Hi there! I think this might have been the longest break I've ever taken from my blog in over 7 years! I'm happy to be back, so to ease in I'm sharing our Hawaii trip with you. Hope you don't mind ;) If you followed on Instagram, you probably know we were on the island for the worst tropical storm they've experienced in over 50 years. Ha! Of course we were :) I'll get to that in another blog post, but first I'll tell you about the first few days which consisted of beach, pool, sunshine, yummy drinks, and amazing food!
We arrived in Kauai on April 9th in the afternoon and after a little delay at the rental car place (always...why?!) we headed to our hotel in Poipu, which is at the South shore of Kauai. This is known to be the dryer, more sunny side of the island. Even if it rains, it ususally comes and goes very quickly. When we got to our hotel, Koloa Landing -- which we absolutely loved (not sponsored!), we headed straight for the pool. I ordered my first Lava Flow of the trip, which is basically a Pina Colada but with strawberry purree...aka the best thing ever!
We explored the property and walked down to the beach. On the way we found these gorgeous flowers. They were the size of a dinner plate!
Later, we walked down to the Sheraton hotel which is right on the beach, for dinner and watched the sunset.
My parents:
The glow after the sunset is always so lovely.
On our second day, we walked over to Fish Coffee not far from our hotel. It's a local spot that has delicious morning drinks, smoothies, acai bowls and delicious eats. Our acai bowl was as delicious as it was pretty! For the rest of the day, we rented a cabana at the Sheraton beach a few hotels down. This was great, since it sprinkled a few times and the sun got extra hot, so it was nice having a shade we could pull over.
I wore my kimono from The Mason Jar and got so many compliments on it! This one is similar.
We played some soccer on the beach with my parents which was fun! And by "we" I mean my husband, mom and dad played. I'm really not good with the soccer ball ;)
swim suit top / swim suit bottom
At night we headed out to The Beach House restaurant and boy did we get a beautiful view! It's definitely one of the more expensive places to eat, but the view makes it well worth it! I wore one of the dresses I rented and received a bunch of compliments.
View from dinner...told you it was worth it :)
The next day we headed to see Waimea Canyon. This is like the Grand Canyon of Hawaii and it is truly breathtaking! It was sunny at the base and at the Canyon lookout view, but when we got up to the top to see the whole view of the cliffs and ocean, it was socked in with fog :( We were so sad, but that's just how it is sometimes! My parents showed us pictures of previous times when they've come and see the whole view, so I'll include one of their pictures below so you know what I'm talking about.
If you're planning a trip, you will start at the base of the mountains and wind up through the canyon. The whole drive is about 45 minutes and it's not too windy (take it from someone who is very sensitive to windy roads!) About 20 minutes into the drive you get to this lookout:
Then you can continue up the hill for two more lookouts. Both were covered in fog, but this is the last lookout below with these cool rock / ground formations. Hawaii dirt is red, which I always think is pretty cool.
At the first look out some locals were selling snacks and fruit. We grabbed some and it was delicious!! Almost all of it was homemade. Yum!
Hotel: Koloa Landing
Restaurants: Bar at the Sheraton and Marriott hotels on the beach, Tortilla Republic, Dolphin, Porky food truck (ate this after hiking the canyon), The Beach House.
Shopping: Kukui'ula Village Shopping Center
Adventures: Waimea Canyon, Shipwreck Beach Hike, Skyline Eco-Adventures (ziplining)
A commitment of thankfulness is all together to share such an astounding information........
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Wow! What a beautiful view! I have never been to Hawaii and this post is giving me serious travel fever! lol
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