HAWAII VACATION

Day 1: Wednesday, July 12th

Flying to Honolulu

Our flight left KCI around 9AM.  We got off the ground just before a huge thunderstorm hit.  It would have delayed us for sure and we probably would have missed our connecting fight in Salt Lake City.  As it was, we made it just fine and had no problems on the flights.

Pearl Harbor!

After a long flight, I needed a Mai Tai!
But before that, we rented our car and fought through the rush hour traffic in Honolulu to get to our hotel on Waikiki Beach.  Then we took a short stroll down to the beach and had dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise...and a Mai Tai.

After dinner we got changed and went down to the beach.

The sun sets early, around 7:15PM, in Hawaii.

Our high rise hotel was pretty neat.  We've never been to a beach like that.

Day 2: Thursday, July 11th

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor was one of my bucket list items.  I am a HUGE WWII history buff and for as long as I can remember, I've wanted to see where the attack that brought us into WWII happened and to pay my respects.  I have been even more drawn towards Pearl Harbor since the USS Missouri was placed there.  The USS Arizona represents the start of WWII and the USS Missouri represents the victorious end.  Very powerful stuff for any red blooded American.

The first thing we saw was the USS Bowfin.  It is a WWII submarine that has been restored.

Everything inside seemed kid-sized.  I can't imagine serving on a sub.  It would have taken something special. 

Practicing my gunnery!

The memorial for the USS Arizona was unfortunately closed for renovation, so the Navy took us on a tour of the harbor.  We went near the memorial and alongside the USS Missouri.  

The Might Mo is a BEAUTIFUL ship!
This era of battleships, the last ones to be built, look like they could still do some damage.  The Missouri has also starred in a movie and music video (Under Siege with Stephen Segal) and (If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher)

Who's the man?  Admiral Chester Nimitz

After the tour of Pearl Harbor, you board a shuttle bus and they take you to Ford Island, where the Missouri is docked.  I was so giddy!

The start and end of WWII for the US.

16" Guns!

Practicing on the .50 Cal

This is THE spot where the surrender of Japan happened.  The world we live in today was shaped by that moment.

We got to go inside the ship too.  As you may recall, the Missouri served up through Operation Dessert Storm, so it is mostly 80's and early 90's equipment on the inside.  It's still in pretty good shape.

I wanted to see this...the view from the bridge pointing right at the USS Arizona Memorial.  To me the USS Missouri stands for everything that happened to the US from the time of the attack to the victory at the end of the war (the US basically becoming a superpower).  The way it is positioned, facing the USS Arizona Memorial, signifies the gratitude and debt we all owe to the people who died at Pearl Harbor.  That event was essentially the catalyst that caused the US to become the superpower that it is today.

After the Pearl Harbor tour, we drove up to the Oahu's North Shore and along the coast for a little while.  It was really pretty, but for whatever reason we didn't take many pictures.  Then it was back to the hotel for dinner and swimming.  

Day 3: Friday, July 12th

Diamond Head and Flight to Kauai

Our flight to Kauai wasn't until the afternoon, so on Friday morning we went to Diamondhead Crater State Park.  It was really cool looking.  A big crater right in the middle of a city.  It was also crowded.  Since all of the parking is inside the crater, it is pretty limited.  Luckily, we got there early and got a spot.  Then we decided to hike to the top.

The views going up were outstanding!

These stairs came right at the top and were a KILLER.  We were so hot and sweaty by the time we got up there.  The hike, btw, takes you up about 1 mile to an old military instillation.

View from inside the pillbox that was once used to protect Oahu from invasion.

Here you can see the crater

When we got back down, we all felt we'd earned a special treat.

After lunch we flew 24 minutes to Kauai!  Everything was great except that they lost my bag, so we had to wait for the next flight in from Oahu to get it.  So, delayed about an hour and a half, we got our rental car and set out for Poipu Beach.

We were STARVING by the time we got to the house and unpacked, so we headed next door to Brenneke's Beach Broiler.  Great view and some much needed nourishment.

