Hawaii, Jan 14 &15 , 2023 - Day 11 and Day 12

 Today was our last full day in Hawaii, and we really tried to make the most of it.  We left our AirBnB in Princeville and headed to Poipu Beach.  From the drive we could see the wave action was a little less that the last couple of days so we were hopeful we could get some snorkelling in before we had to leave.

We arrived at the beach just after 11am and headed to the beach. We were happy to see there were 4 turtles beaching when we got there (less that the last time but still really cool). They were just finishing there morning nap, as some of them started heading to the water when we got there.  

Lola was pretty excited to use the new go pro to get some underwater shots.  We proceeded into the water where there were fish at our feet before we even got our snorkel gear on.  The waves were still pretty strong but we stayed within the bay where the life guard wouldn't yell at us.  There were a few people that got warned to get back in the bay. There were so many fish, of all varieties. It was amazing!  Lola's favorite were the little puffer fish, and the angel fish. We couldn't believe how close the fish would let you get.

Lola went in for a break while AA went for a little longer. As she took a break (and changed the go pro battery), the lone turtle that was beached by their spot decided to go into the water.  Lola quickly put her snorkel gear back on and went back in the water.  She watched it as it went into the water, and tried to follow it into the water, but was way too slow and there were too many people.  She did find AA on the beach looking for her after all the excitement.

Back in the water, and after some great snorkelling another turtle was going back in the water.  AA was on watch and Lola was ready to swim with it.  She has a fear of sea turtles from their very first visit on their honeymoon, where the water was merky from the Tsunami and the snuck up to her, but this time she knew it was coming. She was ready, was trying to take a video, but turns out it was on time lapse, but luckily it took some great photos.  It was so exciting, and a little panic, but awesome.  Thanks to AA he helped her navigate where to go! Getting out of the water was a challenge, Lola cut her finger, and 2 toes on the coral.... hopefully they heal ok.

We headed out of the water to dry off (as we didn't have a towel anymore).  We headed to a near by picnic table to eat our snacks, drink the rest of our drinks we had, and watch whales just out of the bay.  They were playing in the water rolling, and diving. AA didn't want to leave, as they were so active, and kept coming closer to the shore to show off. 

We changed our clothes to get ready to head to the airport.  As we were leaving the beach, Lola saw the whale breach!  Great way to end our time at the beach.

For lunch we headed to a golf course, where Lola found a restaurant, Kauai Poke Co.  To our surprise the restaurant was located on Poipu Bay Golf Course where they have pga events.  On our way to the bathroom, there are photos of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson all over the walls.  AA looked it up and it was approximately $250 USD each to play the course, but it did look nice. 

Lunch was so good.  Lola had to try the Loco Moco (an island favorite), with Spam (but it should have had gravy.).  The food was good, and the Island Tea had pineapple and Mint, which was also excellent.

After the great meal, we repacked our bags in the parking lot and then headed to the airport, where AA dropped off Lola and then returned the car.  He walked to the terminal which wasn't too far, while Lola got the bag tags.

We were flying back to Kona, on the big island, before heading back to Canada.  The flight was a little delayed, but still a pretty easy flight. On the flight we could see parts of the other islands as we flew by, so the short 54min flight felt even shorter. 

Once in Kona, AA went and got the rental car so we could head to get some dinner. The place AA wanted to go to wasn't even taking people on the wait list anymore, so we walked to Kona Brewing, where we waited an hour but thankfully got some food.  To Lolas disappointment they didn't have any more fish, but thankful to get some food at least.

After supper we headed back to the airport, AA returned the car, and we caught our next flight back to Canada.  The flight was on time and no other difficulties.  It was the red eye flight, just over 5 hour flight back to Vancouver.  Lola and AA tried to sleep the whole way, and we think it was pretty successful. 

