Well here we go again: Day 5: Today was our day to sleep in. We got up around 8:30. Randy & ML had to attend a timeshare meeting at 9:30 then we were going to brunch at Gaylord’s. Picked up Catherine @ 11:00 and off to Gaylord’s. This restaurant is just sooo beautiful in the day and night. The buffet had everything…eggs to order, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, cinnamon rolls (they were to die for), fruit, chicken caesar salad and beef stroganoff. Leanna and Catherine had Mango Mimosas. Then we strolled through the grounds for alittle bit. Then on our way back to Princville, we stopped at a craft fair in Kapaa. Didn’t really buy anything but there was a lot of cute things. This was Leanna and Catherine’s first real day so we headed to Hanalei beach again for some sun, fun and boogie boarding. We spent most of the day there then went grocery shopping for the week. We spent 150.00 which covered breakfast all week, snacks, dinner for 2 nights and drinks. I didn’t think it was that bad. ML then made spaghetti that night for dinner. There was so much that it could’ve fed an army…but it lasted us for a few nights. It was really really yummy. After we cleaned up, we made a pitcher of raspberry vodka and cranberry juice and headed over to the hottub *see pics*. This hottub was really cool…it has a sand bottom instead of concrete. Well it started raining on us but we didn’t care…we were already wet. Leanna, Catherine and I decided to be corny and all went over to the pool, which was kinda chilly and just jumped in. We held hands like we were in grade school so we all would jump at once. LOL. Well after relaxing alittle more in the hottub and warming up from the pool we headed in for an early night due to our ADVENTUREOUS day tomorrow. Day 6: Up at 6:30, grabbed a quick bite to eat then off to pick up Catherine for our zip lining tour WOOOOOHOOOOOO. We get there and there are a ton of people. We throw our items in a semi-water proof bag and grab our kayak paddles. As the instructor (Kevin) is giving us directions, I realize I don’t have a partner. The instructor notices that I am looking around and asks “who doesn’t have partner”. Well me and this old lady raise our hands. I was cool with it at first but then quickly got frustrated. We were the last ones to be placed in a kayak and it just went down hill from there. Normally the man/dominator/larger person should’ve been in the back but I knew I could steer us better and be more in control, so I sat in the back. Well let me just say that she would’ve never made it in the back. We were sooo of course and she pretty much would stop paddling and leave it up to me. I was soooo frustrated and irritated but not really sure what else to do. The other groups were soooo far ahead of us. They had been having a good time with each other splashing and just chit-chatting and enjoying each others company. Oh yeah, I will mention that her 2 daughters (35-40) were ahead of us with their young children and they never thought to wait to make sure mom/grandmom were ok. But this wasn’t the last time the left her today either. Anyway ~ we finally get to where we were to get off and start the hiking portion. We start up the hill and Randy, ML, Leanna, Catherine and I are in the front. I felt like I deserved it after being in the back during the whole kayak portion. Well we approached the 1st of 2 tree swing locations and ML went first. She is such a trooper I tell ya. Then Randy, me, Leanna and a few others went but there were still a good 10-15 people who didn’t go. It was cool. Then some tough guy that thought he was too cool went. Well he hit the bottom of the water and stirred up come “yucky” stuff that ruined the water plus the smell wasn’t the nicest. Thank god we got to go. Once we got to the top, there was a covered wagon which was pulled by a tractor (driven by Jill) waiting for us. Pete was our other tour guide for the day. The tractor ride was cool and a nice break from all the walking. We saw some pigs “making bacon” :lol: We ended up at a tree area, walked down and there was the most gorgeous waterfall that we had seen. We took lots of pics with our underwater camera, but they didn’t come out :cry: There was a large tree that had benches all around it and that’s where lunch was served. We had turkey sandwiches, drinks, cookies, brownies and pasta salad. It was ok. While everyone was eating, Pete went to check out the 2nd rope swing location. He said the water was too murky for us to go