I’m not fond of regular bananas) And they make great pancakes. Add the Lilikoi Coconut syrup we’d bought and it was a morning in paradise!

Once we were fed and I was ready to stand, we packed up and headed out for another morning on the beach. This time, we took the beach chairs the cottage stored for guests, bamboo mats and cold drinks. I met one of our friendly gecko’s in the beach supply closet! Better a gecko than some of the ugly bugs that could have been in there! *smile* Gecko’s are amazing small and have an amazingly loud chirp noise!

We had one in the cottage too – never saw him – but he really started us one night when suddenly from behind the TV at the end of the bed he let out a loud chirp. Throughout our stay we could hear him chirp all around the cottage – up in the rafters. But we were quite free of bugs in that jungle cottage!

This beach was used for the original pilot of Gilligan’s island. We tried to figure out the exact spot it was filmed, but I think the bay has changed a bit over the years and weathering two Hurricanes in the past 20 years.

I took my underwater camera this time and got a lot braver with snorkeling. I saw even brighter more colorful fish. I saw a black and white angel fish – some that were bright yellow and black with orange stripes. I also so some really cool coral – read and this very strange mound. I didn’t get great pictures here though, because the water was not as clear as other places and I was just learning to maneuver around  with the fins and breathe through the snorkel.

Bill mostly enjoyed his new camera day. He took over 600 pictures during our trip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After some great time on the beach, we walked back to the cottage for some lunch, and I made the most delicious tropical juice with papaya's, guava’s, pineapple and ginger. Yum!!! Then, because of my early morning, I had to take a nap.

We had enjoyed our Huli Huli Chicken so much the first day, that we headed back up to the BBQ place and bought a Huli Huli Wild Boar dinner. It was amazingly tender and delicious. Apparently it is open season on wild boar. The groundskeeper even told us as we were checking out, that one had just been in our garden – he saw the hoof prints and all the chomping of garden plants that the pigs do. I’m sure glad I never saw one!!! It would have scared me to death! But eating one… ah that’s another thing! It was fantastic!

We had no TV, no cell service and no internet in this little valley cottage. So I used the time to call the kids when we picked up our dinner. But being so isolated – especially without internet was extremely refreshing. I was surprised how easily I fell into the “Aloha” spirit and didn’t miss it at all.

That evening we also took a hike down to a very very secluded beach called “Larsen’s Beach”. It too is a bit hard to find, but we had a guidebook telling about each beach and how to find it.

We had to drive down a dirt road to park and then hike down – dropping about 200ft to get there. The going down wasn’t too hard, but I was a bit worried about getting back up!

Sign says “No Safe Swimming Deadly unseen currents have claimed (13 tally marks)

This was NOT a swimming beach – but a gorgeous stretch of stand and if we ever go back – we want to walk this beach in the morning. As it was, we were concerned not to stay too long because we didn’t want to try that trail in the dark!.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, a beautiful, restful day, romantic day. Come back tomorrow to hear see pics and hear about our drive around the North side of the Island!

Aloha!