Aloha!! This trip deserves two posts because it was just that awesome and I took that many pictures.
The trip to Kaua'i with the Larson's has been in the making for about 2 years and the condos were officially booked last summer. It was supposed to be a Family Reunion type of trip before Chad left on his mission...But of course the age was changed of when Elders can serve a mission and Chad ended up going to the MTC 3 weeks before our trip. We missed him terribly but we all know he's doing exactly what he's supposed to and exactly where he needs to be, so we couldn't be prouder!
~Day 1~
Kevin and I took a red eye flight from Vegas and arrived in Kaua'i at 7:30AM. We picked up our awesome rental car, dropped off our bags at the condo, changed into our suits then went to find something for breakfast. We ended up at Ono's Family Restaurant which was pretty good and filled our starving selves. Afterwards we headed to Baby Beach and played in the water a little bit. Tropical storm Flossie was making its way to the islands and it was a little windy. The rest of Kevin's family wasn't flying in until about 4 so we had a ton of time to kill. I wanted to go exploring and do something but we ended up in the Jeep taking naps, way fun for a first day huh? After a few hours we headed to a souvenir shopping area at Kalapaki and walked around the shops and got a beloved snow cone that I will be craving forever.
After Kevin's family arrived we checked into the condo and got ready for dinner. One of my father in law's companions from the MTC lives there so we met up with them for dinner at a place in Lihue called Garden Island. It was a chinese BBQ place where most of the locals go and was extremely good!
Waiting to board the SG
Baby Beach with Flossie coming in
Chickens are EVERYWHERE on the island. We later found out it's because during the Hurricane in '92 they all got loose and no ones bothered to gather them up since. They also keep the cockroaches away.
First snow cone of the trip!
Wailua Beach
View from our condo
Seeing what's good at the Garden Island
~Day 2~
Tropical Storm Flossie was still trying to make it's way and most tours were cancelled so we used this day as another shopping and exploring day.We went up to Poipu to the Sprouting Horn with was absolutely gorgeous with the water hitting the rocks and everything. Then we hit up old town Koloa and their shopping centers and then went to Kalapaki to their shopping centers. That evening we got cleaned up and went to the Smith Family Luau. They started out with a little shuttle ride around their property which was full of different trees and plants and a ton of birds, including peacocks, and chickens. After the shuttle they then demonstrated how they cook the Imu (pig) which makes the best Kalua Pork EVER!!! After the demonstration the best part of the Luau came- eating the food of course! They had Kalua Pork, Terriyaki Beef, Chicken, Poi, Salad, Purple Sweet Potatoes, Macaroni Salad and fresh fruit. The fruit included Papaya, Pineapple, Guava, Mango and Bananas. We were all in food coma and below is a picture of us trying to show our food babies. Have you ever tried to smile and push out your stomach at the same time? It was kinda difficult! After dinner was the show where the dancer's did dances from all of the Polynesian Islands that make up the Hawaiian people. Very awesome show and Luau!
Luau time!
We tried out hula dancing.
Trying to show off our food babies
Wednesday was a full day spent at Anchor Harbor beach. We rented surf boards, boogie boards and a skim board for the day so there was plenty of things to try. Kevin tried out surfing and wasn't a huge fan of it, mostly because it's a lot of work with little pay off. After we ran a few errands and ate at L&L BBQ then swam in the pool at the condo.
The real fun began with days 4-6