There was a surf shop next door too.  After dinner we hit the beach while Sarah went shopping for food and provisions for the week.  No pictures because me and Grandma Cas had our hands full with the kids.  It always takes us a day or two to figure out the best way to keep sand out of the house and the most effective way to use the beach shower and exterior shower at the house.  But anyway, we got to see sunset and cool off a little.  Did I mention our house didn't have air conditioning?  Temps were around 85 each day and it didn't cool off much at night...

Day 4: Saturday, July 13th

Exploring Poipu Beach  and Old Kaloa Town

We started the day doing some shopping in Old Kaloa Town.  Neat area that was a former sugar plantation town.

After shopping we drove a couple miles up the coast to Spouting Horn.  This is a neat hole in the rocks that spews water and makes a groaning noise when waves come in.

After lunch we explored the coast just east of town.  Turns out there was an old cave that was thousands of years old and some secret beaches.  There was an archaeologist at the cave that explained the history and why it was so interesting.

Afterwards, we hiked up and around the rim.  We were treated to beautiful views of the coast, mountains, and the cave itself.

Later in the afternoon, we went to the beach by the house.  There was a seal that had beached and everyone was standing around watching it.  They had put stakes and rope from the water up around the seal to keep people back.  Owen was playing in the waves and a big wave hit him and sent him face-first into the stake holding a sign.  Could have been worse, but the poor guy sliced up his face pretty good.  He was tough though and didn't cry.

Reward after a hard day - Hawaiian SHAVE ICE!  This place named all of them after different types of mustaches.  It was very cool and very good!

Sunset from our beach at Poipu just across the street from the house

Day 5: Sunday, July 14th

Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park

Sunday morning we set out to see Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific) and Koke'e State Park.  They are on the west side of the island.  The drive there was beautiful and as we went up the canyon rode the views offshore were incredible.  

Off in the distance is Niihau, the forbidden island.

It really does look kind of like the grand canyon.  The nicest part is that we were at about 4000 feet so the temperature was about 10 degrees cooler.

Stunning!
You could see helicopter tours a thousand feet below taking people up in the canyon

At the end of the road at the very top of the canyon there was an overlook and also the start of the Pihea Trail.  I'd read about the trail and it sounded easy.  1 mile out and 1 mile back.  The book said "if you only do one hike while you are on Kauai, this is the one you should do."  So, we all sat out down the trail.

Within a few minutes we got to a break in the trees and you could see down over the Na Pali Coast out into the ocean.  It was absolutely magnificent.  But, the trail was too rough and Grandma Cas had to turn around about half a mile in.  :(  The rest of us pressed on...

Pretty rough...

This was right before Grandma turn around, but credit to her for making it as far as she did!

As we went on it started sprinkling and the clouds rolled in and killed the views.  The trail got really muddy and we found ourselves sloshing along.  We got to a really steep section and Owen and Sarah turned around.  Elsie and I decided to push on and we made it to the top!  Only problem was the clouds obscured everything!  

Elsie and I sloshed back down and managed to only get sort of muddy.

Looks like fun to me!

We didn't catch Owen and Sarah.  They had been walking back to make sure Grandma was ok.

You can see the ocean just barely in the background.

We had fun and it was a nice walk back with just the two of us.  I'm glad we toughed it out to the top even though we didn't see the reward.

After lunch we drove down a road that overlooked the Na Pali Coast on the west side of the island.  This was one of the views.

Another day, another beautiful sunset at Poipu Beach

Oh yeah, Owen brought his metal detector and he combed Poipu Beach looking for treasure.  He found a few bottle caps and a penny!

Day 6: Monday, July 15th

Waterfalls, the Museum, and Luau

In the morning the kids combed the beach

Then we drove to Lihue and saw Wailua Falls.  Kauai has a lot of waterfalls, but most are hard to get to without a hike.  You can drive right to Wailua Falls.  It's pretty amazing.  Almost 200ft!

Next up was Opaekaa Falls, which was just across the Wailua River.

There was a neat lookout just across the street where you could see the Wailua River.  It is the only navigable river in Hawaii.

This is what we had planned for Wednesday.  Kayaking up the river and hiking to Secret Falls.

After lunch we visited the Kauai Museum and learned all about the rich history of Kauai.  From Polynesian Kings to Sugar Plantation Barons to Surfing.  It was pretty neat!

The literal godfathers of surfing.

