Probably the coolest part of Kauai was our view from the helicopter!  Not gonna lie, I felt like I was on the Bachelor for a minute.  Like I mentioned before, the topography of Kauai is very unique.  Rain forest, desert, canyon, breathtaking coastline – if we were gonna see it all, we needed to get out of the car.  We chose the helicopter without doors (we = Kevin) and ended up in the back.  The guy in the front wanted to barf the whole time so it was unfortunate to listen to his wife worry the ENTIRE trip.  Shut it lady.  We’re trying to enjoy the scenery!  One of these days, we’ll get the video edited…

A bajillion waterfalls

NaPali Coast

Our favorite surf spot, Hanalei Bay

We went at just the right time to grab some food, a coconut and watch the show.  Our entertainer, seen below with fire, was quite funny and had an array of talents.  He was a comedian, a hat maker, a fire twirler and a coconut tree climber.  What was really neat was he enlisted his kids to twirl and climb.  Look at the three little monkey’s high, high in the coconut trees.  No ropes.  No nets.  Craziness!

It’s a long, windy road to get to the canyon lookouts.  If we were hikers, it probably would have been a really great way to spend the day.  But we just looked.  It was nice to do, just to say we’ve done it but I think the highlight of the day was the Shrimp Station (for Kevin, not me).

Our good friends, the Dhara’s were taking a trip to Kauai.  I partially invited ourselves (we’d never been to Kauai and any excuse is a good excuse to go) and they partially asked us to join.  We booked the trip pre-wedding so it was booked and pretty much forgot about until, just like that, it was time to pack our bags!

We’ve had a lot of friends and friends of friends recently go to Kauai so my research for this trip was slim.  I printed out a bunch of their notes and took them with us.  No books.  No internet research.  D booked our condo.  All I did was get a car (which Kevin upgraded for a douchey blue Mustang – it was fun, but douchey blue?).

Kauai is known as the “Garden Isle” because of its’ endless beauty.  It’s very green and lush.  We learned that the tallest peak in Kauai is also the wettest measured spot on earth.  The north side of the peak it rains so much it can be considered a rain forest.  And to the south, it rains so little, it can be considered a dessert.  That’s some crazy topography!

Pros and Cons of Kauai.  Pro – it’s beautiful.  Con – there are chickens EVERYWHERE.  Everywhere.  At the beaches, in parking lots, waking you up at 6:30am.  Pro – the variety of beaches (calm, surfing, boogie boarding, snorkeling, glass sand, scenic, good for sunsets).  Con – you have to drive to get anywhere.  We stayed in Poipu (the sunny side) but our favorite beach was on the North end at Hanalei Bay.  It felt like most of the trip we were in the car…which is not fun, even in a Mustang.

All in all, this turned out to be a great little trip.  We spent some QT with the Dhara’s, cousin was on the island too and our trips overlapped a few days, we flew in a helicopter(!) and at the end, we tagged on a few days in Oahu to visit our friends there.  Oahu is still my favorite island.  There’s something I just love about it.  Maybe it’s the friends we have there now or the awesome trips with other friends and family I’ve taken.  Whatever it is, I’m really glad we ended our trip in such a special place.

Breakfast Rainbow from our patio!