Here’s my trip report for Hawaii (Jan. 10-20, 2007) and I hope you all enjoy it. It’s long so I hope you don’t get tired from reading it. I have to first start off with a huge THANK YOU to Randy and Mary Lynn for giving me such a great opportunity to see Hawaii and mainly the island of Kauai. You two are such great caring, spiritual and loving people. You were such great tour guides and showed me such a great time. You let me become a small part of your family during our 10 days in paradise. I can’t wait to meet *K* when ML comes out east to visit. I could have not asked for better traveling partners and a better place to stay….THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I tried to stay up as late as I could on Tuesday night but only managed to stay up til midnight. Hit the sack and got 4 hours of sleep. It’s so hard to sleep when you know that you are heading to paradise. Up and showered and off to Leanna’s so she should drop me off at the airport. My plane left Philly at 8:26 on the 10th and my long journey to Kauai began. I slept for about 2 ½ hours out of the 5 hour flight to Phoenix. As we passed over CO we were able to see all the snow capped mountains…just beautiful. Flight was smooth and we landed in Phoenix on time. Grabbed a quick bite to eat then off to my gate and prepare for my long (7 hour) flight to Lihue. They were selling first class seats for 250.00 but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the extra cash. Boarded the flight and it was PACKED. I was lucky enough to sleep for another 2 hours or so then tried to fill the rest of my time (5 more hours) with doing word searches, playing tetris and listening to my ipod (thanks to my secret Santa). As we were landing it was dark but you could still the beautiful mountains and waves crashing. It was 6:30 kauai time but 11:30 EST. I was tired but quickly woke up once we got off the plane. Randy and ML were waiting at baggage claim for me with smiles on their face but I think my smile was a mile long. I couldn’t believe I was finally there. It was great to see Randy and ML ~ I hadn’t seen them since the Ohio Bash but we talk all the time so it was like seeing old friends. We grab my bags and head to the car. The airport is very open so the wind was blowing and just beautiful. Bill (ML’s brother) and his wife Stacey were waiting in the car. We do introductions then head to Gaylord’s for dinner. I was worried about being underdressed as this was a beautiful restaurant but they assured me that I would be ok. This restaurant was soooo romantic ~ I loved it *see pics*. I had a kilohaha punch drink with a slice of pineapple and umbrella…ahhhh I was officially in paradise. I got the prime rib and it just melted in my mouth…yummy. ML had seafood pasta, Randy & Stacey has the filet and Bill had venison. We headed back to the condo which was a 45 minute drive up the coast. There is 1 main highway up and down the coast so it was easy to find your way around the island. Got to the condo and it was gorgeous. 2 spacious bedrooms each with their own jacuzzi tub The balcony overlooked the pool/hot tub. I was alittle concerned when Randy mentioned that they don’t use the air conditioner at the condo, but I quickly learned that they open the windows and the breeze flows all night…very good sleeping weather. I unfortunately hit the couch and passed out. Day 2: I woke up to the sound of the waves and roosters crowing around 7:30. It had rained all night but it was very soothing to sleep through. Randy was up first and was slicing up fresh pineapple, mangos and papayas. We had a meal fit for kings *see pics*. Then we dropped of Bill & Stacey for their helicopter tour and we headed to Bubba Burgers *see pics* for lunch “they relish your buns” I had a hotdog and it was the skimpiest hotdog I’ve ever seen but the fries were good. While we were eating, we got a call from Bill & Stacey that their flight got cancelled due to fog so we left and picked them up. We then headed to Anini Beach. What a beautiful beach. It was calm and a lot of people were snorkeling and windsurfing. The beaches were not crowded at all which was nice. We took a stroll along the beach and ML showed us Sylvester Stallone’s old house *see pics*. She had a private tour of it a few years prior before he sold it….lucky woman. Then we came across a rope swing over the water. We all took turns swinging...it was really cool. We headed back home to get all prettied up for dinner at Bali Hi (part of south pacific) *see pics*. We had an awesome view of the sunset, which it set 3 times…just beautiful. I decided to skimp on dinner tonight and got a chicken Caesar salad and then get dessert. Well we ended up ordering 4 desserts (cheesecake, flour-less cake, banana cream pie, and chocolate decadence) *see pics* Went home and watched Greys Anatomy and Nashville Star then called it a night. Day 3: Today was Bill & Stacey’s last day. They got up early and Randy dropped them off at the helicopter port so they could try to get their helicopter tour in before they left. Woke up around 8, which was like sleeping in to me. Randy made a great breakfast (eggs, bacon, potatoes, fruit). Then