Monday night we had big plans - the LUAU!  There were a lot of options, but this is one of the only oceanfront Luau's on Kauai and it was conveniently just down the street from our beach house.

Stunning!

It was just behind the Sheraton

This actor climbed right up the tree!

Everyone had a really great time.  We all had fun and ate a lot.  

Everyone was lookin' good!

Day 7: Thursday, July 16th

Exploring the North Side (Ha'ena State Park, Ke'e Beach, Hanalei)

We left the house early on Thursday, heading for the North Shore which was a little over an hour away.  We had a reservation for a shuttle that would take us to the end of the road: Ha'ena State Park.  Since the big floods of last year, the access to the park has been restricted while they fix bridges and make repairs.  The park contains the Kalalau Trail, an 11 mile hike one way across the Na Pali Coast.  We planned on walking the first mile or two.  To go any farther required a permit for camping.

We also wanted to see Ke'e Beach.  It is about the farthest Northern beach that you can get to and swim at.  The kids and Sarah and I made it about a mile before turning around.  It was rough going so Grandma Cas took a seat at a pretty spot and waited for us to come back.

View overlooking Ke'e Beach.  It was like something out of a movie.

You can't really tell but there was a very small waterfall behind us.

LOOK AT THAT VIEW!

When we got back down from the hike (which went up into the mountain that you can see here) we explored Ke'e Beach.  It was really neat because it is so remote.  Plus you have the Na Pali coast in the background.  Just amazing!

Unfortunately, we didn't bring our swimsuits because we'd never been before and did not know what to expect.  We just took off our shoes and socks and walked in the water.

From up the beach a little you could get a great angle to see down the Na Pali Coast.   AMAZING!

I want to stop for a minute and talk about my Dad.  He would have LOVED this trip.  He would have loved this adventure, seeing the kids, going to the beach, the sun, the heat, the Luau, Pearl Harbor...all of it.  The whole trip, I kept thinking we were a man down.  On the flight when I sat by myself next to a stranger, I thought, "this would have been Dad's seat."  Even though I felt like we got cheated, Grandpa Cas was there in spirit.  Grandma Cas brought a small urn with some of Grandpa's ashes inside.  We had decided that if we found the perfect place we would spread them.  In a way, I think it means that Grandpa would get to enjoy Hawaii forever while the rest of us would have to go back at some point.  So maybe he didn't get cheated so bad after all?  :)

This ended up being the place. 
The amazingly beautiful, yet not so popular, Ke'e beach.

We found a spot where no one was around, then stood in a circle and I did it.  I dumped them.

I think Dad would find it fitting.

Here we all are feeling good about our decision.

On the way back, waiting for the shuttle, Owen did his best Tarzan impression.

We stopped for a quick photo of the Kiluaha Lighthouse, but the $40 admission per person kept us from going any farther.  :)

When we got back to the house we hit the beach before dinner.

I ordered...

...and very much enjoyed, a Blue Hawaiian

Day 8: Wednesday, July 17th

Secret Falls Adventure

Wednesday morning we snorkeled at Poipu Beach in the morning (there's a link to the videos at the end).
In the afternoon, we had booked a kayak and hike to Secret Falls.  You basically kayak 3 miles up the Wailua River and then hike a mile to the falls.  Adventure!
(note: Grandma Cas sat this one out.  The hiking was rated as "hard" so she stayed in Poipu and hit the beach!)

There are GoPro videos of the hike and the falls at the link at the end.

The falls weren't so secret, but it sure was fun getting there and back!  We were one of the last groups of the day so we actually had the place to ourselves at the very end.

That's me under there.  It HURT but you kinda had to do it. :)

The hike was REALLY MUDDY!  The GoPro videos (link at end of blog) are pretty neat.

Almost back!  We worked HARD on the way back.  Even though it was down river it was into the wind and there was hardly any current.  We were really sore the next day.

Day 9: Thursday, July 18th

NaPali Coast Cruise

This is the tree tunnel. We drove through it on the way to and from Poipu.

Thursday we were in for a special treat.  We had a Na Pali Coast Cruise planned.  We stopped for brunch on our way to the north coast.  LOOK AT THOSE PANCAKES!

