We Decided To Stay

Sorry I haven't posted this week. We decided to stay in Kauai. We have been living in the jungle, so we've been off the grid. Well we wish...

So we made it back to the mainland. Now I didn't want to leave, but I am so glad to be home. I'm back in my own bed, with my kittys and my own cozy little apartment. I have always been pretty happy where I've lived but this is the first time I've come home from a fantastic vacation and was just as happy to be home. It's pure comfort. However, getting back into the swing of things has been a pain in the arse. The house that was clean the night we got home, seems to be a mess a week later. errr. I feel like I've been dealing with a lot of work, but on the other hand I don't feel like I've gotten anything done in the last week at all.

So instead of telling you about my boring week, I'll show you a few more photos of our last day on Kauai. We pretty much spent the last day squishing in as much snorkeling as we possibly could. We drove back up north to Ke'e Beach and snorkeled for a couple of hours. When we got to the beach that morning parking was a pain! There was none. Luckily there was a lot farther back up the road. Of course walking up to the third floor every time we wanted to go some where, this little walk was beautiful.


This is how serious the parking is there...



On the way to Ke'e, we found our new timeshare...love it!


One of the oddest things that I have seen was there...chickens on the beach. Tons of baby chickies too. They are just as shameless as Seagulls. Will walk right into your area and go through your shit like it's theirs. We made sure our stuff was pretty secure, then went snorkeling for a few hours. It's hard to tell but there are little baby chicks all aver behind the chicken.



After we left we headed back to a little place we had lunch at earlier in the week....yu-umm. I think I had kalua pork with this awesome ahi poke...the best! Then of course we had our last Shave Ice...oh how I miss you shave ice! Aren't they perfect!



Then we got back to Lydgate park to take some underwater photos. Of course it was murky. I'll upload the underwater photos tomorrow...they're fun. Of course there are a few photos in there that will not see the internet...why my husband decided to take a photo of me underneath the water, I still don't know. Straight on, red bathing suit, imperfect body(only slightly of course), water magnifying...he thought it would be cute...horrid!

After our last snorkeling adventure, we ran back to return the snorkel gear. Then we decided to actually visit a water fall. Of course we couldn't find it. We stopped at the overlook. Got out and walked around. Nothing. Was this waterfall dried up? How were we missing it? So we got back in the car and headed out of the parking lot...then we saw it. So we turned around and drove back in to the parking lot...dorks. We got a quick photo in front of the waterfall. Then headed across the street to look over the river. Next time we go back we are taking the inner tube canal ride. They drive you up to a private plantation. Put you on inner tubes, put a headlamp on you and sent you down the canal. Apparently you go through a bunch of tunnels and caves. We heard it was awesome. So while standing above the river we decided this tube ride was a must. There were also some really nice people up there to take our photo...by the end of the week our ability to take photos of ourselves was diminishing.

Tiny waterfall to the right of me...understand how we missed it the first time?



This was a great view. It's very hard to see but to the right of the river is a little historical village...lost falls village or something like that. Those aren't trees so much as roofs with palm fronds on them. I wanted so bad to go down there but we were exhausted.



Where else can you walk around in a towel as a skirt and it's normal.



We really pushed a lot into one day and of course we left the touristy shopping for the last day...mistake. I could barely take it, neither could Mario. I had promised Tadao (otherwise known as the cat feeder) that I would bring him back a "Girls of Hawaii" boobie calender. For some reason Mario would not buy it...it was up to me to walk up and buy the titty calender...wimp. However, it was worth the look from the sales girl...priceless. We shopped for some things and then headed over to the ABC store for the real cheesy finds and then headed home. Packing ensued and then I passed out cold. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I booked us on an 8:30 am flight thinking that it was a decent time to leave. However, I forgot that we needed to check out, return the car, and check in to the airport...so we got up at 5:30...I think I'm don't remember anymore.

Long flight and so happy to be home. The cats barely acted like they remembered us. However, then they were velcro...stuck to us. Bob has been sleeping between me and Mario since we got back.

