pictures from The Garden Isle

i have just posted a whole lot of pictures, and now will do my best to fill in the details of our trip. first of all, it was WONDERFUL!! you know how some vacations just fly by? well, half way through ours we were like, "wow, we still have a few days left!" it was super relaxing to just wake up in the morning and say, "what do we feel like doing today?" and then doing it!

we did a lot of snorkling, and on our first day under the water, we got to see a sea turtle up close! it was huge! just like the ones on finding nemo! josh and rob both went up to it and touched it, but i was a little freaked out. at first, josh wasn't too keen on the whole snorkel thing, but he got the hang of it real quick and ended up jumping in a lot more that i did.

we pretty much stayed at the north end of the island, which was where our timeshare was. we got to experience a local farmer's market on saturday morning after which i fell head over heels in love with starfruit. we also went up to a gorgeous lighthouse and got to see the hawaiian state bird, the nene goose.

on sunday we drove to the very fancy princeville hotel and had brunch there. OH MY, was it ever good! the variety of food was endless! our favourite was the crepes made right in front of you with so many toppings to choose from. it was one of those times where i wished my tummy was just a bit bigger.

the river kayak trip and hike was nice, though a lot more work than i expected. whenever i see people kayaking, it looks so graceful and easy. not so with us. josh and i shared a boat and, while rob and jessica glided effortlessly along the river, we kept hitting each other's paddles and got soaking wet. we had to work hard the entire time, just to keep up! the hike was muddy and slippery and the waterfall at the end was quite pitiful...but i'm so glad we did it because we got to see so many cool plants and trees along the way. the whole vacation was a feast for the eyes.

on tuesday evening we played bingo at a nearby resort with all the blue-haired's. i actually won once! and on wednesday, jessica and i indulged in our much anticipated full body massages. it was my first, and i know it will not be my last. we both felt like jello afterwards and made a very necessary stop at starbucks on our way shopping.

one evening we didn't feel like making anything for dinner, so josh went out and bought a ton of candy and that was our dinner. we made up names for the candy, like the skittles were fruit salad and the m & m's were beans and the brownies were meatloaf. it took away a bit of the guilt, but later on, i felt so sick! we played dutch blitz at night, and often took walks along the golf courses overlooking the ocean and sat in the jacuzzi in the dark and just talked. the pool was lovely as well, but the ocean was warmer!

kauai was, by far, the most beautiful and lush place i have ever been to (and i've been to a few places!) great times, wonderful memories. though there is something nice about being back home...the moment i walked through my front door i called, "oliver!" all i heard was little feet padding in the dark and then i saw him racing around the corner towards me, purring all the way! he has never let us out of his sight since we came back...he must have thought that we had left for good! yes, it is good to be back home.