Monday, Aug 27, 2015
Aloha! Welcome to my fourth Hawaii blog,
Right off the bat we set a new vacation record; the alarm goes off only an hour and a half after we went to sleep. I really should learn to start packing earlier.
At 5am the shuttle drops us off at DCA where we start the day off with a slice of pizza for lack of other options. Just two hours later we are on our way to Phoenix. Luckily, it's a smooth flight and we manage to snooze on and off.
My cousin Tjitske was supposed to arrive a day early to give her a chance to recover from the 20+ hours in transit, but she ended up missing her connection at LAX and we will now arrive ahead of her. She has never been to Hawaii and I cannot wait to share my love for the islands with her!
Our connection is tight as well, with only an hour between flights, so we are relieved to land ahead of schedule. Except they haven't assigned us a gate and we end up parked on the tarmac for such a long time, that we still end up being delayed!
We rush through the terminal and grab a quick bite to-go at Humble Pies – another pepperoni pizza – and hoof it over to our gate where most of the flight has already boarded. But we made it!
Despite my intention to stay up and watch the in-flight movie, my resolve wavers as soon as it turns out they won't be showing the movie I'd wanted to watch. By the time I fully wake up there's only about an hour left in the flight and we're treated to some amazing cloudscapes over the water.
At last, we are back on Hawaiian soil. My heart is so happy right now!
Very crappy picture of the Welcome to Kauai sign.
How I missed this beautiful place!
Tjitske isn't due for another five hours, which gives us ample time to check into our home for the next two nights at Lanai Villas. It's simple, but pretty spacious and we love the location.
With a few hours to kill and rumbling stomach we seize the opportunity to visit Da Crack, a tiny Mexican restaurant that sells food out of a window. Very affordable, large portions and delicious food ... no wonder we fell in love with it last year.
Shrimp burrito and chicken quesadilla in hand we start to head back to our place, but on a whim we turn down a random street leading towards the ocean and find ourselves at Poipu Beach. I can't wait get to the water, but we aren't wearing any sunscreen so we resign ourselves to eat at one of the picnic tables surrounded by flowering plumerias.
Gobble, gobble, gobble ... Oops, I think I wanted to take a picture of this quesadilla?
At last, we are back on Hawaiian soil. My heart is so happy right now!
Very crappy picture of the Welcome to Kauai sign.
How I missed this beautiful place!
Tjitske isn't due for another five hours, which gives us ample time to check into our home for the next two nights at Lanai Villas. It's simple, but pretty spacious and we love the location.
With a few hours to kill and rumbling stomach we seize the opportunity to visit Da Crack, a tiny Mexican restaurant that sells food out of a window. Very affordable, large portions and delicious food ... no wonder we fell in love with it last year.
Shrimp burrito and chicken quesadilla in hand we start to head back to our place, but on a whim we turn down a random street leading towards the ocean and find ourselves at Poipu Beach. I can't wait get to the water, but we aren't wearing any sunscreen so we resign ourselves to eat at one of the picnic tables surrounded by flowering plumerias.
Gobble, gobble, gobble ... Oops, I think I wanted to take a picture of this quesadilla?
Sandy mentions that she doesn't remember being woken up by roosters while we were staying in Poipu before, and as if on cue, a gaggle of chickens and roosters appear at our table. Unable to finish her enormous burrito Sandy takes to bribing them with beans. Sorry honey, I have a feeling we'll get serenaded tomorrow morning anyway.
There's all kinds of stuff going on here; snorkeling, boogie boarding, even surfing and a few serious paddle boarders tackling the large monsters breaking over the reef.
A honu (turtle) is taking a nap on the beach.
As per usual, I managed to get my pants wet ... how I don't know, but put me near water and I will find a way.
Next we park at our place and walk a short distance through the quiet neighborhood to the immaculate grounds of the Grand Hyatt Resort.
As per usual, I managed to get my pants wet ... how I don't know, but put me near water and I will find a way.
We sit in the swing for a bit, before I decide to head down to the water to snap some more pictures until I notice Sandy trying to wave me over. The flight alert I set up is working: Tjitske is just an hour away, ahead of schedule!
There's no time to stop at Costco like we'd planned; instead we drive directly to the airport where after circling the terminal a few times, we are gently instructed to park the car. Oops.
We've only just walked into the baggage claim area when I spot Tjitske. She looks super perky for having been on the road for almost 2 days. I find out later that she made good use of her extended layover in Los Angeles and managed to squeeze in a tour of the homes of the rich & famous.
Everything closes early on Kauai so our first order of business is to swing by Costco where we pick up some water and a fruit bowl for Tjitske.
After rearranging our stuff, catching up on travel stories, struggling to open the battery compartment to Tjitske's underwater camera and showering we are finally set for bed.
Alarm is set for 6am, but something tells me the two of them will be up well before it goes off ...
After rearranging our stuff, catching up on travel stories, struggling to open the battery compartment to Tjitske's underwater camera and showering we are finally set for bed.
Alarm is set for 6am, but something tells me the two of them will be up well before it goes off ...
♥
Breakfast: random pizza at DCA
Lunch: Humble Pies at LAX
Lunch: Humble Pies at LAX
Dinner: Da Crack / fruit bowl
Hotel: AirBNB Lanai Villas
Hotel: AirBNB Lanai Villas
Mileage for today: 53 miles
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