Kauai, Hawaii

Kauai, Hawai
The small island... but not small on beauty.

Keith and I took my Mom and her husband to Hawaii for a combination vacation (10-year wedding anniversary and my Mom's 50th birthday!) It was beautiful. Here are a few of the most important highlights/callouts of the trip:

• There are wild chickens everywhere!

• The island gets about 400+ inches of rain a year (on that little island), and it rained every day, just for a short while and then stopped and the sun came out and the temperature and weather were perfect.

• Everything was really laid back.

• There is a HUGE difference between a hotel and a resort on the island. I'm glad we were at a resort.

• They sell spam and rice on the platters in place of pancakes at McDonalds for breakfast.

• The tropical plant-life is unlike anything I have ever seen before.

• A gallon of milk is $5.00.

• There's such a small population of people, it was refreshing to have everyone so spread out and there be so much "room". It was definitely vastly different than Dallas.

• Gas was about 40 cents more per gallon, and everyone says Hawaii is so expensive, but it seemed like it was about the average mark-up for a "tourist" area.


We got settled in Friday evening at about 8:30 Hawaii time (1:30am Dallas time), but still had to see what was around and walk to the beach. You could see the beach from our room, it was literally 50 feet away. So we took a walk, grabbed a drink, sat at the bar and walked, then had pizza and cheesecake in the room.

Saturday was supposed to be a relaxing day, and it was. Spent a lot of time at the beach, walking around and went and picked up snacks at the store. We had the Luau that night and that was my favorite part of the trip. It lasted from 5 to about 9. They had dancing, drinks, all you can eat Polynesian meal and the show. Amazing to watch the culture, colors and atmosphere. It was beautiful.

Sunday we did a lot of sightseeing. We went up to Waimea Canyon and drove to over half the island. You could drive about 3 hours and make the whole perimeter of the island. Keith and I took a nap while Mom and Michael tried another beach, and we had a wonderful dinner at Duke's, which is supposedly the best place on the island to eat. They serenaded our table with a request of Elvis' "Blue Hawaii" (of course), and we spent time that evening walking around the resort and time in the hot tub.

Monday was more sightseeing at waterfalls in the immediate area, a cemetery, and all the souvenir shops. We also spent the whole morning on the beach again, tide pooling and relaxing. Great lunch and food once again.

Tuesday it was back at home and trying to adjust to the time difference and surroundings. Amazing to think one day you are 3,000 miles from home in another world it seems, and 12 hours later you are back home in your own bed.

The trip was wonderful, and I feel fortunate that we were able to take my Mom and her husband for her 50th birthday, and in celebration of our 10-year wedding anniversary!

See Pictures From Hawaii (All 400 of them)!