My Poor Neglected Blog!

Life has been a whirlwind since we arrived back on the mainland from our trip to Hawaii.  Sunday and Monday were spent in the Seattle area with Caitlin.  Tuesday was on all day drive home.  So grateful the roads were bare and dry the whole way through.  That can be a concern at this time of year when you have a few mountain passes to cross between here and the coast!  Wednesday, I hit the grocery store early as the fridge was bare and I needed to get prepared to cook Thanksgiving dinner?  I had given Kirsten $$$$ to buy our turkey when they came on sale.   That same day Curtis headed north to pick his dad up from the train and he had Nic in tow.  Thursday was Thanksgiving and I cooked for us all.  And there was no shopping on Black Friday.  There was nothing out there I really needed.  Instead I watched the grandkids while their folks worked.  Kirsten and Tim were out early shopping.  Picking up the kids Christmas present for a good deal.  I was scheduled iWork okay.  But just ended up being on call.  I did some crafting, but can't share right now as they are Christmas gifts.  So, there is my week in a nut shell.  Now to think about putting up Christmas decorations!

 

Kaua'i - Day 10

Curtis had wanted to visit the Queen's Bath,.  The trail wasn't too far from where we were staying.  I came in from my walk and suggested we do trail this day.   The weather was supposed to be great and we hadn't had rain for  couple of days.  But, I wasn't prepared for the trail we faced.  The trail was a steep climb. It was an uneven trail and it was slippery in places. And I was in flip flops!!!!! At one point I took my shoes off and was in bare feet and almost gave up.  Once you got down to the ocean it was uneven lava rock.  Not great to walk on, but much improved to the trail.  

This what we saw once we reached the ocean!

And what did we find in the water- sea turtles.  Later, we found out they have a cave not too far away where they lay their eggs.  

Finally, the Queen's Bath.  We did not hike down into it.  I certainly didn't have the right foot wear to do that and I am not a mountain goat!

Great surf against the rocks

Afterwards, it was time to hit the beach!

Kaui'i -Day 9

This was the evening we had decided to attend a luau.  Last year we had attended a fabulous luau on the Kilohana plantation- Lu'ua Kalamaku.  This year we wanted to attend something different.  I think it is important to include some of the native culture on your travels.   We decided to try the Smith Family luau..  It is on a beautiful setting.  They take you on a tram ride around the gardens.  You can stroll the gardens at your leisure and then they call you to watch them unearth the pig,that they have been cooking all day!  Dinner is served buffet style with some native dishes.  You can try poi if you desire.  During dinner you are entertained by live Hawaiin music.  After dinner you stroll to their open theatre, where they put on an amazing show of dancing and music.

 And as we came out there was a beautiful full moon and we stopped to get some photos with its over the ocean!

Hard to get good photos when the subjects are moving and you can't use a flash and are kind of far away!

Kaua'i - Day 8

It was still dark and we were awake!!  The full moon was lighting up our room.  Ad we were off and running.  To catch the setting moon or to capture the sunrise!  

After stopping at an overlook down the road, we decided to follow the moon and headed for the end of the island.  Thankfully very little traffic on the road and we filed over all those one lane bridges.

Unfortunately the moon kind of faded into the mist!

By then the roosters and chickens were up and crowing!

Look behind us and this is what we saw!

We headed back and stooped at another beach for some cool shots!

Back to the time share to shower and we drove to Kapaa for some breakfast at the Olympic Cafe and spent a relaxing day at the resort!