Hawaii: Kauai

**Check out the new pictures...finally!**

After we hiked up Diamondhead, it was time to head to the airport and catch a flight to Lihue, Kauai. Once again, we were set to rent 2 cars, but once we arrived at the car rental place, the check in person told us that they were having a deal on a Durango, which would save us alot of money. We did that to be in one car, but we couldn't fit all of our luggage. So we had to make 2 trips to the hotel, which was okay, because our hotel was right down the road from the airport. Once we got that taken care of, we were pretty tired, so we checked into the hotel, and relaxed in the incredible pool!

The next morning, we got ready to drive to the north shore of the island to the end of the road (literally). We read that there was a good beach there, so that was our plan. I'm so glad we did, because this was such a beautiful place to be! The beach is called Ke'e Beach, and it was basically where the Na Pali coast began, so there were these huge cliffs jutting up from the beach. It was incredible. The snorkeling was great, too!




Once we left there, we were pretty hungry, so we were trying to find a place to eat in Hanalei Town, and we came across this fish taco place called Tropical Taco. They were delish! After that, we went to the Hanalei Pier in Hanalei Bay. Again, we read about this place, and again we were not disappointed! This picture does not at all do it justice, especially since by the time we left, all the clouds had moved away.



The next day, we went to Waimea Canyon, which is the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Now if you've been to the Grand Canyon, this isn't nearly as impressive, but it is beautiful, especially with the lush green mixed in with the desert colors.



One thing that was really memorable about Kauai were the chickens. They were everywhere!



That night, we enjoyed a fabulous luau. None of us really knew if going to a luau would be worth the money, but it definitely was! We had such a good time! Myself, my mom, and my sister-in-law (along with a few other gullible people) were bribed with a free prize, which turned out to be a hula lesson in front of dozens of strangers. But that wasn't the worst of it. Once we were inside the tent, my Tony and Meredeth were called on stage (again, with a few others) to do a little more hip-shaking. Good fun. Good food. It was definitely a memorable event.






The next day was our last in Kauai. We took it easy, and just went to Wailua Falls. After that, I wanted to go to the Mermaids Cafe in Kapa'a, as recommended by Mrs. J. I also read some really good reviews about it. I ended up getting the Ahi Nori wrap - seered ahi tuna wrapped up with brown rice, and a great wasabi cream sauce. I'm kind of drooling for one right now.



So that was Kauai. Two islands down, one to go.