The Day Before the Day Before we Have to leave

It's already Friday and it's hitting that we're leaving early Sunday. So we have one full day to fit every thing else we need to do, eat all the food in the fridge, and use the rest of the super thick sunscreen that we bought. (Mario actually thought it was all rubbed in...not this glue)




Today started out slow, I think in hopes of slowing the day down. Well it didn't.
We finally decided to leave and head south. We hadn't been that direction since earlier in the week, and thought there were a few more places to see. Sure enough, we needed to check out Wiamea Canyon. It's like a miniature grand Canyon. It was really beautiful.





We drove around for a while, stopped by Costco so Mario could buy a couple of CDs of Hawaiian music, and then headed back to Lydegate Beach to snorkel. We had gone to this beach earlier this week to get some snorkeling practice in before the boat ride. It's a nice beach that has a bunch or rocks added to create two protected pools. There were just as many fish at Lydgate as there were on the boat. So we decided that we should check it out again. Turns out we saw so many types of fish there. We ended up staying there a few more hours. We'd decide to leave and then we'd see this huge bright colored fish and follow it around for a while. Then we'd think about leaving again then we'd have 30 fish circling around us. It was really cool. Unfortunately, we didn't buy the digital underwater camera so you can't see all these awesome fish we saw. Oh well here's the beach and my feet...




I need to find out if there is poison oak here. I have two very suspicious bumps on my arm that have a lot of the same symptoms of poison oak. Figures. I'm very allergic to poison oak and all I can think is that maybe going from salt water to chlorine over and over is keeping it in check.

Just to make you feel better...

The news has been telling us that there are storms on their way in. Well it finally hit. I make a little video for you of all that rain. It's was nice and then bam...crazy rain...



Alright it still looks pretty and as I type type this up this storm has turned into blue skies...well it was nice talking to you, going swimming...

Shit it's Already Thursday...

So it seems that each day has been getting better and better. Why is this day better than the rest? Shave Ice. Yes Shave Ice. I'm a little ashamed and I'm sure my mother is questioning maternity, but for some reason we hadn't gotten any shave ice until today. Of course because of that we decided we needed to make up for the lack of shave ice by having two today...yum and oh god did I really have two today? The only planning we really did for today was to decide that we wanted to snorkel and head up north. We started driving and decided we needed Shave Ice. It was so good. Well it took a while to actually get this good stuff. We didn't have cash, however, the lady assured us that there was an ATM right across the street. I decided to just stay at the stand and take some photos and try to make friends with some of the wild chickens (I have mentioned that there are a lot of chickens around, however, there are really tons. They are wild and they are protected. Apparently after a tornado or hurricane a bunch of chickens got out of some where and have been breeding and free ever since. They are every where!) So I have been trying to make friends with a chicken to bring home or just carry around like a pet. Unfortunately they are very skiddish. Well the chickens at this shave ice stand were nice...I attribute it to the goodness of the shave ice. So I am hanging out at this stand taking photos, when I realize that Mario has been gone a long long time. I have run out of photos to take and have moved on to reading my book...yes I take after my mother and keep a book on hand for situations like this. It must have been half an hour. Where the crap is "across the street"? I guess Kauai isn't big on ATM maintenance, mario went to three non working ATMs. Well the good news is that he got cash and got us a yummy shave ice. So here is my question for you...Do chickens like Shave Ice?




Well now you know. Below is a little church just across from the Shave Ice shack. I thought it was so cute.


Here is my new favorite place...the shave ice stand...


Of course here is how happy the Shave Ice makes us...



Oh here is my new house...I love it




From there we drove to Anini beach and tried some snorkeling. It was a great protected beach with a nice reef. The only problem is that we couldn't find any fish. The only thing moving around was the water and swimmers. It was a nice area but we figured we'd just hit a beach, swim, then move on to the next beach. Here's the first beach.



Yes he's wierd...



While we were at Anini, a man told us about this beach farther up north that was the best snorkeling around. He said the only problem was parking...yeah parking was a pain in the arse but it was well worth it. It was up near where I told you about yesterday, near Tunnels Beach. We were going to snorkel across from that dry cave. Well you drive up a little farther and there is a wet cave (looks just like the dry cave only it's full of gross water). Once you get past the jerky parking...it was the best snorkeling EVER! I have never seen so many different fish. It was amazing. We were pretty much snorkeling for two hours straight. We had the best time and plan to go back tomorrow or Saturday...we ran out of film and there were so many fish to photograph. I loved that the fish would come right up to you. We had one fish that would follow us and when I pointed something out to mario, the fish would check it out to. It was funny. So we are going back for sure. Check out the video below. Notice the water looks pretty smooth. That's because there is a big reef under the nearer water. The water breaks pretty far out and the water over the reef stays calm. Also, there is like 20-30ft of beach and then jungle. It was awesome...