there, so we got to zip twice. Once everyone ate, it was TIME TO ZIP This was such a great time. I really expected the zip portion to be a lot longer but oh well. It was cool. We started on one side then when we hit the other side, Jill was there with a ladder to get us down. Then you had to go across a suspension bridge, which kinda creeped me out, and back up some wooden stairs and waited in line to do it again. All in all in was cool. Once everyone was done, we headed back up to the wagon. Jill mentioned that if a few of us wanted to go down and see the other rope swing area & falls, even though we couldn’t jump, she would take us down. WOW…that rope swing looked fun but scary. There were people there jumping but they still wouldn’t let us do it. Oh well. Back up the hill to the wagon. It takes us to another location where we start hiking back down the mountain towards the area where we will pick up a motorized boat that will take us back to the starting point. Well here’s where I have to complain again. The older lady I was paired up with earlier is in the back of the group. Her pants were really muddy so you could tell that she had slipped somewhere plus she was walking with a walking stick. Well Randy, ML and I stay in the back with her. She kept telling us to go ahead and we said “no thank you”. We weren’t going to leave her alone in the back. It got so bad that we couldn’t even see the group ahead of us but Pete was doing the Marco (front) and Polo (back) to make sure we were all together. Her daughters were too busy with their kids to even worry about mom….RUDE RUDE RUDE. They (grandmom and small kids) shouldn’t have even been on this type of trip. Well we get to this river crossing and thank god 3 guys from the group stayed behind to help her get across of she would’ve never made it. Well we get back, hop on the motorized boat and we are all beat. All in all it was a GREAT day. Next time we are doing the all day zipline where it’s nothing but ziplines. On the way home, we stopped at Hilo Hatties and did some shopping there. Across the street from HH was a KFC and it was weird to see a bunch of roasters/hens walking around the parking lot…weren’t they fearful for their life? Then we headed back to the condo to shower and get ready for dinner. We were going out to celebrate Randy & ML’s anniversary. We went to Kalypso. I had coconut shrimp again, Catherine and Leanna had veggie wraps, Randy had NY Strip steak and ML had fish & chips. Catherine and I had “tropical coolers” *see pics* which was rum, pineapple and papaya juice. Us girls shared “mud pie” for dessert. Leanna and I decided to stay with Catherine tonight so we could get up early tomorrow and head to the Waimea Canyon plus it was their “anniversary” . Randy and ML had already been there numerous times so we just went on our own. Well on the way to Catherine’s hotel, we decide that we are going to try and find a bar. There has to be one near the cruise ship area. Catherine didn’t want to go, so we dropped her off. We ended up at the Nawiliwili Tavern. It was a cool little bar, younger people and good music. We walked in behind a guy names Clayton and he bought the first round of drinks. We chatted for a bit, then he suggested that we go to a bar called Duke’s which is located on his hotels property. We go there and it’s right on the water, tiki torches everywhere and just really tropical looking. He suggested that we order the pina coladas there, so we do. Leanna paid for this round of drinks. Clayton’s friend Trevor joins us and we order more drinks, Trev pays this time. At this point I am feeling quite well. The drinks that Trev ordered were “doubles” and man oh man. Well we finish our drinks there and head back to Nawiliwili Tavern since Clayton started a tab there and wanted to close it out. Well we go in, just had to have another drink and a shot of something. :daveandmo: I guess Trev couldn’t hang because he left early. My eyes were starting to get quite fuzzy so I decided it was time to go. Said our good-byes to Clayton and off we went. Thank god for Leanna, she had to drive my drunk ass home. Well I don’t know about you, but when I get drunk, I love to make drunk calls. I totally forgot about the time difference :bashself: and started calling people back home and in WI (sorry alex). It was time for them to get up…yeah yeah that’s my excuse for calling at 6:30 am. LOL. Well Leanna gets us back to Catherine’s hotel and drops me off out front while she does to park. I