Hawaii - Day 12

Today was adrenaline day on the adventure tour. Jimmy and my mom have both been in helicopters (Jimmy lots, my mom once) but Mac nor I had ever been up in one. Until today.

I'm not going to lie to you. I was scared.

A helicopter crash is not the way I want to die, although there was some consolation that a helicopter crash in Hawaii would be a better way to go than a helicopter crash not in Hawaii.

Mac and me listening attentively to the pilot as he explains where the fire extinguisher is. Just in case.

the Fantasy Island waterfalls. Da plane! Da plane!

Flying over and around and down into what is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific (Waimea Canyon)

the beautiful Na Pali Coast

We even saw whales from the helicopter!

And finally, our favorite - Hanalei Bay!

We ended the afternoon with the more leisurely pursuit of putt-putt at the most expensive, but most exquisitely landscaped putt-putt course I've ever played.

Hawaii - Day 11

Next up on the adventure trip was a kayaking/hiking trip up the Wailua River followed by hiking to Secret Falls.

My mother has never kayaked before and let's just say we're not compatible paddlers. It's a wonder we're still not going in circles in that stupid kayak.

It was a beautiful trip but I'll probably not kayak with the Giginator again. Ever again.

Fording the river in the rain, which is the only daytime rain we got in 2 weeks. We were SOOOO blessed on the weather front.

Secret Falls


The delicious lunch that was provided by our tour company and ever so artistically presented by our wonderful guide.

If you find yourself in Kauai, I highly recommend Rainbow Kayak Tours. You can find them here. Their service is AWESOME and our guide Thomas was amazing.

Hawaii - Day 10

Okay, so I'm way behind on Hawaii postings and I hate to be way behind because it drags me down. I wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about it. Have I ever told you I'm a Type A kind of gal?

So the long and short of our last week in Hawaii is that I'm meant to live in Kauai on the North Shore.

I'm about 99% positive about this.

Seriously.

Wouldn't you want to live here, too?

On Tuesday, Day 10, we hiked 4 miles round-trip on the Na Pali (which means cliff) Coast. Remember this place is only accessible by hiking, boating, or helicopter.

Seriously off the beaten path.

I have to give a shout-out to my mom. Her grandkids call her Gigi and we sometimes call her the Giginator. Well, let me tell you that the Giginator was in action on this entire trip but particularly on a day like today. This was not your average stroll in the park. This trip in general has required a lot of physical work that was tough for this 40 year-old, so I can't imagine what it was like for the one of us on the trip who's in her mid-60s. Today we climbed mountains and forded streams and the Giginator hung in there the whole way. It was awesome. a view of the coastline from the trail
Me, still smiling, but we're only at the .5 mile marker

fording the river (more like a stream when we were there, but I bet when it rains, it's a rushing river)

Hawaii - Day 9

Today we enjoyed the beach at Hanalei Bay (where surfer Bethany Hamilton learned to surf), which is near our Princeville neighborhood. It's a pretty amazing setting and provided the perfect waves for Jimmy and Mac to boogie board. We also had a taco lunch from Pat's Taqueria food truck before we took off to drive to "the end of the road" which is where the road literally ends before the Na Pali Coast starts.

Hawaii - Day 8

Today we flew from Oahu to Kauai. One of things Jimmy really wanted to do to make this Hawaiian experience complete was to rent a Jeep. We made his dreams come true. Alamo had a 4-door Wrangler with removable soft top. Oh boy!

We drove our Jeep up to the North Shore (how Hawaiian does that sound?) to check in to the Tiki Tower (the name of our rental house in Princeville). It's a fabulous 3-story number with a view in the distance of the ocean. It's going to be a nice week....

Hawaii - Day 7

Today was our last full day on Oahu so we decided to spend the whole day on the beach in Lanikai (our "home" beach). It was so beautiful and calm and perfect.

We left only to walk the 15 minutes or so to and from the Kailua Beach Park to visit again the Lanikai Shrimp Shack. Remember the fish tacos we missed out on the other day? Well that wasn't going to happen a second time. Today we were all able to enjoy these amazing fish tacos, of which there is no photographic proof. Trust me when I tell you these were piled high with blackened mahi, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and ranch. Yum.

And I got my first chance to run a food truck today! That might be stretching the truth a little bit, but the guy left us to watch the truck while he ran to the bathroom. All these people came up and I really could've started cooking to test things out, but I was still eating my fish taco and could.not.stop. As our "pay", the very nice food truck man (who made Mac that extra-large shave ice the other day) gave him a very big rainbow shave ice. A really, really nice guy.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon back on the beach - it really is a slice of heaven on earth.

Hawaii - Day 6

Today we slept in as well as you can sleep in when there's a cacophonous serenade of tropical birds outside your window. Even though we are staying in a lovely residential neighborhood, it sounds like the jungle early in the morning.

Our first of activity of the day was eating at Giovanni's food truck up in Kuhuku on the North Shore. Giovanni's was featured in Man v. Food so it seemed like a good bet. We all ordered shrimp scampi and it was good but let me assure you that Giovanni believes in a lot of garlic in his shrimp scampi. A whole lot. We didn't think it was worth the hype of Man v. Food but it's always nice to try new things.


After lunch we went to the Poynesian Cultural Center to learn about, well, Polynesian cultures. Mac had a ball learning how to make fire by rubbing sticks, watching this guy climb a coconut tree, watching a show where this Samoan guy taught us how to open coconuts, etc. We also enjoyed a very delicious luau and their very cool night-time show that included fire dancers.