We came home and BBQd with some friends we've made here. It was a great day.

Day Four...The Jungle

So here is yesterday's photos. To go on the Blue Dolphin for half price the day before (which was very necessary for us to go) we had to sign up to go see a timeshare...dread. It wasn't too bad because we were fed and walked around and ate some more. However, we were there longer than we had anticipated...of course.

After the timeshare we had already planned to drive to the north shore. I have known from the minute we got here that I wanted to drive north. I just knew that I would love it...not sure how but I knew. And I was right. It was amazing. Of course it's the pricier part of the island. I'm assuming because everyone wants to live there. It's the true idea of what you would think Hawaii would look like. It's all lush, green and jungle. Yes Jungle, like vines hanging down and plants taking over everything. It is dreamy up there! I would move right in if I could. It feels a lot more secluded (although drive ten minutes south and you're back in touristville). There is also a store up there in Princeville called Big Save...also known as Big Rip around here because of there $10 gallon of milk. Yowza!

Since we didn't leave as early as anticipated we didn't plan on swimming just exploring. There is only one main road on the island and we are smack dab in the middle. So it's less than an hour back north. We are going to head back up there today for sure. There are really beautiful beaches up there...ok all over the island, but we're headed back up to snorkel and swim and lots more photo taking. Here are some photos...

Of course I got my photo taken in the murmaid, but come0n what's funnier than a murmaid with a beard...


I had read about this dry cave...luckily we accidentially ran into it. This is a cave that was used when the hawaiian tribes would fight with other tribes. Way at the back and now covered with about 10 feet of sand, is a hole into another room. When the men knew they were going off to fight, they would put all the women, children and elders in that room and roll a boulder in front of it to hide and protect them. Well if they came back and let them out...if they lost they were never let out. They figured they were better off all dying rather than being taken by the other tribe and killed.

Here is showing how big it is. Mario likes to think it is his new man cave...look how excited he is. If you look at the photo above you can see a little bit of the jungle that is around.


We walked across the street to the beach. There were a bunch of people camping...not sure if it is permanent or not. But come on it's incredible there!

Here is the area where we'll go snorkeling...Can't wait!

I loved this. It's the same as above just a little farther to the right. Now look at the little tent. I love it. I want to camp right there.

This is a shot in the other direction on the beach. I circled something on there for you...Just as we got down to the shore, there was a group of 8 people or so getting in the water. They were all circled around something like a raft or who knows what. They started swimming out and then a few yards behind them was a guy swimming and pulling a big red ice chest behind him. What were they doing and where do they think they are going? An ice chest...I considered that maybe they would be free diving and would put their catch in the ice chest...then I thought who am I kidding, it's full of beer.


I just loved this boat. Trecked excitedly across the sand to take a photo and then realized I'd have to walk all the way back...

Swimming With Sharks?

I was to lazy yesterday to post. I got all of my photos ready and then couldn't bring myself to put them online. Life is tough! We started the day very early and headed over to Blue Dolphin boat trips. We had a blast! It was a great big catamaran with a really fun crew of cute guys...one was even a former Mr Hawaii. Any single ladies out there would be very smart to hang out on this boat. They were very fun and accommodating and are amazingly good at carrying mai tais while on a rolling boat. We were impressed! So we headed down the Napoali Coast (yeah I told you it was the forbidden coast but it's not...I lied. We actually cruised past a privately owned island that you need permission to step foot on...kinda cool and mysterious). It was pretty calm and very beautiful. We headed a few hours north up the coast. Wonderful. They pointed out a bunch of movie spots and historical areas. Then we headed back south a little to do about an hours worth of snorkeling. The water was so clear. The captain made sure to point out that this would be to our advantage...then you can see the shark coming at you. Thanks but that was no help. I am so facinated by sharks but don't feel the need to run into one in the wild. However, once I got in, I didn't want to get out. Once we were out of the water, lunch was served and mai tais...woo hoo. After lunch we headed back full speed...it was rough and bouncy and everyone outside the cabin was soaked. However, everyone inside was a little icky from being tossed around. It was all fun for the most part. You know that feeling when you are on a roller coaster and your tummy flips, well I had this feeling all the way back. Fun at first but gets old quick. reguardless, this was one of the better boat tours I've been on. Here are a few photos...