looked a mess sitting on the curb, I can only imagine what people were thinking. We get to the room and Catherine is sleeping. Leanna and I had already discussed how we were going to jump on her and wake her up...but for some reason I was the only one who jumped on her and I didn’t bounce much….I hit the bed and was DONE. *I am cracking up writing this as it seems like just yesterday…so much fun*. Day 7: Up at 7:30, pretty hung-over but feeling semi-ok. On our way up to the canyon, we stopped at got McD’s breakfast. I felt so guilt as I didn’t want to eat at any restaurants that we have here at home, but we didn’t have any other options. It was 12.00 for 3 of us which I didn’t think was bad. We headed towards the canyon and there were soooo many good places to stop and take pics *see pics*. We headed to the top which was at 3400 ft. There just aren’t enough words to describe how beautiful it was up there. Well you can go up and down 2 different roads which is nice so you can see other sites but I wish we came down the way we went up…much nicer scenery. Then we headed to Poi-Pu beach. We were there before Randy & ML so we found us a nice place to put our stuff under a palm tree *see pics*. This is a really nice beach. Lots of snorkeling. There was a monk seal chillin on the beach. It was roped off so that people don’t bother them. Every once in awhile he would open his eyes...too cute. We definitely didn’t spend enough time at Poi-Pu but I will definitely be back. We were hungry around 3:00 so we walked over to Brennecke’s *see pics* and grabbed some happy hour munchies. The best part was the pitchers of passion fruit daquiri’s…OMG, they were sooo good and went down soooo smooth. I had shrimp AGAIN but they definitely weren’t as good as I’ve had before. We were talking about going back to Kipu Falls (where we were on the zipline) and going on the rope swing/cliff jumping by ourselves. We found it the spot and the weeds/rocks/mud that you had to go through to get there was quite interesting. On the tour it was private property, we were now on public property. There were a few others there doing it so we weren’t alone. Randy jumped off the cliff first, then Catherine and I, then Leanna *see pics*. Well Catherine and I paniced when we hit the water and came back up. I had the water camera attached to my wrist and it came lose and I was scrambling to get it but I did. I was trying to swim against the current and just freaked. I’m a good swimmer too which irritated me. I thought there was another set of falls close by (well there were but they were far), didn’t realize it was land on the other side. I was soooo mad at myself for freaking, but good’ole Leanna & Randy were there to help me. We looked at the rope swing but it was just too slippery (due to the mud) so we passed. My heart was still pumping too quick for that anyway. Randy and Leanna jumped again…looked like fun. Then Catherine went after contemplating for 5 minutes whether she should do it again. The cliffs were about 30 ft. high I would say. Plus hiking back up and around would’ve been a lot better in beach shoes and not bare feet. We then headed back to the condo for some spaghetti and take it easy. We were exhausted. Leanna, Randy, ML and I played Left, Right, Center (LRC-dice game) for a bit. Finally crashed around 12. Day 8: Today was Catherine’s Birthday :happy birthday: . Up around 8:30 ~ definitely sleeping in is a good thing. ML made this awesome breakfast casserole (eggs, hash browns, sausage, cheese mixture) and we had some fresh fruit. Catherine came up and off we went. We stopped at the Princeville Hotel to take pics. The cheapest room at this hotel is 400.00/night. It was just beautiful. We took pics inside and out. This hotel I think is the tallest building on Kauai (well in my opinion and I didn’t see anything taller). We were then heading to Hanaeli Beach. Instead of stopping at the beach, we followed the main road all the way to the end. We passed a lot of little secluded beaches. We went past Numahigh (sp) Beach where South Pacific was filmed. You could see the Princeville Hotel from the other side which was really cool too. Anyway, got back to Hanalei and did some more boogie boarding, laying out and relaxing. Spent a few hours there then went to shower and get ready for Catherine’s b-day dinner. Pete from the zipline company suggested a place called “BARacuda”. Well unfortunately we sit down, look at the menus and I immediately realize that there is NOTHING on