Hawaii!!!

Markham and I spent a week in Kauai with his family and it was fantastic. It was my first time to Hawaii and it was an adventure!! A huge, shout out goes out to my rock star mom who made this trip kiddo-free. You are totally awesome mom! We love and appreciate you so much ♥

On the plane! Settling in for a 6 hour plane ride from San Diego. 

 As soon as we landed I recognized the feeling of a lot of humidity. Be prepared to feel damp all week! My hair was a hot mess the whole time. Ah well. We grabbed some fish tacos and ate them right here on this beach. It was pretty awesome.

We stayed in the beautiful, very green, tropical paradise that is Princeville. This was the view from the lanai of the house we stayed in.  It was a perfect breakfast spot. Just beautiful. The first night we got there we ventured down to Queen's Bath. It wasn't very far from where we stayed. We took a little hike down through lush vegetation to the rocky beach. It was a little ways from the break surrounded by black lava rocks.  Very cool and very salty.

at sunset ♥

The next day was my first snorkeling experience. Yikes. As you may know, I'm prone to anxiety and nervousness in the ocean, Maybe it's the opening scene in Finding Nemo or maybe it's Jaws or maybe it's the fact that people actually do get chewed on by sharks. Not sure. But I wasn't feeling 100% comfortable about the whole deal. But Markham was my prince and was very patient and supportive. As always.

 It was a perfect day. 

 Super attractive right? I had a considerable amount of trouble getting all the gear on. We had a good laugh.

But finally success... and a kiss. 

It was pretty fun after my brain stopped thinking I was trying to drown myself. Markham held my hand the entire time. We saw a ginormous sea turtle and a few colorful fish. It was very shallow for a long time. We ended up getting out pretty far and it still looked relatively shallow. I inhaled some salt water and it burned like crazy so I came up for air and realized I couldn't touch. Swimming in open water creeps me. I'm not a super strong swimmer and.....what is down there?! I didn't like that thought. A little panic attack ensued. But we made it back and no sharks got us, phew! 

After all that excitement we had worked up an appetite. 

We found a food truck and got us some yummy fish tacos. These ones were good.  

 

yummo!!

 Then we headed to Waimea Canyon. About a 45 minutes drive from there. We were with Markham's sister, Jen and husband Bryan and had a really fun time. Bryan is a funny dude and kept me giggling. We made a potty stop at a McDonald's and ordered dipped cones. We had a few hilarious moments there. It was carefree and silly.

We made it! It was breathtaking. Seeing it reminded me of Sedona Arizona with all the greens and reds. Like the Grand Canyon only more colorful. Pretty spectacular.

 The next day was Monday, our big hike along the Napali Coast, which we learned means "the cliffs."

 Before we got started. All fresh and feeling good. 

It was a 2 mile hike to a beach, then another 2 mile hike to the falls. 8 mile round trip. I wasn't sure I would be going all the way to the falls at this point. We had heard it could be "dangerous" and "brutal" spoken from a totally fit, hard body chick at the restrooms at the trail head. That made me...nervous. You may have noticed I am not a hard body or have a particular affinity for hiking the "brutal" and "dangerous." But carpe diem!! How many times would I be in Kauai?!

It was absolutely beautiful. It rained on us a little, which is not ideal because it makes the trail even more muddy and slippery. Making it "dangerous." Markham's mom is a total champ. She loves to hike and it shows. She owned that trail. I hope I can be that hard core at her age. Go Jan!

This shot was kinda scary. As we stood on the cliff for this picture, the wind was blowing super hard. 

 Heaven must look something like this. 

 As we approached the beach we saw this warning. The riptide at this beach is very strong and dangerous so no swimming is allowed. Of course there were a few people with a death wish out there anyway.

 The first of many river crossings. I think we counted 5 one way, so 10 total.

 We made it to the beach. It had been a pretty tough hike. Some pretty steep up and down. Some slippery spots.  

 There were a bunch of wild cats roaming around. Strange.

Anyhow I was thinking about hanging back with Jan on the beach while Markham, Brian and Michelle went to the waterfall. 

But in the end, we all decided to go for it.  I was really hoping it would be worth it. We joked about eating whatever we wanted for dinner 100% guilt free.

 

Here we go!

 The first 2/3 of the hike was pretty flat and gorgeous. Dense, green and just awesome. 

