Wednesday- We started out the day with surf lessons. While this was totally out of my comfort zone, I went out with the rest of the family and it ended up being a blast. I was terrible at surfing and only got up once but it was so fun trying something new.

After surfing all morning, we stopped at Tropical Taco, for some fish tacos. In the afternoon, we all spent time at the beach near our house playing in the water with the boogie boards.

Thursday- At my request, we rented kayaks and spent the morning on the river paddling through the mangrove and wildlife reserve. We saw a ton of fish and turtles.

Friday- The girls and I walked into town and did some shopping. We had açaí bowls and had a lazy morning checking out the shops while Scott dropped Sam off for a long run. Afterwards, we took a drive up the coast to Tunnels Beach and walked around. This is a popular surfing and snorkeling beach west of Hanalei Bay. Unfortunately, the surf was too high and it wasn’t a good day to get in the water. We headed back to pick up Sam and then in the afternoon, Scott and the kids rented a surf board and took turns trying to catch waves. I sat on the beach and read my book! At the end of the day, we went out to the beach near the rental house and took family pictures.

Saturday- We were suppose to fly out Saturday night, but our flight was delayed until Sunday. So, after a bit of scrambling, we made hotel reservations closer to the airport on the south side of the island. We drove to Waimea Canyon and spent the day checking out the views and overlooks. Sam and the kids did a quick hike to a beautiful overlook but I was not interested in getting muddy again:). We found a restaurant with a sunset view and enjoyed our Christmas Eve together. We had another ice cream/shave ice and walked on the beach.

Sunday- Yah! Bonus Day! We spent the day snorkeling at Poipu Beach for the day. It was an exciting day. There were two monk seals and two sea turtles on the beach all day. Sam had a fun scare when a lizard fell in his hair. It was a perfect last day at the beach in Kauai.

Saturday evening, after a long travel day, we found our way to the north shore of Kauai Island. We have been planning this Hawaiian vacation for three years but with COVID and family health issues, there wasn’t a good time to make it work. As the kids get older, it is going to get harder and harder for everyone’s schedules to line up for a family trip. I’m so glad we made this one happen! Anyway, here are the quick details of the first few days our fun island getaway:)

Sunday- we woke up to rain and clouds. The weather wasn’t ideal for the beach so we headed out for a hike up the Okolehao Trail to the peak of Kauka’ opua. Thank goodness we wore our Chaco sandals because we were not prepared for the amount of mud on the mountain. By the time we finished, we were all covered in mud from our knees down! I only fell three times (once pulling Sam down with me) and slipped a few hundred times! Aside from the mud and steep inclines, we had so much fun and laughed a lot!

Monday- the morning started out with a down pour. Again, no bueno for a beach day. We headed to the south side of the island with hopes to find some sun. We stopped at Kauai Coffee for a quick tour and coffee sampling. We hit the Safeway and Walmart for groceries and started back toward the house on Hanalei Bay. On the way around the east side of the island, we found a sunny beach so we stopped. Scott, Alice, Paige, and Mason all jumped in the water. Sam went off in search of a run and I enjoyed my book on the beach.

Tuesday- Scott, Sam and I started our day with a beach run. The surf at our beach was too dangerous for swimming so we packed back into the car and headed back to the beach from the the previous day. We stopped to rent some boogie boards and enjoyed another day at the beach.

Just a couple more shots from the beginning of the week…