This photos is one of the first shots I got of the Napoli Coast. That valley in between those two mountains was where Jurassic Park was filmed...I was pretty excited about that.



This is us at the front of one of the pontoons on the catamaran. The cute boat helper guys kept asking if they could take our photo. Which is good for you, then you don't have to look at the same photo where I hold the camera out and take our photo.


This photo I took for mom. This is the cave where Elvis stood inside on a little island and sung "Blue Hawaii" for the movie.


This is a little water fall that the boat pulled right up under and soaked us. I saw it coming but it was still fun. Just after the guys took all of our photos, they said congratulations you've just been under the falls of fertility. The hawaiian men used to bring their future wives and run them under the falls the night before their wedding to ensure a large healthy family. Of course there was a smaller fall further back and they told us that those were the falls of birth control.



This is one of the last spots the original hawaiians inhabited on the island. It's actually where they would bury the bones of the royalty and also where Harrison Ford has filmed a number of movies.



This is my first attempt at putting video on here...so here goes. This was exciting. While we were cruising along we had all these dolphins come up and start swimming along the boat...



The area behind Mario by the cliffs is the spot where we went snorkeling.



We went back home to fall asleep on the couch watching Tuesday's debate. Put me right to sleep. I woke up and we ended the day with a swim in the pool. Just as we switched to the hot tub, it started raining. It poured for about 5 minutes. It was so refreshing and fun to sit in a warm tub with the cool rain.

Day 2...

Stranded on an island in the pacific...It's been another amazing day. LAZY with lots of swimming thrown in. After a long morning of extra lazy we finally decided to pick up our snorkel gear. Then we headed to this lagoon area to practice a bit, because tomorrow we are going out on a big catamaran for snorkeling and exploring the forbidden coast! There is really only one highway on this island and it only goes about 80-90% around the island. Not sure why...but the area you can't get to by car is apparently called the forbidden coast.

So we are heading out early. We need to check in at 7am and then we'll be off. It should be a blast. I haven't ever gotten sea sick, but I'm not chancing it. I bought some meds and I'm taking them first thing tomorrow. It's going to be a 5 and a half hour trip. So we'll come back exhausted, probably burned, and with tons of photos. Of course, I brought my whole camera set-up, lenses, camera, cards, battery charger...and no battery. What a bonehead! Luckily I brought my fun little beat up point and shoot camera. We also picked up an underwater camera. So despite my forgetfulness, we've covered all the bases. I can't wait!

In between the lazies, I took a few more photos...mostly so mom can see what her timeshare looks like on Kauai but also because it's beautiful and I apparently like rubbing it in that we are here and you are there...we's mean. Here are a few...




After this I'll stop photographing the lounge chairs...but they are fun. Anyways, we were thinking about going to this beach with a lagoon. It sounded fun and when we picked up the snorkel gear, the shop owner told us it was a good spot to start out. We pulled up and jumped right in. It was awesome. It's a man made lagoon, so it's protected from the big surf. It was warm and pretty empty because it was a little late. So we geared up and went in. There were tons of beautiful fish in there and they all come at you looking for food. Let me tell you, they are a lot bigger than I expected. I didn't take any photos but we are going back, so I'll take a bunch of photos for you.

On the way home we stopped and got some dinner...not so good. I think the problem was that we stopped off at this awesome little food stand yesterday. It was "The Shrimp Stand". I got the cajun shrimp and mario got the shrimp burger...the.best.food! So the problem with dinner tonight was that, it wasn't from the shrimp stand. My consolation was getting back in the hot tub. I love hot tub...next to the ocean.



Happy Hot Tub People!

