Mahalo Kauai!

Sacred Falls. 

Well, our time on Kauai is coming to a close. We leave today for Honolulu and then are traveling overnight on Sunday night to be back on the mainland by Monday. I am so anxious to get back to San Antonio and scoop up Paul and never let him go! :) Donnie set out this week to keep us busy, so we wouldn't be just waiting around to leave.

Tuesday and Wednesday we spent working on some paperwork and watching some movies. We were expecting the tropical storm that was headed our way to be more of a force, so we didn't have much planned. We did go on a few really challenging runs, and had some good conversations about what we need to get done before and when we get to China.

A challenge...

J+D makin' wishes :)

Thursday we woke up early and drove down to Kapa'a for a kayaking and hiking trip. The trip left from the Wailua river marina, and it was pretty much our first experience with kayaking. We kayaked up the Wailua river and parked our kayaks on the shore, then climbed up the banks to a trail. We walked for about a mile before coming to the Sacred Falls. We were the first group to go that morning (there are about 300 visitors there a day), so it was really peaceful when we arrived. The tradition is that you swim out to the waterfall, stand behind it and make a wish. So Donnie and I did just that, we were the first ones of the day. :) Hopefully our wishes come true. After a snack, we hiked back to the kayaks, then had to paddle against the wind back to the marina. It was a rough ride, and we were both sore when we were done, but it was a great experience. We also learned that kayaking with your partner is really hard to do in coordination, and to steer it correctly. Overall, Donnie and I worked well together, but there were a few crashes and some frustration too. :)

The "Grand Canyon" of the Pacific

From there we jumped in our little Mazda mini van and scooted over to the other end of the island to see Waimea Canyon. Although it was only 30 miles away, it took us well over an hour to get there, but it was worth the drive. We stopped off at the view points, and then parked for a short hike out in the canyon. We didn't get very far on the hike because it started to get very narrow, and was along the cliffs of the canyon. My fear of falling overcame my desire to see another waterfall, or even finish the hike, so we turned around after about two miles of hiking. We didn't make it back home until after 8, and needless to say we were exhausted.

Holding on!

The trail goes down there...

Friday saw another hike down the Kalalau trail. It was very wet and slippery this time, so we had to step carefully. We walked the other direction this time, not towards the waterfall, but towards the camping grounds. We only made it a mile past the beach before our fear of falling took over again. The trail was so wet, narrow and on the side of a cliff that it really didn't seem worth the stress. :) We hiked back down to the car, then headed home. We cleaned up, then headed down to Hanalei to spend our last afternoon at the beach. It was super relaxing, although there were a ton of people around because there are some big canoe races in the bay today. Everybody was out there setting up tents and practicing their canoeing skills. It was fun to people watch. After a few hours, we headed back up to town and stopped at Kalypso for some refreshments. We said goodbye to our friends there, and were in bed early again.

One of many!

Rainbows galore!

I have to say Kauai is a really fantastic place to visit. It's filled with active things to do, and lots of friendly people. There are a few oddities that are unique to Kauai, though. One is all the chickens. Anybody who has come to Kauai knows that they are everywhere, the beach, parking lots, side of the highway, and even on golf courses. They are feral chickens who have been wild on the island for some time. It's kind of funny to be minding your own business and hear a rooster crow right nearby. I don't think I'll miss that. ;) The next strange thing is the weather. It will be completely sunny one moment, and raining the next, or even sunny and raining at the same time. It's not too bad, unless you get caught in a random downpour, and the rainbows that appear because of the weather are stunning! But it's strange, nonetheless.

Splashing in mud puddles for Paul

Our time here has been beautiful and challenging. I am ready to go, but I know I'll miss this time we spent here and this incredible place. This time next week we'll be settling into our apartment in Shenzhen. We will literally fly around the globe in the next week. But I can't wait. :)

Mahalo Kauai, for all the good times, and maybe someday we'll see you again.

Aloha, Hanalei!