Dinner on the Beach and then...

We walked down to Po'ipu Beach for dinner. We had a "picnic dinner" and enjoyed the sunset. As soon as we paid the bill, it started raining...and we had over a mile to walk home. But in Kaua'i it's a warm rain like in Arizona the heat is a dry heat...so it really doesn't feel like it's raining.

We were definitely soaked by the time we got home...we had a great time playing with the frogs out enjoying the rain and making a memory.

Monday on the South Shore

We spent the day on the south shore, enjoying the ocean and just hanging out.

Rico

Monday morning we went to the "parrot talk" at the Hyatt and met Rico. He is so beautiful. Then we just sat on the beach and enjoyed watching the sea turtles and the waves.

Devotions at Sunrise

I love the sunrises here -- could there be a more beautiful setting to enjoy the Lord?

The Beauty of the Grand Hyatt, Kauai

The grounds of the Grand Hyatt, Kauai are so beautiful. We love going over there and having something to drink on their terrace. On Sunday we went to church at Kauai Christian Fellowship then had lunch at the restaurant on the golf course at the Hyatt. There were only 4 groups in the restaurant, including the couple we met at church and the pastor and his wife. Apparently, Yum Cha is the only restaurant on the southern shore that's air conditioned...so we lucked out!

Sunday evening we went for a walk and discovered the trail that leads to the beach. We walked it at sunset and again in the morning. It's a lovely walk.

Saturday-Walk to Maha'ulepu Beach

We walked 4 miles down the coast to Mahaulepu Beach. First we walked up the lithified cliffs of Makawehi Point. The lithified cliffs are like cemented sand dunes -- the sand is basically petrified. The Hyatt built a gorgeous golf course on top of the cliffs where Tiger Woods has won the Grand Slam a bunch of times. Once beyond the golf course, you come to Gillin's Beach and Kawailoa Bay. This is the beach where King Kamehameha's invasion attempt from O'ahu in 1796 was thwarted. After walking 4 miles down the coast, we decided to walk the road back -- through the old sugar cane fields.

We couldn't wait to get into the pool when we got back--it never felt so good!

Sunset dinner at the Beach House

We had an unbelievably fantastic dinner tonight at the Beach House. Our table was at the window – except there is no window…just a beautiful green lawn and the ocean and the sunset. The macadamia nut crusted mahimahi (their signature dish) I had was OK – I guess I’m not wild about Hawaiian fish. The banana foster, on the other hand, was absolutely scrumptious. And the sunset …oh my gosh…it was totally unbelievable. As it got dark, Venus set (you can see it on the last picture to the left of the tree) and then the stars came out, and the night scuba divers with their sea lights could be seen under the sea. A fabulous evening.

Snorkeling at Po'ipu Beach

Thursday we enjoyed the morning reading and writing and talking as the sun rose up over the horizon.

Then we went snorkeling at Po’ipu Beach. We are such novices at putting on our gear and getting into the water…but so is everyone else. It’s great fun laughing at everyone else…and giving everyone else a good laugh as well. But the challenge of getting in the water was worth it.

We saw all kinds of fish. My favorite was a large angel fish. As we were getting ready to head to for shore, a sea turtle joined us! We were about 5 feet from each other and he just looked at me and swam on by. That was too cool!

We went for a swim in the pool – it’s amazing how nice the water in the pool feels when it’s a little hot and humid.

Sunrise from our front deck

The sunrise is so beautiful. Because of the Hawaiian time zone, it's easy to be up by 6 a.m. and enjoy the sunrise and a cup of Kona coffee on our front patio. I'm noticing how watching the sunrise every morning and the sunset every evening is giving me a real sense of the unstoppable march of time. We only have so much time on earth and the constant movement of the sun is a very visual and present reminder.

Taro Fields in Hanalei

We drove to Hanalei which is just north of the wettest location on earth. We had a beautifully sunny day and enjoyed seeing the taro fields. We drove to the end of the road. Look at how the philadendron plants grow up to the top of the telephone poles. We took off our shoes and walked the beach. Fabulous!

The Formal Gardens at Na 'Aina Kai

The house at Na 'Aina Kai is rather "modest" considering the incredible front and backyards. The top photo is the view from their deck! Unbelievably gorgeous. The blue blossom on the jade vine is the most unusual flower color I have ever seen. Joyce Doddy has an amazing garden.

Carnavore Plants and the Beach

Na 'Aina Kai has cool carnavore plants (the first photo) and a beautiful beach.

Na 'Aina Kai

Wednesday we went to Na ‘Aina Kai Botanical Gardens. Joyce Dody, the former wife of Charles Schulz (creator of Peanuts cartoons) and her husband have created an incredible garden of tropical flowers and trees.

We went on the 5 hour walking tour and amazingly Kevin enjoyed it. We walked through the hardwood plantation (they’ve planted 60,000 teak trees, plus mahogany, rosewood, etc.) to help support the gardens in the future.

The second photo is a picture of a pair of "nene." Down by the beach we saw 11 nene – they were almost extinct (down to just 30 birds) in the 1970s. (They are a cousin of the Canada goose.) Today they estimate that there are about 1500 birds.

The third photo is a banana tree -- notice the tiny clump of bananas and the long "flower" with the purple tip. It's a pretty cool flower. You can tell when the grower has allowed the bananas to ripen on the tree by how round the bananas are -- the more octagonal the earlier they were picked.

I loved the beautiful jade blossoms (above)-- the blue jade was bizarre. I loved seeing the carnivore flowers (bug-eating flowers with trap doors that lure bugs in and then the flower eats them) and the view of the beach from the gazebo was fabulous.

A great and exhausting tour.

We walked down to the Hyatt and enjoyed the evening from the Terrace restaurant. As we walked home it started to rain—and then really rain. It’s fun how it’s warm rain so it really doesn’t matter.

Aloha! A gorgeous day in Po'ipu

We arrived on Monday afternoon in the pouring rain -- made a run to Costco and headed for our condo. As soon as we got to Po'ipu--it stopped raining and the sun came out. It was so beautiful. We just soaked it in. We walked down the beach a bit, had a drink at the Hyatt at sunset, came home and went to bed early. Tuesday morning we enjoyed breakfast on that patio just after sunrise. We read for a couple of hours and talked...nothing to do, no place to go, nothing we should be doing...it is so restorative here, much like the experience of being on a retreat and enjoying times of solitude and silence, except we're together, talking.

We decided to go for a short walk down the beach, but as always we get curious and ended up walking several miles. The sea turtles were everywhere -- as were the rosters!

We grilled steaks on the BBQ and went to Spouting Horn to watch the sunset. Shopped at bit at Old Koloa -- the first sugar plantation in Hawaii -- a beautiful day.