Snorkeling

Of course we did some snorkeling. I wouldn't say it was the best snorkeling in the world, but hey...we were in Hawaii...like I am going to complain about ANYTHING???!!!

This one reminded me a lot of rainbow sherbert (my childhood favorite ice cream flavor):

Tiger fish...I think:

These things freaked me out....got way too close for comfort...being all skinny and pointy:

Hike #2 - Na Pali Coast

After that oh-so-adventurous first hike down Wiamea Canyon, Nick and I were beyond confident that our next hike would be a winner.

I will have to ask Nick what the name of the hike even was...since I am terrible with all the Hawaiian names. But anyways, this hike was known for it's extreme beauty, great views and a waterfall at the end. The first two miles paralleled the coast line. After hiking up some cobblestone, with a few switchbacks, the trail opened up with a view of the Pacific Ocean. It was gorgeous. All around us were tropical plants, little trickling streams and vocal birds. I really enjoyed walking up on the cliffs, looking around at the high peaks and just saying to myself: "wow...I am hiking in Hawaii!"

At the 2 mile point, you reach an unswimmable beach. There are endless signs as we approached the beach, warning us not to swim. Once we got there, we understood why: Gigantic waves, folding over onto themselves...one after another after another. Another magnificent demonstration of God's creativity and mother earth's power.
We continued up the trail, heading another 2 miles for the waterfall. Winding trails with many river crossings, bamboo bushes, and crazy shaped trees kept us visually entertained. As we approached the waterfall, we heard it before we saw it. Stretching at least 400 feet high, it came crushing down into a pool of cool water. Surrounded sharply steep cliffs, covered in mini ferns, it was really a sight to be seen. We stood below it, looking up in awe and getting drenched at the same time. A small price to pay to see such beauty. Though I had worn my bikini under my hiking attire, I declined the swimming opportunity. Believe it or not, I was a bit chili and jumping into a rocky pool of waterfall water, just didn't appeal to either of us. So we soaked it up for a bit longer and headed our way back down.

After eight miles round trip, on an "advanced" trail (not too steep, just lots of rocks to crawl over and technical terrain), Nick and I were whopped. As we approached the car, I thanked God for my husband. I always enjoy a good hike with Nick. It is an uninterrupted time to chat endlessly about anything we feel like...since time is on our side. I like to watch him in his element too...so graceful on his feet and respectful of the earth. He takes the time to point out the small things in life that I too often blaze by: the tiny bugs building domes, the discreet pink flowers, the patterns on the leaves. Such a nature guru...much like my father...something I am very grateful to be influenced by.

Kauai - Hike #1

Kauai is known for some awesome hiking, so Matt did a little investigating and picked a hike that was both family friendly and gave us some great scenery.

Waimea Canyon takes up a rather large area on the Western portion of the island. It offered a range of trails for any level hiker. From a scenic flat 2 mile loop to a multi-day backpacking trip along the base of the canyon. The hike Matt chose was somewhere in the middle: 5 miles round trip into the depths of the canyon, and then of course back up.

My sister being the rugged, sporty woman that she is, warmly accepted this 2,000 foot elevation gain challenge. The rest of us followed suite...and we were off! About a 10th of a mile into the hike, the nice compact trail turned into a wet, slippery, rocky, rooty mess. This wasn't enough to turn us around, but it certainly slowed us down...a lot! Down, down, down we went into the canyon...all of us thinking silently to ourselves that in a few hours, we are going to have to hike back up this steep, slick trail. Yikes.

The scene was gorgeous...wide canon walls covered with tropical trees, long waterfalls and even a few goats. About 1.5 miles in, the trail was closed in by a canape of trees. Any hiker knows that where there is shade, there are mosquitoes. All it took was one bite as mom was outta there. The bugs and mud was enough to send her and dad back up toward the car. Looking back on the trip, Matt, Ami, Nick and I gave props to mom and dad for their wisdom and fine discernment at that pivotal moment. But the kids did not follow suite, so we charged on ahead for the end goal: a pool of water flowing from a warm river at the base of the canyon.

