Vacationing in Hawaii was a dream of Jody's several years in the making. As a matter of fact, as she was studying hard for her national board certification, she had already allocated her $5k stipend for that. It took us a couple of years longer to make it a reality, but Jody planned the whole thing with some input from several friends who steered us to Kauai, the Garden Island.
She managed to get a steal of deal somewhere which we could not have afforded otherwise, the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort & Spa - #1 in Hawaii, #7 in the US & #23 in the world according to Expedia travel. We luxuriated in a 2 room condo, with fully equipped kitchen, 3 bathrooms and 2 acre pool.
Day 1: We visited the South of the island to meet one of Guislain's IBM colleague who introduced us to some of the locals' beaches in Poipu.
Day 2: After exploring the South, we explored the North Shore: the Kilauea lighthouse, a farmers marktet and Secret Beach near Hanalei.
Day 3: Snorkeling is a dangerous sport: your back get sunburned as you gawk for hours at sea creatures, the occasional wave finds its way down your tube, you may encounter dangerous sea creatures, and rip current & tides can sweep you at sea. We decided to practice our new sport safely in our neck of the woods at Lydgate State Park in Kapaa with its protected coral reef and great playground.
Day 4: Japy & Kaki had offered Sage 2 surf lessons for her birthday, so we returned to Hanalei to surf.
Day 5: In order to avoid turning into beach bums within a few days of our arrival, we decided to explore Kauai's other natural beauty - the Waimea canyon - the wettest spot on earth and the highest swamp (in the world?), rendering the peak of the island inaccessible even to this day.
Day 6 & 7: Time to return to Hanalei for Sage's surf lessons, and the rest of the family joined by renting surfboard & boogie boards. We also explored Anini Beach, one of our favorite beaches.
Day 8: We gave our sunburns a break and went on another hike, this time along the Napali Coast .
Day 9: We just could not have enough of Hanalei, so we kept going back to our favorite beaches.
Day 10: Unfortunately, we had to go back, but not before checking out a couple of waterfalls.
