Kauai trip

We had a great time in Kauai, what a relief to not change diapers or wake up in the middle of the night for 6 whole nights! (thanks grandparents - you are awesome) But in the end we really did miss the little tykes and were so happy when we saw that they were happy to see us too! Here is a little run-down of our trip:

Day 1
My first objective was to relax so for the whole first day we rented this cabana on the beach and hung out in it all day! We read our books, swam in the ocean, took naps, ate snacks, then repeated the whole process!




Day 2
We went exploring a bit before we had our appointment with the zipliners. These chickens were everywhere (and everywhere we went Chad chased them, until he did finally, catch a young one, who didn't even really care because it just wanted our food!)We drove up to this waterfall:



Here we are, all ready to start zipline-ing!
All ready for the bunny slope (it actually was cake compared to the next one!):

Now this is the real-deal:
I am way down there, if you click on it you should be able to see my red-helmet!
Chad coming in for a landing:
Mid-span picture of what's keeping me from the ground! Also note that it was at this point that the camera strap that had been around my neck came loose at this point and I was left holding, with one hand, my camera that was already round 2 of our Pentax SLR! But alas, I made it to the other side without dropping it!!!
Now this was the free-style line. For the first 4 lines we had to take off like they said. The smaller people had to gain as much momentum as possible in order to make it to the other side. I had to run and jump, pulling up my legs. I think Chad just had to run. For this one, you could do whatever. So here is what Chad did:

ah, the happy couple :)
I told Chad to get a picture of me coming in for a landing, because, I explain, I've nailed them every time. I guess I spoke to soon, I totally botched this one!
This is what we rode up to the lines in:
After doing the ziplines, we headed to the west coast until the road ends. After a few miles of a dirt road, you end at this somewhat secluded beach. We tried to make it for the sunset, but instead this is what we saw as we crested the dunes:
Well, we just missed it but the beach was beatiful so we sat down and enjoyed the scenery:
and a Mikes:

Day 3
Wednesday we hung out at the pool for half the day:
Chad and his "apple juice" (Milwaukee Ice) and I had my "lemonade" in my coffee cup (tee-hee):
A seal had beached himself so we couldn't get near it:
That afternoon we decided to go out to lunch then drive back out to the end of the road to try and the catch the sunset for reals this time. Here is a picture of the bluffs to the north. That is the beginning of the Napali coast which is unpassable except by boat or foot.
It was still warm when we got there so we went swimming in the ocean too:
Unfortunately there were quite a bit of clouds today, but it was still pretty:
And the sky was a brilliant blue:
Still a spectacular sunset:
Day 4
So remember the Napali coast? Here we are at the very opposite end of the road, at the beginning of the Napali coast, just the other side of it.
The hike may have been a breeze for Chad, but not for me:
At the end of the 2 mile hike, it opens up to a beach, and there were a few caves to go into too:
The beach where we ate our sack lunch:
This is me trekking down the muddy, uneven, up&down, covered with rocks and roots and ants and rotting fruit trail (okay, so I'm a complainer):
But the view was worth it (although I think the people that take the helicopter tour are a bit wiser - and richer, well and fatter too!):
Thankfully, the best beach for snorkeling was right at the trailhead, the water felt so good to my blazing red cheeks!

Self-portrait time:
Day 5
On our last day, our flight wasn't until late that night so after we checked out, we drove up to Waimea Canyon, which they call the grand canyon of the pacific. It was awesome! We also ate at this shrimp shack on the way there. I got cocunut shrimp -mmmm!

And from the top of the road, there was a view point of the Napali coast, there was a lot of clouds, but we caught this break: