Strap in! It is time for another vacation recap. I cannot wait to tell you about Day 3 and 4 of our trip. Don't forget to read about our arrival and first days on the island...
Day 3: The day begun by waking up bright and early and enjoying the peaceful view on our balcony while we waited for the rest of the island to join us. (There is not a lot going on in Kauai at 4am, weird). Thankfully, that morning we discovered that Jacob’s family is actually from the island of Kauai. We knew he was Pacific Islander, but we didn’t know we were staying on the island “of his people” as he so proudly stated throughout the trip.
When daylight broke, My Dad, Jacob, Jax, and I drove to the other side of the island to the Maha’ulepu Heritage Coastal Trail. It is a beautiful hike up and around the cliffs that takes you along the coastline and above the Poipu beach. While I enjoyed the hike. It is rather challenging to hike up a rocky path with a baby strapped to you. Thankfully, I only tripped one time, and it was before we even got to the actual hike. The views were spectacular. The only disappointment of the hike was that we didn’t see a Monk Seal.
We then drove a little further to visit Spouting Horn. Spouting Horn is a scenic blowhole that shoots water as high as 50 feet. It was really neat to see in person, but Jaxon was wildly unimpressed.
Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at a cute restaurant with a beachside view. I had a delicious Cucumber Mojito and BBQ Burger and enjoyed the perfect weather. After lunch, we were worn out, sunburned, and ready for rest. We drove home through the Tunnel of Trees and relaxed around the resort for the rest of the evening.
One of the things I will never forget about the trip is the overwhelming sense of Godly peace I felt sitting on the balcony looking out over the ocean and the mountains. It was exactly the restful experience that we were seeking
Day 4: On this day, we were hanging with my Stepmom and her sister’s family.
We spent our day at the Kilohana Plantation beginning with a train ride around the plantation. We saw a wide variety of fruits and nuts that they harvest, fed some animals, and learned some fun facts about the island of Kauai.
Jaxon enjoyed feeding the piggys and for the most part enjoyed the train. (Although he kept trying to eat the animal’s food himself instead. The boy likes his food.)
After the railway experience ended, we were starving. Although it was only 11:00am in Hawaii, it felt as if we were having lunch at 4pm. The food was mediocre and the service was terrible, but the company was wonderful. The waitress made us all laugh by telling us we wouldn’t enjoy our selections and even tried to change our minds after we had already put our orders in. Uncle Joe kept Jaxon entertained by picking up his dropped menu a million times, and we thoroughly enjoyed the time spent laughing and talking with one another.
We had dessert at the Sweet Shoppe on the plantation that specialized in handmade caramels and other yummy treats. (I had the brownie, Jacob had the cookies and cream bar. Mine was better.)
The final portion of the afternoon was spent at the clay potter’s shop. We each picked out a handmade clay item to paint that would then be put in the fire and given back to us. I choose a blank canvas and did my best to create a sunset beach image that looked out onto the mountains. We had fun laughing at our mistakes and digging into our internal creative sides.
We went home and put Jaxon to bed before going back out to explore just the two of us. We found another great scenic outlook to take pictures at and savored some delicious food.
One of my favorite Hawaiian treats was the Hawaii Shaved Ice. My favorite flavor was Root Beer Float. It was vanilla ice cream topped with root beer flavored shaved ice and topped with a vanilla cream syrup on top. DELICIOUS! As soon as we get home, my Dad informs me that he is taking Jacob on a boat ride tomorrow and I get to spend the day with Jaxon. (Yay?)
Follow along as I take you through the rest of the blissful vacation.
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