One of the river crossings. I guess it can get pretty dangerous when the water is higher. It was moving pretty fast. We just hopped/climbed on the rocks. I can imagine it being a lot scarier with more water.

Markham got every jump on this one. I spared you having to see them all. 

The last 1/3 of the way was "brutal" Very rocky and slippery. Some parts we were basically crawling over big rocks, scaling slippery slopes. 

But we make it!! And it was worth it 

The hike back

 We made it!!

What a day We were so exhausted and beat. We headed back to the house. 

We had planned to go snorkeling after the hike but I'm pretty sure I would have drowned. My energy was totally depleted. But very awesome day. Glad we did it. 

For dinner we ate at Bubba's Burgers in Hanalei. Yum, For dessert we had ice cream at Lappert's. Very rich and delicious. no guilt after the day we had. 

The next day we climbed down to Hideaway Beach. It was pretty steep. After the railing ended there was a rope to hold on to (for dear life)  It would have been better just to repel off the side.

 It was a beautiful beach surrounded by cliffs, You wouldn't want to be there at high tide.  We played and swam in the water. Markham helped me catch some waves as they broke on the beach. "we caught some crazy sets." We laughed and giggled pretty hard about that.

For lunch we had Puka Dogs in Hanalei. It was interesting. It was a hot dog encased inside a bun with a bunch of sweet, spicy sauces. Kinda like a spicy jelly donut with a hot dog inside.  When my hot dog was gone I had quite a bit of bun left with tons of sauce still.  If I had a puka dog again I would say easy on the sauce! Markham would say it was a Puke-a Dog. He wasn't a big fan. Once was enough for him.

It was fun to try

  That night Markham's parents treated us all to Dukes for dinner. ♥

  Now that's a meal!

 When in Hawaii...

 Hula Pie = Slice of Heaven.

The whole gang. Bad Quality but it's the best I got. Dang it.

Super fun night.

The next day was kayaking the Wailua River and another hike to a waterless waterfall. More like a drip. I guess it usually has water.. But it was a pretty hike. 

After the hike we went up a little further to a swimming spot. People were jumping off a cliff around 12 feet high. It looked scary but Markham talked me into it. Bombs away! It was a rush for sure. 

Afterwards we went to Hee Fats General Store in Kapaa and had the most amazing shaved ice. I was not a big shaved ice person until that moment. Holy Cow!  so so good. The ice was so smooth and soft - incredible texture, It had an "ice cap" on it. Creamy deliciousness. It had yummy macadamia nut ice cream in the bottom. It was a highlight for Markham too. We meant to get back there but didn't make it. Dang it.

On the way home, we stopped for fresh coconuts. I watched the guy literally slice off the top with a  machete. I look a little crazy here. Crazy with excitement!

The next day was a more low key day. We went to Hanalei Bay and walked on the beach, Found another fish taco truck on the beach and shopped for souvenirs.

The whole gang!

Markham did some modeling while we were there. lol. I like this shot. I can imagine it in a magazine or something, 

 Friday - our last day. 

We made it good! In the morning we went zip lining in Princeville. 

 Shaka!

 Here I am ready to launch myself off the first one. It was a small easy one but that step off is kinda creepy.

what a show off

  A crazy bridge we walked across. It was super high. Markham took a big risk and took a picture. I am SURE I would have dropped my phone. 

 

nice

A little cautious at first

 I loosened up.

 Our guide had us stop for a picture here. Hunger Games and Jurassic Park were filmed here. Among others that I can't remember. 

 We stopped to "dip" at a swimming hole. Again I had to jump off a small cliff. Yikes! It was fun though. Our guides told us not to try to touch the bottom, It was around 20 feet deep. yikes! I tried not to get too creeped. It was really beautiful and very refreshing.

 The big one. What a rush.

 That's me. Screaming my face off the whole way.

We survived!

 That night the entire group went to a Luau together. It was fun! The grounds were absolutely beautiful!! The show after dinner was awesome. A perfect way to close the week. 

 The night started with the presentation of the pig and how they slow cook it all day in the ground.

 Next up...dinner!

We walked around the grounds before the show, It was truly gorgeous everywhere.

 What an amazing week!!! So grateful for Markham's parents for organizing all of it and getting us all there. Many thanks for life long memories ♥ Shaka!!

Flying home. Ready to squeeze those 3 little cuties we left behind.