the menu that I would eat. I felt soooo bad but I wasn’t alone. It was mainly all appetizers but still nothing I would’ve even remotely ate. We left there and ended up at Big Tim’s. It’s a cute little place. There were going to have live music too :bigband: . I ordered chicken salad in a papaya bowl on a bed of lettuce *see pic*. It was good. Once the band (3 guys) started, we had them sing “happy birthday” to Catherine, she turned bright red. We then went back to the condo to surprise Catherine with a birthday cake. She was touched and I think this was definitely a birthday that she will not forget. Day 9: Today we were flying to Oahu for the day. We were up early and picked up Catherine at 7:30. Our plane was leaving at 8:55 and it had us in Oahu by 9:30. Randy rented us a lime green convertible mustang…ohhh laa laa. Since I was the smallest, I got stuck sitting on the hump in the back. The car really wasn’t meant for 5 people but we made it work. I was really excited to go to the Hard Rock Café (I’m a HRC junkie) so we plugged in the directions on the gps system and off we went. We noticed immediately that Oahu is NOTHING like Kauai. There are high-rise buildings (hotels and apartments) everywhere. Plus it’s very commercialized. On the way to the Hard Rock, we passed Tiffany’s, Gucci, Fendi, Prada, Chanel, Burberry and Louis Vitton. We got to HRC and I was like a pig in slop…I just love them. Anyway, did alittle bit of shopping then we were off to see Diamond Head Beach, DH Mountain and DH Lighthouse *see pics*. Then it was time for the gang to drop Leanna and I off at Makani Kai Helicopters for our 1 hour tour of Oahu. This was really cool. There were 6 of us plus the pilot. *see pics*. Unfortunately when you go up, you can’t take any bags, just your camera. Well we were only up 5 minutes and my camera battery died. I was HOT since I had a fully charged one in my camera case….back at the helicopter place. Oh well…it was up to Leanna. We saw so much, Waikiki beach, china’s mans hat, north shore, pearl harbor and the Dole Pineapple plantation. Really really cool. While we were on the helicopter tour, Randy, ML & Catherine went to Pearl Harbor. Then came to pick us up and we looked for a restaurant with the gps system. There was a place called Arnold’s bar and grill. OMG….it was no where near the beach, there were pics of nekkid girls on the wall (mostly old pics), 2 dirty looking guys sitting at the bar and I asked if they served food, the waitress/bartender responded with “no we are all out, the manager is out shopping now but we have fries”. Are you kidding me…WTF is wrong with this picture. Anyway, we left and started walking. Came across Planet Hollywood (I know another thing that we have here but we were starving). Sat outside and ordered some happy hour goodies. Catherine and I got Blue Hawaiian drinks which were quite yummy. I had a pulled pork sandwich for lunch. There was also a Wyland Gallery next door which was beautiful pieces of art. We then went window shopping around all the expensive stores but I just had to go into LV. Definitely nothing I would buy or could afford for that matter. We walked back to the car, dropped off some bags and headed down to Waikiki Beach. Definitely a pretty beach but a lot of people which we were not used too. I ordered my 1st “shaved ice” which is ice cream on the bottom (I chose vanilla) with a snow cone type thing on top (I chose orange flavor) so it was like a huge creamcicle *see pic*. We met this really cool old guy who was a veteran and his name was Royal Blue. It’s a true story ~ he pulled out his id and credit card to prove it. We sat there and watched the sunset. Then we drove around the island killing some time before our flight out at 8:00. Made our flight, grabbed our car then dropped Catherine off at her hotel. When we got back to our condo I decided that I really needed to get into our own personal hottub and relax. Day 10: We got up early, ate, Catherine came up and we headed to Secret Beach. There was a pretty steep hill to walk/slide down *see pics* but it was definitely worth it. When we got to the bottom, we were the only ones there. Through the course of the morning, there were only a handful of people who even came down but most of them were hiking across the rocks. This beach had so many cute little coves. I believe it’s a clothing optional beach too but with no one there, we didn’t see anything. The views of this beach were spectacular also. It was really cloudy out though