With each step, the trail got muckier and muckier. Gone were the attempts to keep our shoes clean and dry. In fact, I lost sight of my shoes more often than not, due to the sloshy mud. The foliage had overgrown the trail maintenance guys, so we were soon bush whacking our way through the forest. I felt more like a native explorer than a day hiker. Keep in mind that by now, my back was so full of bites that it officially lost it's shape and was just one big welt. After many, many exasperated "Are we on the right trail? Should we go back? Do you want to keep on going" from all of us, we arrive at our destination. No, no this wasn't it exactly, but the end result was a bit depressing: A dirty river, no natural pool to swim in, 8 other backpackers crowding the river ledge and even more mosquitoes than on the trail. We stayed long enough to was our legs in the river and get an apple out of the back pack. Then we headed back...retracing our steps and wondering why we didn't turn around when mom and dad did.

Nick came up with a great idea for a guide book on that hike. He would call it "As good as it gets; when to stop on a trail because it just doesn't get any better than where you are right now." We agreed that it would be a great sacrifice on our parts, but at least it would inform the general population when to stop exerting their energy and not waste their time on the whole hike. I certainly don't want to be a downer. The hike was actually really fun, because I like to walk, be in nature and spend time with my family. And it was great watching my sister push herself and her bump up those steep hills...such a trooper...but isn't it true that hikes can be slightly less climatic that anticipated?

Either way, we all made it back to the car with a dirty lower torso, tired legs and a good story. After diving into the cooler for lunch, we headed to Salt Lake Ponds Beach to wash away the trail encrusted on our bodies and enjoy some nice laying time.

All in all, if you go to Kauai, I definate recommend seeing Waimea Canyon...just skip that hike and do the nature loop.

Kauai - The Beaches

Momasita gearing up for a swim:

The highlight for me while in Kauai (and probably 99% of the general population) was the beach. I love a good beach. The warm sand, the clear, blue water, the shrills of happy little people splashing in the waves. It is just a really good place to be. But before I get further into the beach seen, I thought it would be a good idea to explain the geography of the island. Let me paint you a little picture:

The eastern portion of Kauai is all state park property...or better known as the Na Pali Coast. No roads are permitted to be build in this area, therefore only accessible by hikers or boaters. Just south of the Na Pali Coast is the Pacific Missile Range Facility, so rightfully so, no public access is allowed there either. Most of the central island consists of Mt. Waialeale (the wettest spot on earth). With it's impressive, sharp peaks and foliage covered hills...there is no way to build roads through that area. So, the rest of the island (southern, western and northern-ish) is outlined by a series of highways (which is really just one, long connected highway) that parallels the ocean shore. It is shaped, if you will, like a sideways horseshoe. Our condo at Poi Pu was located on the south-western portion of Kauai. A nice location to explore either the Northern beaches or the Southern beaches without a terribly long drive.

As previously mentioned, Poi Pu Beach was a mere 10 minute walk from our condo. So on the days when hanging around the local area sounded good, we packed up our towels, snorkel gear, lunch and strolled down there. But on the more adventurous days, The Mag 6 worked our selves around this island to check out the various beaches that Kauai had to offer.

Haena Beach Park was one of the furthest beaches we could drive to, North of the island. Believe it or not, swimming was not permittable there during the winter months. HUGE, and I mean HUGE waves and undercurrents ruled the seas this time of the year. So we enjoyed our lunch on the beach and watched those crazy waves crash down hard onto themselves. During the summer, this is known for on of the best surfing beaches on the island; where many competitions are held. Tunnels Beach, adjent to Haena Beach, is also known for great snorkeling due to the vast coral reefs and active marine life during those months. Of course we did not opt to override the lifegaurds request to not swim, so no snorkeling in the tunnels for us that time around. And though it was nice to be there and explore for a bit, but we were ready to swim, so we hopped in our cars and backtracked to a calmer shore.

Kilauea Bay brought a nice sandy beach and a cute little hippy-ish town for some shopping. That town brought my first taste of Kauai's homemade ice cream (who's name escapes me at the moment). Delicious but still not as good as Mallards!

