I am in love with traveling, and my most recent adventure took me to the amazingly beautiful island of Kauai. I've only been to Hawaii once, when I was about 10 years old, and that trip my family and I went to Maui. I had a great time, but it has been way too long since I got to experience the tropical lifestyles of Hawaii. David's mom has a timeshare in Kauai, and she was so kind and generous to let us use it this year! After leaving it is safe to say that I have fallen in love with the island. The scenery is amazing, the beaches are beautiful, and the landscapes and natural feel to the island makes it feel like you are in another country. I can't wait to come back and visit again soon!

We arrived late in the day Friday, and after picking up our rental car, stopping to get groceries, and driving the hour north from the airport to Princeville, we were ready for dinner. We drove about 10 minutes from our timeshare at the Cliffs in Princeville to Hanalei Bay, a gorgeous little town set right on the ocean with lots of cute shops and restaurants. We decided on something quick and easy for dinner- Bubba's Burgers, a fun local burger joint that has 3 locations on Kauai. I had the Taro Burger, a great vegetarian option, and all of our food was served quickly and was delicious. After that we went down to the beach and enjoyed the amazing sunset behind the mountains.

Saturday we pretty much spent the entire day at various beaches on Kauai. We started at Hanalei Bay, but didn't stay too long because the waves were so wild! The North Shore is famous for having great waves in the winter, but since we were looking for swimming rather than surfing, they were a little too big for us. We did love relaxing in the sand and soaking up the rays.

Gorgeous mountain views from Hanalei Beach.

After lunch at a little fish market we tried to go to the Kilauea Lighthouse, which has gorgeous views and is apparently a great place to whale watch, but it was unfortunately closed for renovations. We did enjoy the landscape surrounding it though, and it was definitely worth the short drive. Instead of spending time there we went to Lumahai Beach, a secluded beach on the North Shore. The conditions were not at all good for swimming, but I loved the ultra-rugged landscape and the private feel of the beach.

On Saturday night we went to Kaylpso in Halalei Bay for happy hour and drinks, which ended up being easily enough food for dinner. It was great having some tropical drinks and food at the end of a long day!

I don't know why I don't have any pictures from Sunday, but it was another beautiful, sunny day on the island. We decided to explore the Southern Beaches to give us more opportunities to swim. We spent most of the day at Poipu Beach, a gorgeous little tucked away cove. It really was the perfect place for swimming, and we spent most of the day relaxing in the water and on the beach. Sunday evening we stayed in, made some mai tais and ate at home. I don't know exactly what it is, but being in the sun all day can be exhausting! I'm not complaining though...

Monday was probably one of my favorite days on the island. We woke up early and drove to Ke'e Beach, the farthest NW beach you can get to by car. Ke'e Beach provides the start of the Na Pali Coast, a rugged stretch of land that is only accessible by foot, air or boat. We chose to hike the first 2 miles to a rock beach, and the views along the way were shockingly beautiful. The hike was not easy (there is a pretty large ascent right at the start!) but the scenery made it all worth it. At the rock beach people had done great rock stacking, and the sea spray from the crashing waves definitely cooled us off. We contemplated hiking 2 more miles to a waterfall, but we didn't have proper hiking shoes and decided not to continue. That is definitely on our list for next time though!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing by our hotel pool to give us a chance to swim and a break from driving. We went into Hanalei Bay for dinner and had our favorite meal of the trip at Bar Acuda Restaurant, a nicer tapas bar with delicious food and a great ambiance.