As I went through all of our pictures for the month of October, it was hard for me to decide on how to best show our adventures through the month. We had such an incredible month. October tends to be one of my favorite months of the year. It means fall, pumpkins, cooler weather, vacation, and fun family time. It's the start of the holiday season! I enjoy every holiday throughout the following months. There is so much time spent with family and friends.
This year Preston and I decided to make October a month for us to remember. We headed out to Kauai for the first time and decided to stay a week. It was just us, no kids. A true vacation, haha. We planned a few months prior to our departure date, lined up great babysitters (thanks Mom and Dad), filled the house with food and treats, and went on our merry way.
For this October's journal entry I will first take us all to Hawaii to take a look at our vacation through our eyes. Heads up... picture overload coming your way!
Preston and I headed to the airport a little earlier than normal just in case of traffic or any unexpected surprises. As we approached the airport parking lot I thought, "Well, I guess we can have breakfast and chill at the gate." Normally we get to the airport about an hour before boarding which usually amounts to a perfect timing scenario. This time it was a tender mercy that we had arrived so early. We went right through security and grabbed breakfast. We noticed an insanely long line from a table in the hallway and were curious as to what that was. So, I asked someone. They told us that this is where you have to precheck all of your vaccinations and COVID-19 forms before entering any Hawaiian island. "Oh dang!" We knew we had to do that but we thought it would be a simple process at the gate. We filled out everything we could online prior to the airport so we weren't positive if this is where we were supposed to be. Pres waited in line while I headed to our gate which was like a quarter mile away. No joke! I finally reached the Southwest gate. I asked the associate if we needed to be in the line where Pres was or if we could just show her all of our stuff. Unfortunately, the answer was the massive line. I then rushed back to Preston. It seemed as though he'd barely moved, haha. While I was gone he filled out even more information on the Southwest and Hawaii websites to get us clearance for entrance. Once we reached the front of the line it took no more than 2 minutes to get checked in and get cleared. Several people waiting in front of us had to leave to catch their flights but were told they could do all of this on the Hawaii side. When we finally finished and got our little wrist bands saying that we had been cleared we took off to the gate. We made it with only 5-10 minutes to spare. What a blessing that we got to the airport when we did. Another tender mercy was that the flight was not full. Yay for sleeping in a row all to myself! Woot woot!
Vaccinated, masked, wristbands, and ready to take off! Kauai here we come!
Welcome to Kauai!
This was the beach closest to our condo. It's called the Kalapaki Beach and it is gorgeous. It sits right in front of the Marriott hotel. It's also tucked into the cove so the waves are great for body surfing, boogey boarding or surfing. Once we got our rental car we went to our condo and checked in. It was a cute 3 bed 2 bath condo in the Banyan Harbor Resort. It was a perfect size, if not even too big for just the two of us but we loved the space. They had a pool, tennis courts, and a beautiful view.
We were super hungry after our flight and checking in. We decided to give Duke's a try. It's just down the road from where we were staying. It was DELISH! I got the fish and chips and they were absolutely outstanding.
We of course had to see what the Hula Pie craze was all about. AMAZING! I don't even care for ice cream and enjoyed this.
In heaven!
When we started eating dinner, we heard live music all of a sudden. To our surprise there was a singer in our midst singing some very nice Hawaiian music. It felt perfect for our first night there.
After dinner we headed to the local Walmart and Costco to stock up on a few things. We unpacked and passed out for the night. Travel days can be very tiring, but we were so excited to finally be in Hawaii!
The following morning we woke up early and headed to the docks for a boat ride. We scheduled a Napali Coast tour for the morning. The forecast said thunderstorms all day so we were hoping it would clear up for us. We parked and right outside of my car door was a chicken, haha. They are everywhere on this island.
View from the port.
Watching the sun rise and waiting for our tour to begin. It was a beautiful morning.
It's so green and lush.
We boarded our boat with four other people and our captain and took off.
