Vacation to Kauai!

As we had lived in Hawaii for nearly a year and a half and hadn't visited any of the other islands yet, we decided to take a trip to Kauai in November.  Blake's mom and stepdad decided to come along too.  First, they met us in Oahu for a couple days of fun.  We stayed at the Ko Olina Marriott Beach Club Resort and took them to a few spots we thought they'd like.

Kokohead botanical gardens

Bill catching a wave at Sandy's

Watching the sunset at China Walls

Sunrise at our hotel room

Pleco in the pool on our hike

I found this little guy on our hike in the jungle

Where I found the chameleon

You don't see this every day

Animals always like my hair

Fresh avocado from our neighbor

Then we were off to Kauai!  The first day we stopped at Wailua Falls and Opeakaa Falls, which were both beautiful.  The next day we went to Waimea Canyon and Polihale Beach.  On Monday we hiked the first four miles roundtrip of the Kalalau Trail, which was insanely beautiful but quite the trek.  On Tuesday we stopped by the Kilauea Lighthouse, Tunnels beach, Ke'e beach, and a beach near the St. Regis Hotel.  On Wednesday we explored a dark sand beach.  On Thursday we went snorkeling at Poipu Beach, and of course I had to visit Larsen's Beach.  Then on Friday we spent the time we had at the amazing hotel swimming pool and then left for Oahu.

Views from the beginning of the Kalalau Trail

Beach at the end of the first segment

 

 

Our room was clear at the end of this hallway

I'm glad we decided to go on this trip.  It was pretty stressful trying to get away from work, but we wouldn't have had a chance to visit any of the other islands otherwise.  Kauai was beautiful and it was so nice to be able to relax and do whatever we wanted.  I still think Oahu is a better island for vacations, but maybe I am just biased.