....Kalalau Trail....

We planned to do some hiking on our trip and Jay chose the Kalalau trail for us.  The trail starts at Ke'e Beach, the farthest spot you can drive to on the north shore.  We left Wren for the day with Grandma Sondy and arrived at the parking lot around 8:30 AM.  The trail itself is 11 miles long and leads to Kalalau Beach, which appears on lists as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

There are two side trips along the trail to waterfalls: one is Hanakapi'ai Falls and the other is Hanakoa Falls.  We decided to try for Hanakoa Falls which meant a 6 mile hike in and then a half mile hike off trail.  I anticipated we would be pretty speedy and figured on early afternoon return.

The trail started out pretty rocky and a little muddy and we passed many people loaded up for camping at Kalalau Beach.  The day was gray and somewhat cool - great weather for hiking.  Two miles in we reached Hanakapi'ai Valley, where the falls feed into the ocean and a 2 mile trail to the left leads to the waterfall.  I made sure to take off my socks and shoes before crossing the water so I wouldn't get dirty and had been very careful up to this point to stay clean.  The other day hikers broke away to the falls and we kept on the main trail, which almost immediately turned to muck - an unavoidable burnt sienna stream through red mud.  The walking sticks we found were extremely helpful on our journey and Jay gave me a very helpful tip - keep my stick in the hand facing downhill, otherwise I would propel myself off the side of the hill in the event I slipped and tried to catch myself with my uphill-facing-stick-hand. 

We experienced sun, rain, wind, rain, sun and many beautiful rainbows arching across the ocean.  Campers coming back from the beach exchanged pleasantries and little bits of information about how amazing Kalalau Beach is with us as we squeezed between bushes to let them by on the narrow trail.  We had to stop every so often just to look up and take in the amazing views (and enjoy our pb&j sandwiches!) without losing our footing. 

We knew we reached the 6 mile mark when we came upon campsites and sheltered picnic tables (which were a little too close to the stinky pit toilet, so we snacked as we walked).  We asked some fellow hikers where to find the trail up to Hanakoa Falls and received an iffy response of  "to the left of the water....no, the right".  We headed upstream and Jay crossed over to find a trail, but had no luck.  After spending about 20 minutes in the area we decided to head back, passing what looked to be a trail off to the left of the water.  Oh well!  maybe some day in the future we will go back and make it  to the waterfall and all the way to the beach. It was getting late for us to still have 6 miles back to the car and now the trail was slicker than before from the intermittent rain showers.  Some sections were slow-going up steep and slide-y mud in sloshy shoes but we persevered, watching around every bend for signs of Ke'e beach up ahead.  When it came time to cross back over at Hanakapi'ai Beach we happily trekked over with our shoes on, hoping to rinse out some of the mud.  

I was very excited to get back to the parking lot around 4:30 PM - so much for an early afternoon!  We tossed our walking sticks on the growing discard pile and waited our turn at the rinsing faucet to clean ourselves up a bit before driving home.  We were very excited to get back and see our little Wren - she was a very good girl for Grandma Sondy and they had a great time together.

 

The beach at Hanakapi'ai Falls

If you could only hear the squish of muddy water in our shoes with each step!

We made it!!

...blue waters....

It's hard to ignore the beautiful waters of Kauai, be it from the ocean or the pool.  Our condo's supply closet included backpacks, boogie boards, coolers, bamboo mats, a beach umbrella and snorkel gear. We  took advantage of quite a bit of the provided items and attempted a snorkel outing only to find that just one of the snorkels was in working order.  

We picked up a pool floatie for Wren to try out so she could easily join us in the pool.  It took coaxing and having Water Baby show Wren how much fun it was before Wren warmed up to the idea. Once she got in she had a blast, kicking her legs and being led by us back and forth across the big pool.  It was great!....the one day that she used it.  Wren refused to use the floatie again, but we took it to the pool repeatedly anyway.  

At the end of our first week we were ready to restock some items at Costco and make a day trip to the south coast.  On the way we took a detour to Wailua Falls.  The small parking area was very crowded, so Sondy and I jumped out to snap a few pics while Jay turned the car around.  

We made our way around the island and took Waimea Canyon Drive up away from the ocean.  The 20 mile drive has stops along the way to view the expansive and amazing Waimea Canyon.  We stopped at mile 15 at Koke'e State Park and took a few minutes to tour the museum and take a short nature walk.  Chickens and roosters run free all over the island and Wren had a great time chasing them at the park, shrieking "B!!!" every time a bird was on the move.  We ate our snacks at a picnic table after speaking with some very friendly locals who shared their opinion of the remaining stops on the road and their Ovaltine cookies with us!  Then Sondy and I stopped in the restaurant on site (which was packed, by the way, and the menu looked good!) to find out rental information for the cabins we passed on the drive up.  For around $85 per night they seem like a good option for those planning to get out on the many trails available in and around the canyon.  

From the park we continued to the next two stops to take in the view of Waimea Canyon and Kalalau Valley.  On the drive back down we split off the main drag to try out Koke'e road, which was less windy and seemed faster than our drive up.  

We stopped in Waimea for lunch at The Shrimp Station, which had been recommended by a number of people, including the dude at the Koke'e Lodge restaurant who called me "Bro".  I didn't partake in the shrimp (and instead went next door for shave ice!) but Jay and Sondy did and said it was great!  Wren tried shrimp for the first time and really liked it.  From Waimea we went straight to Costco then back home - that was a long day!  

Tunnels Beach

Wren and Water Baby soaking up some sun. Good thing we caught her using the floatie on film!

Using the pool floatie!  Not quite as effective when you exceed the 33 pound weight limit...

Wailua Falls

Wren chasing chickens at Koke'e State Park

Waimea Canyon

....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? ;)

A How-To

Wren wanted to share with everyone how to sit down on a potty seat.  Here she gives clear, step-by-step instructions.  Like an Ikea instruction booklet, no text is needed.  Follow along at home! 

(Hat wearing, especially sideways hat wearing, is optional.)