My main squeeze enjoying the sun and the coast.
Touring along the coast was incredible. The pictures do not do it justice as they rarely do :)
We were able to go into some of the side caverns and caves. It was so cool to see. This one had a natural waterfall falling on the left.
A look out from inside the cavern.
Our captain just happened to pull the boat back out right under that waterfall and got Pres...haha. I'm sure Pres was as amused as everyone else was, haha.
Way back in history the Hawaiian people farmed on top of that shelf. They lived below near the water but farmed all of their crops up top. Kind of cool.
This picture was taken in the eye of the island or the roofless cave. As we went under the arch and into what we thought would be another cavern the skies opened up above us. There is one large rock that sits dead center in the area. When looking from above it looks like an eye. It was really cool to see.
It never rained on us, but the waters were quite choppy. I was super impressed with our captain. He did an excellent job navigating the wind and waves.
We saw loads of spinner dolphins, birds, and a few sea turtles. It was so choppy I couldn't capture pics of the dolphins but dang that was cool.
The Napali Coast
A pic with our captain I have named Paul...hehe. I couldn't remember his name but doesn't he look like a Paul? That was our sweet ride behind us too. A little catamaran. Paul was SUPER knowledgeable about the land, the people, and the history of Hawaii. It was so fascinating to learn from him. He was a goofy, fun guy as well. We enjoyed his humor.
After our sweet adventure along the coast which actually ended up going much longer than we had anticipated. Grateful it did, but we weren't expecting that. At one point Paul stopped the boat and let us all snorkel. He had fresh pineapple and Hawaiian kettle chips on board. We took a break from the waves and enjoyed the scenery and living in the present. It was beautiful. While snorkeling Pres and I saw a few turtles, lots of fish and a star fish. We were supposed to be done at noon but ended up being done closer to 12:45p. Our next excursion started at 2p and was 30 minutes away. We still had to eat lunch and then head over to our river adventure.
We ate lunch at a Hawaiian barbeque joint called Da Booze Shop with delicious noodle salad, rice and chicken. We were so hungry. The boat tour highly suggests to not eat breakfast before boating incase of sickness. We hadn't eaten in what seemed like forever, haha. We ate well at that bbq stop :)
The roads in Kauai could use some love but the greenery is incredible.
We made it to our next adventure with a little time to spare. Once our entire party arrived we loaded up on a huge bus and headed out. Pres and I were the only ones not in the other party. They showed up with 16 ready to go. Looked like a fun crew. Several party members were from Sacramento and the Santa Cruz area. These were the roads we drove on.
Our tour guide was AWESOME!! She was seriously the coolest. She was born and raised in Kauai and super informative when it came to living on the island as well as the history of the plantations we drove through.
They stopped the bus at one point so we could all get out and check out the view.
Once we finished with this incredible view we were taken to the river to raft. Once we arrived at the river we had to put all of our stuff in containers so we could float without worrying about cameras, phones, wallets, etc. This is why I have zero pics on the river. We put all our stuff in the containers and then headed to the water. Pres and I were not expecting this excursion to be as cool and awesome as it was. I thought it would be like floating a lazy river but it was more like a water ride. They equipped us with gloves, a headlamp, and our trusty tubes. The water was SO cold, haha. After a few minutes though, you adjust. We took off down this river through a super cool plantation area, with trees everywhere. It was beautiful. I had no idea that we would literally be going through stone tunnels along the way. We went through five different stone tunnels and had to turn on our headlamps in order to see. These stone tunnels were created by the Chinese immigrants to facilitate the sugar cane production on the island. They were gorgeous! At one point we headed down a mini waterfall. It was such a fun time. I would highly recommend and honestly do it all again.
