....paradise continues....

Our goal on this trip was to relax, and for us that means minimal car trips and plans.  We would discuss generally what we might want to accomplish over the following two days and then see what happened. We were somewhat limited by what our no-schedule-napper would allow, but we did get out a few times to hit some highlights.  

When we made our trip arrangements and looked for places to stay we found our budget-friendly accommodations on the north shore, which is rainier and slightly warmer than the south shore.  We really got lucky with our selection (both price- and location-wise) as we were able to access quite a bit on foot or with short drives.  Maybe it helps that the island is pretty small and you can go from one side to the other in about 2 hours.  Due to the rugged Na Pali coastline (more in a later post) you cannot drive around the island. 

A few days into our trip we drove a few miles east to Kilauea to Anini Beach to give Wren a taste of the ocean.  She has been to the Oregon Coast but, surprise surprise, the weather hasn't been friendly.  We didn't stay long but it was a beautiful spot to stop! 

The town of Princeville pretty much consists of a 2 mile road with branches of roads where different resorts and residential areas exist.  One of these roads led to the path to Queen's Bath - another trail that was not stroller friendly and was fairly slick from recent rain.  Across a pad of lava rock we found Queen's Bath!  Check that one off the list of touristy things to see.  

At Anini Beach

I doctored this photo from HawaiiGaga with a few more notes.  The yellow triangle marks the path to Queen's Bath, the green star is the actual Queen's Bath.  A - often mistaken for Queen's Bath; B - the same spot as the second picture from the bottom of this post; C & D are not recommended for swimming; E - the more easily accessed beach near us; F - Hideaways Beach (with the treacherous rope trail!).

Sondy making her down the mucky trail to Queen's Bath!

The actual Queen's Bath.  The day we visited was not a swimming kind of day.  An acquaintance of mine was there a few days before us - he swam in Queen's Bath with calm waters and sunny skies. 

This spot can also be seen on the map above as point "B"

Our little Sunshine having fun on the patio

Traveling we go!...

At the beginning of February Jay, Wren, Grandma Sondy and I jetted off to Kauai for 11 days away.  Our first experience flying with Wren was eye opening.  We were those people with a cranky baby.  Sorry fellow passengers!  What saved Jay and I from going completely nuts was: 1. We were very fortunate to have the middle seat open between us so Wren had her own seat.  2. Alaska Airlines serves a complimentary Mai Tai before landing in Hawaii.  I asked our attendant early in the flight if that was truly going to happen as everyone around us would need it after listening to our child....she snuck me a drink early!  6+ hours later we landed in Lihue, Kauai, and loaded up in our snazzy rental car (of course, an upgrade 2 classes ahead of our reservation because the only option left in our reserved class was a 2 door coupe.....really?!). 

Our first stop was Costco nearby to stock up on groceries then we were headed north to our destination - Princeville.  About 20 minutes into our drive we made a stop in Kapa'a in the Long's Drug parking lot while we changed Wren out of her now vomit covered outfit and did our best to clean out her car seat. Oh, travel!  That was the most time we spent in Kapa'a!  Fast forward to arriving at our condo in the Pali Ke Kua complex.  We had a unit that, while set back from the road and a little inconvenient for unloading, was right next to the pool and had a private grassy area outside of our large sliding doors.  The condo was a duplex but the neighboring unit was under construction so aside from some workers during the day we had peace and quiet. Until.....Wren woke up about 5:45 am Hawaii time for the first 3 days and stood up in her travel bed.  "Hi!  Hi!"  

Our introduction to the Garden Island consisted of getting to know the pool/hot tub and acquainting ourselves with the 2 miles of walking paths along the beautifully manicured resort grounds.  

A steep path near our condo led Jay and I down to a pretty nice beach on a scouting trip.  A scramble over lava rocks then led us around to Hideaways Beach where Jay played in the ocean.  Coming back up from Hideaways beach on a different steep and rough path was tricky.  Ropes are strung to help pull yourself up and were very necessary.  Not at all a stroller friendly trail and questionable for a baby carrier - we didn't test that one out.  

Not possible to truly travel light (or stress free) with a baby

Jay had a lot of fun using our new underwater camera!

Looking west down the shoreline from the resort grounds

Hideaways beach

Did you all get your tickets to the gun show? ;)