The Hanalei River

This valley in the north is where all the poi is grown.

Our cruise departed from Hanalei Bay.

This was our boat.  Na Pali Catamaran did a GREAT job!

As we sailed up the coast, we passed the beaches we'd see a few days before when we visited Ha'ena State Park.

This is what "Dad's Beach" looks like from the water...

This was a snorkeling cruise too, so we stopped at Tunnels Beach for snorkeling on the way to the Na Pali Coast.  It was incredible and we got to see sea turtles!  Grandma Cas even went snorkling!  She loved it and couldn't believe all of the reef that you could see.  It was a truly amazing experience.  I got videos of the turtles.  See the link at the end of the blog.

After snacks we headed down the coast.

We took the boat INTO A SEA CAVE!  I got a great video of it (see link below)

Proud to see a Garmin Chartplotter onboard

Pictures don't do it justice.  This was everyone's favorite thing that we did the whole trip.  Everything was great, but this was like a once in a lifetime type of thing.  Truly amazing.

When we got back to Hanalei we treated ourselves to JoJo's Shave Ice.  It is supposed to be one of the best on the island.  They put a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom and I have to say it's awesome.

Day 10: Friday, July 19th

Polihale State Park and Snorkeling

A few times during our trip, we say big sea turtles or seals beached.  Apparently this is common in Poipu.  People just leave them alone and eventually they wake up and go back in the ocean.  

We had gotten fond of snorkeling in the mornings when the fish were active.  This guy came right up the beach where Sarah was sitting.  He must have gone right past me!

After lunch we loaded up and struck out for Polihale State Park on the western side of the island.  This is as far as the road goes on this side of the island.  I'd seen pictures and was mesmerized by the beauty where the Na Pali Coast (on the south side) meets the beach.  The road was miles of bumpy potholes, but we made it and I'm glad we went.

MILES of beach to the south.  I think it goes for 20 miles or something and there were about 3 or 4 people per mile.

We crossed the gigantic dune and scorched our feet (more on that later).  This side of the island gets very little rain and lots of sun, so it is hotter and the sand is hot enough to burn you.  Once we got to the ocean all was good.

Just look at that!

I walked about half a mile to "the end" of the beach.  For whatever reason I was drawn to it.

This is it.  The end of my rainbow.  :)

We bobbed around in the waves for awhile and took in as much of the scenery as our minds would let us.  You can also see Nihau off in the distance.

This sums it up pretty well.

So...I read before we left that you should take wool socks to walk on the beach with.  They will keep you from getting burned.  Who do we know that had lots of wool socks?  Grandpa Cas!  I asked Grandma to bring up a bunch, and before we left we all chose a pair to take to Polihale.  We put them on to get back to the car and they worked like a dream.  Could have walked around out there all day.

This was our last real adventure of the trip and it was a GREAT way to spend an afternoon.  We bumped back to civilization and made it back to town before the shave ice place closed...then we went out for dinner.

One last sunset from Poipu Beach

We are sure going to miss it...

Day 11: Saturday, July 20th

Last day and flying home

Our last morning we went snorkeling one more time before we had to leave the house.  Our flight was at 10PM so we had a long day of figuring out what to do ahead of us.  I don't think I mentioned it, but the roosters in Kauai are insane.  They are everywhere and they go off all the time.  They kind of shut up at night but then start before dawn.  I think you just sort of learn to tune them out, but you see them around everywhere.

Last time through the tree tunnel.  We visited some sights a 2nd time and did some shopping.  Sarah had gotten us a hotel room to use for the evening on the east side of the island.  This way we could cool off in the AC and clean up before our flight.  The ocean was near, so the kids and Sarah went for a swim.  That means they got to swim on every side of the island.  Mission Accomplished!

After a vacation like that you need a massage!

A link to all of our GoPro videos (they were too big to embed in the blog):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=11x6tC8Kin-AjsIX7OSHfi-lUojQ4U5EK

Kauai (and Oahu) were absolutely incredible.  Such beautiful places and so many unforgettable adventures.  I am glad we decided to go and I know Dad would have wanted us to.  It wasn't the same without him, but it was an amazing experience...and a part of him was with us.

Later,
Ryan