I somehow ended up being at the back of the group most of the way down the river. Pres was somewhere in the front so we didn't even float together, haha. I've learned you can't control a tube in water, that's for sure, haha. So, while Pres was getting to know some of the people from the party of 16 I was in the back with "Double K". I had a hard time pronouncing his Hawaiian name so I asked if I could call him Double K instead. He laughed and said, "Absolutely! And I'm changing my Instagram to that now." Haha. He was a sweet kid. He was also born and raised in Kauai and I learned more about his hopes and dreams. We even talked about his family and this job he had. He reminded me so much of my cousin Kane. It made me miss Kane a ton. I wish Double K all the best! He's a good kid.
The following morning Pres and I got all dolled up and took some couple pics to commemorate our 10 years of awesomeness together. This December it will actually be 11 but we thought it'd be fun to have some updated pics of us together. I bought a fancy ball gown and he bought a snazzy suit. I think they ended up turning out pretty dang awesome if you ask me ;)
I am so grateful that we still can make each other laugh, that we lean on each other in every area of our lives, and we continue to grow together. Preston is my absolute love in this life. I think the Lord knew exactly what he was doing when he brought our paths together 11 years ago. We took a giant leap of faith and will forever be in debt to our Heavenly Father for seeing something we both had no idea would be as incredible as it is to this day. I thought I loved him then, but dang, I love him SO much more now. Thanks for being my incredible support, partner, and love throughout these 11 years Preston Scott! Here's to many many more years together! Oh, and don't forget, you're stuck with me throughout the eternities ;)
After our sweet picture sesh it was time to eat. And I mean EAT!! We were holding out until our picture day before we truly indulged in the food area. Now all bets were off, haha. We had the best calzones I have ever eaten from Kilauea Bakery & Pizza. We of course had to get dessert as well so we topped off our meal with a killer carrot cake. It was all to die for.
I'd go back just for this ;)
After we fueled up we headed to the beach for a Beach Day! Our first stop was Kalihiwai Beach.
This day would have been a perfect boogey boarding day. The waves were perfect. Their were several high school kids out hitting the waves. It was fun to watch them all.
We stayed at this beach for awhile. We brought a cooler of drinks, snacks, and some books. I laid out for awhile while Pres caught up on some of his podcasts. It was a great day for sure.
Once we felt beached out for the day we kept on driving along the island. We found this incredible cavern along the way. We stopped at the beach right across the street from here called Tunnels Beach. It was super cool to see. It was massive. The beach looked awesome too. We stayed for a little while here as well.
Pres in the cavern.
My turn.
Such a beautiful beach. We even saw a couple getting married :)
Above the cavern there were these trees growing on the side of the face of the rock. Check out how cool those roots are. They find a way to be grounded to something.
On our way back I saw this crazy waterfall hidden along the side of the mountain. It was EPIC! We stopped in Hanalei and enjoyed some shopping. It was fun to take in the sites and grab some souvenirs. We didn't even end up eating dinner that night because we were so full from the calzones, haha.
This next adventure I was VERY much looking forward to. We rented some ATV's to take us through the country side and explore different movie locations. We had such fun tour guides who took us around. They were super chill, funny, and just a joy to be around.
And we're off!
We made a quick pit stop along the way to hear the story of this land. It was incredible. The short version is this... The last Hawaiian princess owned 1,000's of acres of lands. Once the United States government became a part of this state the princess started selling off bits of her land. She had married but never had children. She was very passionate about the Hawaiian culture and did not want to see the language fade out. At first she would only sell land to those who could deal in her native language. A missionary family soon came along and lived on Oahu. The son felt a great desire to learn the native language. Once he learned it, he moved to Kauai. He was brought to the princess at one point and greeted her in her native tongue. She was shocked and felt great compassion for this man as she found out that he felt the Hawaiian language was beautiful and should stay with the islands. She asked him to be her English translator as she made deals with some of the English developers that came along as she sold off bits of her land. He later married and had children of his own. His kids became like grandkids to the princess. She loved them. Once her time came to pass away she gifted 400+ acres to the family but asked that they never develop the land but keep it's beauty. The Rice family agreed. The princess passed and the land has never gone under any sort of construction or been sold off. The family has kept the verbal agreement that was made so long ago for generations.
