Kauai: the garden isle

Kauai was magical, breathtaking and all around a wonderful trip. We {read: Mike} met this great couple on their honeymoon at the Ritz pool and who happened to be traveling to Kauai the exact same days we were! The four of us completely clicked and were inseparable. Ben and Jenny live in Nantucket for the summers and have this awesome catering/concierge company, Enjoy Nantucket, to allow visitors or summer vacationers to sit back, relax and enjoy! We are already planning future adventures and can't wait for what is next!

We started our first day in Kauai relaxing by the pool, having a few Mai Tai's (and "munchies"!) at happy hour and watching the sun set over Nawiliwili Harbor (I still laugh like a school girl at the name - No Willy Willy!). We then ventured out to a pizza place a few minutes up the road - we had great food, good wine and perfect company. 

The next morning, Mike and I wandered around the Marriott's beautiful grounds and ate breakfast doing the crossword puzzle and looking out over the glittering ocean. Ben and Jenny kindly invited us to ride along with them (in their Mustang convertible, no less) exploring the island. We headed up to Wiamea Canyon, a little bit of a drive up the coast. It was a vast canyon with helicopters cruising around checking out the view. My three words of advice - 1)do NOT buy snacks from the nice man in the visitor parking lot even if they are wrapped in cute packages (I wish I had a picture of the look on Ben's face after he ate a fried banana chip!) 2) Don't talk very loud and don't you dare laugh - it is kind of like being in an art museum and people will look at you as if you are interrupting their view by giggling...ooops 3) the ride down the hill is amazing! Make sure you have your camera handy and be prepared to be awed.

We cruised through a few cute towns and stopped at a farmer's market for....citrus! Any kind of citrus you can think of - oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit and our favorite...tangelos! Had lunch at a hippy stand along side the road - wraps, tacos and curried veggie plate - yum! The coffee shop (where we all made small talk with the barista to slide our way into the bathroom) had delicious desserts that we munched on as we assumed our respective positions in the Mustang - Ben: Driver. Mike: ShotGun. Jenny & Amber: in the back freezing our asses off but laughing the whole way.

We continued our journey up the other side of the coast to Hanalei Bay where we jumped out and felt the sand between our toes....then continued up to the Sea Cliffs where I'm sure we can all agree the best part was the banana bread we bought from a hippy lady in a beach parking lot. Does it seem like we ate a lot? We did! Oh yea - there was a great waterfall alongside the road too! 

It was a wonderfully relaxing trip and although short, memorable nonetheless. We are now back to real life: working and doing laundry! 

I am sitting here listening to the rain trickle down the gutters and I can't help but think of home. I have listened to and been comforted by the sound of rain for as long as I can remember. I know some can't stand it, but I can't help but smile.

Love and miss you all,

a