A few days later, we were itching to get out once again and headed to Lydgate State Park. A great beach for kids. Supper calm, supper long and rather shallow for yards and yards out into the water. My sister loved this beach best due to the ease of getting into the water. Most of the beaches have waves that crash right onto the shore, then the strong currents pull back out into the ocean. These conditions aren't the best for a 7.5 month old prego woman trying to go for a swim or float. So Lydgate was a good pick. But alas, we were getting a little antsy for more shopping and town exploring, so again, we hopped in the cars and headed to Kap'aa.

Kap'aa was my all time favorite town. Not only because I liked to say the name (pronounced: Ka-pa-a), but it just gave off a great island town feel. Low key, nice people, a good strip of trinket shops and boutique shops to wonder in and out of, food carts and all right smack on the water. My dad decided to skip out on the shopping (big shocker there) in order to get more boogie-boarding time in at a beach up the street. That man was glued to his boogie board the whole trip. Hours and hours of kicking and paddling for a short, but thrilling wave ride. Once we all met up again, dad reported that while at this beach, he was privileged to see Spinner Dolphins. Those that shoot up out of the water and do 4 or 5 360 degree turns before diving back in. I took a mental note of that for later.

(you can see dad heading out there to hit up some wave action)

We hit up a few more beaches here and there on our trip...including Shipwrek Beach which had some rocking waves to boogie board on. One thing I did want to note, was that no matter what beach we went to, we always saw a Monk Seal sunning him/herself on the sand. The first time I saw one snoozing, I was so very sad - thinking that he was dead...washed up from shore. As I walked closer to the roped off section, I read the signage: "Monk Seals are napping. Please do not disturb as they are likely to bike if feeling threatened."

As it turns out, Monk Seals are endangered species due to the depleting food source (over-fished waters by man). There are only about 30 left in that area, and usually choose the same beach to worm themselves on the shore and nap. Pretty cute and sad at the same time.

The Garden Island - Kauai

Take a moment to imagine this: It is 7am and you rise to a warm breeze and the sound of palm trees swaying in the wind. You swagger down a set of stairs and walk to a balcony over looking the vast Pacific Ocean. It is just before sunrise, and after glancing to the left, a sliver of bright light breaks through on the ocean's horizon...almost blinding, yet oh-so beautiful. You continue to gaze in that direction and watch the sun rise inch by inch over the waters and realize that you are witnessing the beginning of another sun-kissed day. That, my friends, was my life for the past 10 glorious days in a place called the Garden Island, or better known as Kauai.

Yes, that's right, us "kids" (Matt, Ami, Nick and I) were yet again completely spoiled with a trip to Hawaii by the ridiculous generosity of Momasita and Papa-Lo. We shacked up in a 3 bedroom condo overlooking the ocean in town called Poi Pu. The nature of this trip was just like any other excursion the Mag 6 take: to live life together, creating memories and enjoying the majestic beauty that the Good Lord has blessed us with.

Our condo was elevated on a bluff, but a short 10 minute walk got us to one of the best beaches on the island. The bluff:Every day brought something new: Sometimes it was just a beach day with the fam...coming and going as we pleased; reading, swimming, snorkeling, napping and eating were the main activities for the day. Other days brought great adventures...hiking, boogie boarding, exploring the different towns and viewing with great wonder that majestic island holds.

I decided to break up each blog a little bit...so the posts to come will show a snippet of our vacation. Words and photos are really quite insignificant to illustrate just what a vacation can be. I will do my best, but really one's self can only internalize just how gloriously relaxing vacation can be when you let-go of everything else and just BE in the moment. I am first to admit that it is a tough thing to do...especially within the American culture of go, go, go...do, do, do. But man-oh-man...it is so worth ditching that and living life as it should: Footloose and Fancy Free!

The fancy-smancy Hyatt Hotel was a short walk from our condo. It was HUGE and Beautiful...you can see a bit of it behind Ami and I.