One more stop at the fish ponds and what used to be sugar plantations.
The final destination was to a hidden waterfall on the land.
The bamboo was insane! It was massive. The pic on the right is the path that led us to the waterfall.
After our sweet excursion we grabbed a Hawaiian plate from a Ma and Pa shop called Mark's Place that the locals suggested. It was DELISH!
On Friday we headed up to check out Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. First, we had to stop at a tasty breakfast place called Kauai Kookie Bakery & Kitchen. I had a veggie omelet and it was the size of head and incredibly tasty. You wouldn't even know this place existed unless you looked it up.
On our way.
This canyon was one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen in my life. It takes your breath away.
This incredible gem was spotted along the way.
I loved every minute of this drive. We didn't do any hikes, which you totally could do if you wanted to, we were just feeling lazy. We loved the drive and stopped quite often at the look outs to take in the creation around us. It was majestic to say the least. It's like it's not real
On our way back from Waimea Canyon we stopped at the blow hole. This thing was crazy! It literally sounded like a sleeping giant or dragon. When the water would go in it sounded like this incredible snore, then when the water pushed through it sounded like the breath was being released. It was super fascinating to watch and listen to.
The tunnel of trees.
Pres drove so slow so I could capture this without any cars in my sight :) He loves me ;) How cool is that though?! Worth it!
Once we got back to our town we stopped at the light house. We watched the sunset and checked out the views from the tip of the land.
I think six out of the seven days we were there I woke up in time for the sunrise. They were different and unique each morning. It was a time to meditate and take in the majestic background God painted each morning to heart. I thought about the things I was grateful for and for the many blessings I have received thus far in my life. There is so much to be thankful for. Sunrises are one of them. I also met new people each day.
On Saturday morning, Pres took off to scuba dive. We grabbed some tasty waffles and a bowl full of fruit with whipped cream and coconut...YUM!! It was ALL so good! Aloha Leige Waffles.
Preston had a great time while scuba diving. He saw lots of turtles, one actually ran right into him while he was diving through a tunnel. While he was off exploring the ocean, I headed to the Marriott Beach to read and enjoy some time by the waves.
On Sunday we decided to hike the Sleeping Giant. Can you find him?
After the ATV's we talked with our guides about hiking the Sleeping Giant. David, one of the guides, suggested we take the path less taken. He recommended a locals hike to the giant so Pres and I gave it a shot. We parked at the yellow gate like we were told and began our journey down the grassy path and over this bridge. I remember thinking this is going to be awesome. It was a beautiful day and a great path. It should only take about an hour to hike up ... so I thought.
After about 45 minutes of hiking I thought, "we have to be getting close". The path became SUPER muddy and harder to navigate. Around minute 30 we made it to a picnic area with a nice view but it wasn't the top of the giant so we kept going.
We found a ton of holes in the path which seemed to look like a resting place for the wild boar in the area. We continued on our journey and about 60 minutes into the hike we found a couple coming towards us. Woohoo! We weren't alone anymore. That's correct, we were the only ones on this trail. I honestly started to think that we had been punked by the locals. Why was there no one else?? Haha. So, I asked this lovely couple, "How much longer until the top?" She said, "Oh honey, you guys are about half way." What?! Oh my goodness! This ended up being much more of a hike than we planned for. We continued on our merry way dodging mud puddles, getting our shoes stuck in mud, and doing our best not to slip and fall.
As we continued through the branches and mud we came upon a lot more people. Woohoo! More people! We were then steered onto the main path heading straight up to the top. We climbed boulder after boulder and weaved our way through the trees and more mud. After two and a half hours of climbing and hiking we finally made it to the top of the Sleeping Giant!! That last 40 minutes was rough. It was straight up the mountain side.
The view was worth it though.
I was literally sitting on the edge of this mountain. It was a massive drop off on the side but had an incredible 360 view all around us.
