I Love You, California!

I had to work a couple of the days that Mom was here, and while she was a good sport and did some exploring during the day while I was gone, I wanted to be sure to give her something fun to do in the evening. Today we had a girls night Pau Hana at Halekulani. We enjoyed a beautiful evening along the ocean listening to Hawaiian music, watching hula dancing (performed by the councilwoman for a North Shore district!), sipping drinks, and talking.

After another relaxing morning at our condo, we got everything all packed up and were on our way to check out more sights near Kapa`a and Lihue. We started with coffee and shopping in the beach town of Kapa`a. This guy had a pet chicken! Cute sign in Kapa`a town pointing to places around Kauai. After shopping we walked down the the beach which was just two blocks away! More chickens! This beach was spectacular. From Kapa`a we drove inland to see Opaeka`a Falls. Just across the street was a lookout over the Wailua River. Will's been to Kauai a couple times for short work trips and has a favorite lunch place near Lihue, where the airport is, so we took him up on the recommendation and were quite impressed! We enjoyed some amazing fish tacos in an open air restaurant right along the beach. We walked along the beach while we waited for our lunch. There's a Harley-Davidson dealership in Lihue and we had to be sure to st...

When we think of Kauai, we think of the NaPali Coast. Eleven miles of coastline along the Northwest side of the island, accessible only by foot or boat. Most people will never make it to Kauai. Some will go to Kauai and see the NaPali Coast by boat or helicopter. Few will hike even part of it, and very few will go the entire way! Of course Will dreams of hiking the entire coastline, but for me, I really only want to do the first two to four miles. I didn't think visiting the NaPali Coast during Mom's visit was something we'd get to do, so when she mentioned that she'd like to do some of the hike I was so excited! We knew that the first two miles aren't so bad; a little rocky, and not even too steep most of the way. So what better way to spend Easter Sunday than hiking along some of the most remote, spectacular coastline in the world! We were up early for some breakfast and hit the road. It was about a 45 minute- hour long drive to the very end of the road. Alon...