Once in Vancouver, we got through Customs super quick with our Nexus cards, we found a quick meal at Stanley Park Taphouse for some breakfast, before heading to our next flight (we only had about 30 minutes before boarding).  Boarded the flight and on our way home to Winnipeg.  

We are expected to land around 2pm and get back to "reality".  We had an amazing trip and hope you all enjoyed following along!

Mahalo, AA and Lola.

 

Hawaii, Jan 13, 2023 - Day 10

 So originally we booked a kayak and hike for 7:45am in the morning, but turns out that isn't the most popular time, so they asked if we would reschedule to the afternoon where they had 9 other people booked already...hard to say no we changed our plans and went in the afternoon.  

Stopped at the look out!

Therefore we had some time in the morning to find a beach and eat a picnic lunch. We ended up at Lydgate Beach Park.  The surf warning was still on, so we put our feet in the water, and ventured down to the "pool" area.  This was a neat place where they built a rock break and the crashing waves still come into the pool, but it is calmer.  AA went for a dip while Lola just went in knee deep.  We also sat at the beach and watched buggy boarders and the waves.

A picnic lunch was had at the park, where Lola was a little nervous about all the chickens around waiting for her to drop some food. But it all worked out.  

Off to our Kayak adventure a 6 minute drive away, we met our guide, got our dry bag and headed to the marina to get our kayaks.

Our guides name was Mike, and he liked to talk... and sure had a lot of dad jokes....so AA and Lola tried to stay at the front of the pack so we didn't have to listen to him on our paddle.  It was a 2 mile paddle up the Wailua River. The views were pretty amazing, and AA and Lola did pretty well on their double kayak. The water was much calmer than Lake Manitoba, so they felt pretty good.  We saw Mout Aaialeale which is the wettest spot on Kauai from the other side (as we saw it from the Canyon side).  We also saw the Sleeping Giant and Mout Nou Nou. 

The river is the only river on Kauai that allows motor boats, so we stayed along one side to make it easier for us to navigate.  We had check points along the way, and finally made it to a spot to beach the kayaks and start the hike.

The 1 mile hike went through the tropical paradise, with many different species of trees, and a man made board walk to make sure you don't fall off the side.  We walked through the river 3 times to get to the secret falls.  The water fall was amazing! Lola and AA even took a dive and swam to the waterfall.  The water was freezing, but it was rewarding after all the physical activity.  The pool was actually quite shallow, so Lola could touch almost everywhere as they went to the waterfall.

was the water cold AA?

A quick snack, and some photos, and our group headed back on our journey.  On the way back Lola and AA kept their phones and cameras out to take photos on the way back, as on the way there they didn't know what to expect.

After the 4 hour journey we made it back to land!  We headed back to Lydgate Beach Park to dry off and get changed for dinner.  We sat by the beach while the sun went down, and tried to take a nice photo with a timer.... they all didn't work out very well, but  thankfully a nice woman walked by and offered to take our photo, that was a winner!

We headed just a few miles away to a restaurant called Hukilau Lanai.  We were going to have to wait almost an hour for a table, but they had 2 spots at the bar....where there were only 4 seats, so that is where we sat!  The bar tender was super nice, and stressed out about Lolas allergies...   The food was amazing...and we had 4 people sit by us while we were there.  The first 2 ladies were nice, but not as chatty as the second couple.  They were an older couple from Boston, that were spending 1 week in Kauai, 2 weeks in Maui and 1 week on the big island.  They took a 12 hour flight from Boston to Honolulu yesterday.  They were asking us for advice, where to eat, where to go, etc.  We told them about Volcano House, and they made a reservation for Feb 2 while we were there!

Kauai Mint tea... almost like chai...

The food..... it was so good.  Lola even got a gluten free bun (made from chickpeas, rice and potatoes).  AA had pork tenderloin while Lola opted for the Ahi.  She even had sorbet for dessert!

Back to the condo after a wonderful meal, to pack up and get ready for our long venture home.

Lola.