We met a very nice couple at the top. We chatted with them for a while as we watched the rain come toward us from the ocean. The wind then suddenly picked up and the rain came. I no longer felt that the side of the mountain is where we should be standing, haha. We headed to the little cave right below the top until the rain passed.
Here comes the rain.
Hiding out from the rain.
Hanging in the little archway.
We stayed here while the rain went through which was like 5-10 minutes.
We had met another group of people while hiking. I told them that I couldn't believe how long the hike ended up being. They kind of laughed and said, "Yea, it's not too bad. Only like a mile and a half to two miles." I thought, there's no way. We were hiking and walking for 2 1/2 hours. Then he asked, "Wait, where did you guys park?" I told him and he laughed. "Yea, that's the four mile hike. We just parked half way up the mountain in the parking lot and did the two mile hike." Whaaaaat??? HAHA. We definitely got our hiking in for the day then. Haha. We had no idea that there was a quicker hike up the mountain. We thought we went the fastest way.
Pres heading back down the trail. Now that it had rained again, we knew the trail would be much worse than it was on the way up and even harder going down hill. I ended up sliding a good 10 yards down the mountain but luckily was able to catch myself. We laughed while we both took turns trying to hold our balance as we straddled the muddy trail down.
We ended up making it back to the car in about a two hour time frame. Clocking in an eight mile hike for the day. We both burned a crazy amount of calories which meant pasta for dinner, haha. We were quite hungry after that workout. This picture is me in front of the yellow gate where we entered and the tunnel of trees we followed to the bridge which led to the hike. WE DID IT!!
Pres and I asked ourselves, "Knowing what we know now, would we still have done that same hike?" At first I said, "No. Give me the mini version." After some thought though, I agreed with Preston's answer that I would. We had a great time hiking that trail together. Talking, laughing, watching for wild boar to come eat us, as well as slipping and sliding along the way, haha. It was a great Sunday with my favorite person in the world. Can't get better than that.
To say we slept well that night would be an understatement, haha. We CRASHED after eating an incredible pasta plate from Kauai Pasta Lihue. It was absolutely divine. Plus, it was the first time I think I have ever been able to finish ALL of my food and want more, haha. For the remainder of the night we packed up our stuff, cleaned up the condo, and got ready to leave early next morning.
As we left the beautiful island of Kauai the sun started to rise. It was breathtaking and such a wonderful way to say good bye to an island we both had grown to love. I have heard several people tell me that Kauai is their favorite island. After visiting myself and taking the time to get to the know the people I agree. To me, Oahu is the LA of the islands and Maui is a touristy island. Kauai is a place where you truly feel like ohana (family). You feel welcomed and loved by the people. There is a different spirit that rests on the island of Kauai. One that is peaceful, safe, and loving. Thank you Kauai for giving Preston and I the vacation of a lifetime. One we both will not forget any time soon. Until next time, Aloha!
Excursions-
Napali Experience - Napali Coast boat tour
Kauai Backcountry Adventures - mountain river tubing
Kipu Ranch Adventure - ATV's through the Rice lands
South Shore Zodiac Boat Adventure Dive - Preston's scuba crew
Sleeping Giant - hike
Eat like the Clarks
Food is a HUGE part of every trip and vacation we go on. We only eat the best foods around :) These are not in order of when we ate there but is everywhere we ate and would highly recommend!
Food-
Duke's - lunch & dinner
Kauai Kookie Bakery & Kitchen - breakfastDa Booze Shop - lunch
Aloha Leige Waffles - breakfast
Kilauea Bakery & Pizza - lunch
Mark's Place - lunch
Tip Top Motel, Cafe, and Bakery - breakfast
Kauai Sushi Station - dinnerCoconut's Fish Tacos - dinner
Kalapaki Joe's - dinner burgersRob's Good Times Grill - breakfast Sunday
Haole Girl Island Sweets - donuts
Da Crack - lunch burritos
Kauai Pasta Lihue - dinner