and the sun never full came out, so we hung out for about 2 hours then packed up and went to Surfer Beach (we don’t know the name but there were lots of surfers). The sun was out and very hot here…we hated to go. We were there for about 45 min-1 hour before we had to head back and get ready for the luau. We showered and started our journey to the luau. It should’ve taken us 30-45 minutes to get there but due to traffic and there is only 1 major rode it was an hour and 15 minutes. This was the only stressful part of the vacation but once we got there and other cars were pulling in too, I felt a lot better. They greeted you with a shell lei, took your picture then you had 30-45 minutes to explore the 30 acre grounds *see pics*. We went to the Smith Family Luau which I had heard of prior to going. There was a blessing of the pig ceremony which we missed but that was ok. We grabbed our seats and were ready to grub. There was soooo much food that if you left hungry, you were not right. Then we got 2nd row center seats for the hula action. It was not fully what I expected but it was cool. You could not use your flash so my pics didn’t come out well *see pics* but I did get a few mini videos. There was a hottie guy there with his family so on the way out, I just had to take a picture of his bootie *see pics*. He had no clue but we thought it was funny. We dropped Catherine off so we could have the car in the morning for when we have to pack up our stuff Day 11: This was the saddest day. We got up early, ate all we could so we didn’t have to throw things away. We showered, packed and cleaned :cry: ; Leanna and I drove to get Catherine. We were going to meet Randy & ML back at Hanalei Beach. Well we did alittle souvenir shopping and stopped at Cold Stone for our morning treat Headed up to Hanalei Beach and spent as much time as we could on the beach. We did more boogie boarding, swimming, laying out and relaxing. Catherine got pulled out alittle and freaked and the lifeguard had to paddle out on his surf board to get her…she wanted to die of embarrassment. Her and I left the beach around 3:30, I wanted to pick up a sweatshirt from the surf shop close by (plus tell the hottie guy behind the counter, how hot he really was), grabbed a quick bite to eat then off to the airport to drop Catherine off. It was sad to see her go. I rushed back as Randy had arranged for us to have a suite for 1 hour to shower and change before our long flights home. We shower then head to the House of Noodles again for dinner. This time I had battered and friend lobster chunks. It was good but not as good as the shrimp that I had before. After dinner, we walked around the town of Kapaa alittle, filled the car back up with gas, then off to the airport. Randy and ML left at 11:00ish and Leanna and I were leaving at 11:45ish so we returned the cars and hung around the airport together. It was sooo sad leaving, I wear my heart on my sleeve a lot and cried :cry: when we said our good-byes. I know it won’t be the last time we see each other, but it still sucks. Randy and ML are off ~ have a safe flight guys and thanks for everything. I popped a sleeping and we all pretty much slept the entire way to Phoenix. The last flight out at night really helps. Then the flight from Phoenix was only 4 hours (we got in 30 min. early). Then there were are in capri’s and flip-flops and it’s snowing :evil: ; WTF. Anyway ~ you all must be tired of reading so I will make this quick. Hawaii was the best vacation I’ve ever had. It was my dream vacation. What do you do when you experience your dream….dream bigger. I want to go for atleast 2 weeks next time and maybe do a week on Maui first. Thanks again to Randy, ML, Leanna and Catherine for being great traveling companions. I wouldn’t change a thing. Aloha & Mahalo.
Good writing. Takes me a week to compose two paragraphs. :roll: And thanx for leading off with breakfast...I missed mine *tummy growl* I always enjoy Hawaii TR's, Angie. Thanks for writing!!!
Thanks Michael. I know I was really wordy but didn't want to miss out on anything. It did take me all morning to do days 5-11.
You reports were great, Angie. Made me feel like I was right back in Hawaii. I went to many of the same places you did. Thanks for a most enjoyable read!!!
Thanks Denise and Janie. Janie ~ I wanted to put pics into the report like you do but I just didn;t have the time. My friends kept laughing at me and I just kept saying "I'm taking this pic like Janie would take". LOL
