Taking a week off of work and traveling to Hawaii is not cheap. However, we were able to save on some costs due to airline miles and John's incredibly generous parents. John had done enough traveling in the past couple of years to be eligible for 1 free round trip ticket. We were very happy about this because we found that flights were ridiculously expensive - $900! On top of that, John's parents have a timeshare with Marriott. They used one of their weeks to get us a 2 bedroom villa on a gorgeous property!!! Here are a few pictures of where we stayed:
There were chickens all over that island!!
The week away was so great! We got to relax, do some sightseeing, visit with one another, sleep, eat ... It was a true vacation and we loved every minute of it. (Well, John didn't care for getting eaten up by mosquitoes, but other than that ...) Here's a quick rundown and a few pictures from our trip:
5/22: Sunday - Travel Day
We're lookin' kinda blue under the airport lighting, but we're really happy to be in Kauai!
Dinner at Keoki's Paradise
5/23: Monday - Relaxin' Day
After spending a good part of the day by the ocean ...
... we walked over to the plantation hotel next door to check out their orchid garden and have dinner.
John's yummy dinner
5/24: Tuesday - Poipu
Morning stroll on the beach
Old Koloa Town
Spouting Horn
5/25: Wednesday - Photography Tour
I had found a tour online that takes you along the North part of the island to picturesque spots. It was a great way to check out that part of the island and John LOVED doing his photography thing!
5/26: Thursday - Waimea Canyon
On our way to the canyon we stopped to see the swinging bridge.
Waimea Canyon
We drove to the end of the road to see some of the Napali Coast at the Kalalau Lookout
We stopped at a little natural history museum on our way back and the Kauai Coffee Company.
5/27: Friday - Fern Grotto & Luau
John decided he'd like some pictures of us with the beach in the background so we walked down to the water armed with his camera and tripod.
Pretty!
In the afternoon we took a little boat ride to go see the Fern Grotto. It was a quick trip, but nice.
Once we got back, we headed to a Luau for the evening. We got a tour of the family grounds, ate yummy food, and watched the show. We actually didn't take any pictures of dinner or the show. I'm not really sure how that happened, but it was a fun night.
5/28: Saturday - Another relaxin' day
Our last full day on Kauai. :( We decided to just relax and hang out. That night, John and I made dinner reservations for a restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Resort. It was delicious and the perfect way to end our trip. Since we all got a little spiffed up, John took some pictures of us before we left.
Just chillin'
Gourmet hot dogs for lunch
All spiffed up
Tidepools for dinner
Check out the molten lava cake!
5/29: Sunday - Headed home
Sadly, the fun had to end. It was time to fly home. We walked down to the water in the morning to get a few more family shots.