The Good Life

So the first 24 hours in Hawaii have been wonderful...thank you mom for use of the timeshare. With the time difference and despite only having a few hours sleep the night before, I was up at 6am. Mario was already up, cause he's weird that way. When we got here yesterday it was already pretty late. It was very dark, so we couldn't really see anything. We could hear the ocean was very close and we could see a tiny bit, however I really had no idea how close we were until this morning when I joined Mario on the balcony...




Not bad huh? Yeah I think "Holy Crap!" was what I said. We are in a third level condo with a nice loft bedroom and although it's hard to tell, that water is about 30 yards away. The weather is beautiful. We thought and were told it would be very hummid. It was a little bit hummid last night but today has been wonderful. There has been a great breeze all day and we'll be sleeping with the balcony doors open for the second night in a row. The ocean is so loud, I love it.

Once we had breakfast and got going, we went to a nice island orientation here at the timeshare. This guy told us all the places to go and all that fun stuff. He gave a great idea where to start and what not to miss. After the little orientation we walked out and jumped right in the pool. Yeah it's one of those pools that is only like 30 feet from the ocean. Tons of lounge chairs facing the ocean under the palm trees.



This is what our view was in the afternoon...After a quick nap, we decided to go for a drive. We explored the south part of the island. Two things I learned today. Kauai is my favorite island so far and second, it's infested with chickens. They're every where. Even in the costco parking lot (Where I might add, we were offered a spam hotdog. We tried it and I hate to admit it, but it was good in a creepy way).

We did a little exploring, a little food shopping, more swimming, and a little meeting people. It was a great day. Tommorrow we'll drive north and see what's up there.

Here we are looking a little sleepy, a little sun kissed and feeling very happy...



I promise you more photos tommorrow.

Are there Spiders in Hawaii?

It's six am. No I didn't get up early...I'm still awake from last night! I thought these nights were over in college, but no. I still have these long nights every once in a while as a business owner. Now's when I wish I had hired someone already and could make them do this work. However, I shouldn't complain. I am working late now, so that I don't have to work this week because...I'll be in Hawaii on my honeymoon! Woo Hoo! Although I'll be doing a little bit of work, hopefully to be finished on the plane. But who cares if I have to work a little, I'll be in Hawaii!

In other news, Mario killed spiders today. 2 black widows outside, a little guy running around inside, and some other I'm sure very threatening bug thing outside. I'm very proud of him. However, I'd be more than happy if he'd just get the ones I need him to get, rather than going on some bug killing spree. Can't complain, he did good.

Anyways, as I finished typing this, I finished the work I needed to finish before we leave for HAWAII! I'm going to sleep until 10, then quick shower and we're off to LAX(hate lax but if it will take me to hawaii I'll go). Depending how lazy or vacationed out I am, I'll be posting some photos. Crap it's light out. I don't like going to bed when it's light out, but I'll take any sleep at this point. Talk to you all later!

Missed again...

This time I gave him the swiffer to use. And do you know what...the spider got away...AGAIN. I walked in the kitchen to feed the cats and there was a monster of a spider on the wall. The thing is I knew I should have done it myself, but I thought Mario would want to vindicate himself after I told everyone that he sucks at killing spiders. Well freaking spider got away.

So after all that drama, I went on the interweb to find out how to keep them out! Natural ways of course because I have two cats and well because I'm going to hose this place down with whatever will keep those spiders away. So I read a million sites. I found that if you have spiders inside your house, it obviously means you have a dirty house and have lots of bugs around. Not sure I like being judged by a website and I don't think that's why I have the random spider. I think that the stray spider comes in our house because it's pleasant here and well we are fun people. As understandable as that is, I don't want them here. I don't want there to be a chance they will come in. Besides us being dirty, I found that spiders don't like cloves, lemon and lemon pledge. We'll we don't have cloves, no lemons, but do I remember Mario coming home from an old job with a bottle of pledge? Yes, because what else would you steal on your last day of work. So I made him go check under the kitchen sink...because I couldn't go back in the kitchen with that wild spider running around. Oh there was a bottle of pledge in there. However, it's citrus not lemon. It's all the same to me! I sprayed down all the door frames, windows and odd piece of furniture. I maybe went a little crazy. I don't remember spraying down the little hall to the bathroom, but I might have because I've seen Mario slip walking into the bathroom three times now.

We'll see how this all goes...