maloha!

OK, so that is not really a Hawaiian word, but for the first day that we were there, Jon kept combining mahalo with aloha and it was rather amusing. We got back late on Sunday night and I have spent the last two days getting caught up with laundry and other neccessities. We had a really good time but were glad to come home and see our kids. As I feared, Gracie began to walk well while I was gone, and despite my request my mother refused to push her down until I got back! I can't believe that she will be turning 1 in a week and a half. And Derrick turns 7 just 5 days after that. But before I get to planning those parties, I need to document our trip. The resort was beautiful and we spent a lot of down time hanging out at their beach, Jon and I even snorkeled a couple of times. I actually came home with a tan, which for me is still white, but not blinding white. We spent our entire week on the island of Kauai, which is said like Hawaii but with a K. We visited the Spouting Horn, Wailua Falls, Kilauea Light House, Old Koloa Town, Fern Grotto, and Poipu Beach. We also got to attend a luau and cultural show. But, my favorite activitiy was definitely our sunset sail and whale watch. It is right in the middle of whale season and there wasn't a day where we didn't see a humpback whale from the shore, so it was exciting to go out and see them a little closer. We also saw a couple giant turtles swimming around while we were sailing. Another exciting thing we got to see was the Hawaiian Monk Seal. They are endangered, but come up on the beach in Poipu right by our hotel. They have volunteers who rope off the area around them, but you can go right up to look at them and take pictures. We saw the seals on our beach several days while we were there. And of course, we did a lot of shopping and eating! I probably ate enough pineapple and macadamia nuts to last all year. While we were there, we ate at some really fancy restaurants. I'm not a huge seafood person, but I'm also not averse to the idea of fish. I figured that I wasn't likely to get better fish than in Hawaii, so I was brave. One night I had Macadamia Nut Crusted Shutome (swordfish) and it was excellent, and another night I tried Orange-Ginger Mahi Mahi. It was good, but not as good as the Shutome. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Spouting Horn

View from Spouting Horn

One of Kauai's famous roosters

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Sunset Sail

At the beach

Our hotel

Our hotel

At Spouting Horn

Lindsey and I have the same idea!

Sailing

Queen Emma's Retreat

Our hotel from the catamaran

Whale splash!

At Kilauea Wildlife Preserve

Wailua Falls

At Wailua Falls

View from Kilauea Lighthouse

Kilauea Lighthouse