the guys headed out golfing and us ladies went back to Anini Beach. Laid in the sun and soaked up as many rays as we could. After a few hours we decided to stop by Mango Mamas for fruit smoothies before picking up the guys from golfing. I had a Kane Smoothie which was fresh pineapples & bananas with organic apple juice. It was quite yummy. While ML went to pick up the guys, Stacey and I just layed around the pool. Then it was time to shower and dinner tonight was at the House of Noodles. Everyone loved their meal and it was the cheapest meal all week…well atleast for me. I had coconut shrimp *see pics* and they were to die for. I’m not a big Chinese eater but this was a cool place and glad that we went. Bill and Stacey did some last minute shopping. While they were in the store, there was an emergency signal broadcast over the radio. They said that the state of Hawaii was under tsunami watch due to an earthquake or something that happened in Alaska. It was quite scary. Well we proceeded to the airport and dropped Bill & Stacey off. I was really scared but Randy kept assuring us that we would be ok. So we just headed back to the condo to wait out the storm. By the time we got back to the condo, the tsunami warning had been lifted and I was able to have a good nights sleep. Day 4: Got up around 8 and moseyed around. We needed to switch condos today so we packed up most of the stuff and put it in the car. We hung around the pool for alittle bit then the rain sprinkled on us so Randy went to check on the status of the next condo and when we could move. Well they told us that we were all set…so off we went. It was only like 2 complexes away so it wasn’t bad at all. This condo was on the 2nd floor and man my bags seemed heavy. This condo overlooked the golf course and the views were also incredible. It had 1 bedroom with 2 beds, rounded shower which also stepped down into the jacuzzi *see pics* There was a mini-bar and a porch that wrapped all the way around the condo…sweet. It also had a lock-off room which but Randy traded it off for the 2nd week and don’t blame him at all, I would’ve done the same thing. We got settled and unpacked then headed to Hanalei Beach. We rented (from a cute surfer boy) boogie boards and snorkel gear for the whole week. I wanted “personal lessons” but I didn’t inquire about them So off to the beach and the beaches just seem to get better and better. I had not really been in the water yet as the temp. felt alittle cool. Well for boogie boarding ~ it was all or nothing. I chose ALL. Randy helped me out since it was my first time and I had a blast. Then I tried a few times on my own and got pretty beat up so decided to take alittle break. We left the beach around 4 and headed back to shower. Then we stopped at the grocery store to pick up Lei’s. Then we headed to the airport to pick up my friend Leanna who was going to spend the rest of the time with us. Her plane was early and I was sooo excited to see her in paradise. We then went to Kauai Steak House for some dinner. I had ribs which were very yummy. While we were there, we saw the score of the Eagles/Saints game and I wasn’t too happy. Plus there was a loud mouth biatch who was a Saints fan running her mouth. I wanted to kick her a$$. We also saw a Norweign Cruise Line ship at the dock. We only had alittle bit of time to eat because Leanna’s friend, Catherine, was also coming to stay. Long story short ~ Catherine was supposed to stay with one of her friends on Kauai (in the military) and meet up with us everyday. Well a week before they (Leanna and Catherine) left they found out that their friend lives on Oahu not Kauai…opps. Well we were frantically looking for a place for Catherine to stay. We found a room at Aloha Beach Resort. So we picked up Catherine at the airport. I rented a car for her since she was under 25 and trying to help her get a deal. We ended up with a Ford Focus with 8 miles…it was brand new….sweet. Well we had seen a Cold Stone Creamery the night before and didn’t stop so it was on our agenda for tonight. That’s where I ran into the guy wearing JohnV’s shirt *see pics*. Then we dropped Catherine and the car off at Aloha Beach. Her room # was 1236 (same as mine at BBG in 2004). http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f303/Angie0531/
Michael, Karan and Denise ~ Glad you liked it. Yeah there are alot of pics. I have over 350 pics but only could post so many.
nice pics!!!!! looks like a great place..........but.........I must say that Cancun waters and beaches seem to be nicer!!!!!!!!! but then again....I think Cancun is the greatest place in the world!!!! so maybe my opinion shouldnt count!!!!!
Angie, Thanks so much for sharing your trip ... the pics are fantastic ... and you look like a model!
Thanks Janie ~ You are too kind. Venom ~ The beaches of Hawaii blow away the beaches of cancun...in my opinion. My pics may not show the real beauty of the beaches.
I couldn't agree more, Angie. While your pictures are great they really don't capture the beauty of the Hawaiian beaches. And those sunsets...I've never seen sunsets as beautiful as th ones I saw in Hawaii.
