OUR HAWAII TRIP - 2009

Bob and I were very lucky this year. Our friends, Mike and Alice have a time-share in Hawaii, and invited us to stay with them. Bob had his yearly trip to Guam coming up, so this worked out to be a nice stop-over for him on his way there. Our separate flights got us in to Honolulu within an hour of each other. Then, we both took Hawaiian Air to the island of Kaua'i. We landed there in Lana'i early in the evening on Monday, April 27th. The Snedeger's (Mike and Alice) picked us up and we drove to their condo. It was a little late that night to do much, but we did enjoy the beach outside. When we looked out over the ocean, off in the distance, we saw two whales, possibly a mom and her baby!! The whales looked like they were having so much fun-rolling over and over with their tail fins high in the air. All four of us saw them. Mike and Alice said they had never seen one right outside there. (Bob and I think they were the ones we didn't see on our "whale watching adventure" in San Diego!)
The next morning, (Tuesday) Alice cooked a huge breakfast, and then we were off for a great day of snorkeling and sight seeing. They always bring their own snorkeling gear, and were nice enough to bring some for us.
I was a little afraid of going into the water at first, mostly because I can't swim! But...after a brief lesson and a pep talk, I was ready to go. After 'freaking out' just a little, and falling down a few times trying to walk with the snorkeling fins (not a good idea), I was off and loving it! At first, Bob stayed really close to me so I knew I would be safe.
Snorkeling is so much fun!!!!!!!! It is like being in a huge aquarium, with all the beautiful tropical fish swimming along with you.
Every morning we went snorkeling, sat on the beach, and of course, I took lots and lots of pictures. We were so relaxed...with the majestic mountains, the peaceful beaches, and the calming sounds of the surf all around us. It truly is paradise!
After snorkeling every day, we went sight seeing...with each stop just as beautiful as the last. Mike and Alice have been going there for years, and knew all the ideal spots to take us to. We saw dozens of waterfalls, mountain landscapes and the most beautiful beaches ever. The island is small, and we drove all around it. It is called the garden island of Hawaii, and now we know why. Each day while we were sight seeing, we stopped for lunch, and continued on our adventures. We never got bored and we never ran out of beautiful places to see. Later each evening, after getting some dinner, we went back to the condo, took a bath and just crashed, going to bed early for another fun day ahead.
On Wednesday we woke up, stopped by the bakery at the local grocery store to get some breakfast, then enjoyed it on the beach before going out snorkeling again. The weather was perfect again. Bob got a great tan...I just got a little sunburn and more freckles each day.
This time, I was much more relaxed in the water this time, and learned to manuever those fins a little better. It's quite a trick at first to get the hang of how to wear the mask, and learn how to breathe in and out of your mouth. When we got to the water I dove right in this time, instead of taking 10 minutes to get my nerve up. Then, I was off exploring the reef looking for and finding the most colorful fish I could find. Mike saw a few sea turtles. We all got excited about what we saw, and told each other our 'fish stories' when we got out of the water.
After snorkeling and sight-seeing that day, we went back and got cleaned up for the evening. We went to a Luau for dinner. It's called the Smith Family Luau. An LDS family owns the property, and several generations of their family live and work there, and all took part in the evening's events. After getting our picture taken, we rode a bus around their little piece of paradise. They have all of the native trees, plants, flowers and animals. My favorite was the peacock, who put on quite a show for the guests.
After our bus ride and walking around, we went into the pavillion where we all sat down to eat a wonderful meal. [They had their traditional roasting of the pig where they pull him out of the ground, but we were walking around, so we missed that part.] We listened to them singing and playing music while we ate. Some of the young girls were on the stage with them doing the native hula dance. We then walked over to another pavillion where we were entertained with all of the native dances of the islands. It was a great production with beautifully colored costumes. At the beginning of the show, they had the goddess of fire, Pele' coming out of a great volcano. At the end of the show, they had a fire dance by one of the performers, with a colorful personality to go along with his talent of twirling the fire batons.
After the show, once again we went back home and fell right asleep...ready for one more day of adventure!
On Thursday, April 30th, after stopping by the bakery and getting our breakfast, we went straight to another beach for...what else?? more snorkeling! This time I was fearless. Bob tried to stay beside me, but when I found a colorful fish, I just took off after it, and left him behind. Once we both came up at the same time to clear out our masks, and Bob said, "You just went over a really deep spot!" I said, "I know, but don't tell me that, or I'll freak out next time!" I had finally conquered my fears, and we had a really fun time.
After we stayed at the beach for quite a while, we went sight-seeing again. Then, in the afternoon, Mike and Alice asked if we wanted to go snorkeling again. We weren't sure if we wanted to go back in the water, but he stopped anyway. Thank goodness he did, because it just topped off our trip...ending up at the same beach where we had started. That evening, we walked around a local shopping center, then had dinner and went back to pack our suitcases.
On Friday morning, Bob and I both had an early flight back to Honolulu. Then, I took a flight heading home, and Bob started on his journey to Guam.
We had never had so much fun in only three days! It was so great being with the Snedegers, and we appreciate their hospitality. We enjoyed every minute of our time in Kaua'i, and can't wait for our next trip. What a life!!! It was very hard to leave paradise. Both Bob and I thought we'd never get the chance to go there, but we're so happy and grateful that we were able to have such a memorable trip.