Kauai, Hawaii

We're staying in Princeville, which is the north part of Kauai. Very residential, pretty and easy access to many beaches and the Na Pali Coast, where we really want to do some hiking. Well "we" the parents do.

Day One in Kauai:

All still jet lagged we got up EARLY! Aiden was up at 4am, the rest of us by 6am, bright eyed and awake and I'm NOT A MORNING PERSON. It was awesome to be wide awake at 6am, we ate breakfast and were on the road by 7:30am local time. Fabulous!

Our first stop was Queen's Bath. Completely in over our heads and not planning properly we set up with boogie boards, flip flops hiking down a mountain to a watering hole. Lol, we were a sight to be seen! Regardless, the sights are beautiful, volcanic rocks made into cliffs, with crashing waves and COLD fresh water streams filling up a water hole that the ocean also contributes to. We stayed long enough to enjoy the view and take some pics. These kids wanted a beach...

Aiden (with our foolish boogie board) hiking his way down to Queen's Bath.

Steve and I hiked down to the inside of Queen's Bath. The rest of our crew called it quits.

WINNER! Tunnel's Beach was exactly what the kids were craving. Fabulous shore snorkeling, with very little effort. Viola, just right there. Parking was easy (we got very lucky, pays off to be an early bird). We snorkel over reefs there were just right there, just walking into the beach. Lovely, lovely. We saw DORY!

The snorkelers! I'm so happy we brought our own gear. Remember when I said that we only brought a carry on and backpack each. Well since we're in Hawaii with Steve's father, I cheated and had him check one piece of luggage for us. It's needed people! I needed beach bags and snorkel gear and way too much sun block than a 3.5 oz bottle. So we checked in Big Bertha with towels, fins, snorkel gear and lots of snacks + sun block. After Hawaii, we're on our own with just our little carry ons.

We were told by our neighbors to try a Poke Bowl and try we did. This dish is amazing! Raw sushi grade Tuna, over rice, drizzled in goodness such as sweet soy sauce, Siracha mayo, chives and sesame seeds. OMG! It's a must try dish.

These boys love their dessert and shaved ice delivered. I don't know how they get the ice shaved so fine and have it still not melt! It's covered in a a sugary syrup, for kids what's not to like.

Does anyone know what this tree is? The fauna here is different, I see a lot of similarities to Nicaragua in the mixture of tropical with big hearty trees. This one here, I have never seen before. Look at this tree trunk and the colors, it looks like something out of Dr Seuss. I found the answer: "Rainbow Eucalyptus". A very cool tree indeed.

Day Two in Kauai:

Na Pali Coast! Time for a nice, tough hike. We (the parents anyways love to hike), Conner's a good sport, Aiden is confused over the idea that someone would wonder around in the woods to see a creek or waterfall or in this case a beach and then just walk right back out! Regardless of Aiden's well, negative attitude, we're going. So we set off with a camelback (thanks Renita) 3 liters full of water, lots of snacks, raincoats, good water friendly shoes and comfy clothes. It's a tough 2 mile hike in, muddy, mostly up a mountain (both ways up BTW, I know that's not possible, but that's what it felt like on the thighs), tight trails with cliffs to a huge fall into the coast if you miss a step. It was picturesque, breezy and really beautiful. You have to cross a creek, which is more like a small river, to get to the rocks to cross over to a rewarding, mostly private beach. Yet, you can't swim it, signs warn you of 800+ fatalities, so we play around in the estuary, toss a lacrosse ball, build sandcastles, eat a huge snack, take pictures, investigate caves and head on back. The hike there, beach time and back took almost five hours. We didn't make it the waterfall, which adds another 4 miles...the beach was rewarding enough for us.

Aiden dances for us at Na Pali coast, the beach after hiking Kalalau Trail.

A snippet of the hike, a little outta breath...

Introducing the HIKE...

Roy, this one is for you. Seriously chickens, roosters, everywhere!

Neat stones and sand build up. Na Pali Coast.

Renita...it's a rewarding beach at the end of a 2 mile hike.

This hike called for a late big, delicious lunch of poke bowls! While The Dolphin customer service was lacking, the food expensive and the wait crazy long, we left with full bellies and ready for a relaxing time by the pool. The rest of the afternoon we played by the pool, made dinner in and called it a lazy evening.

Day Three in Kauai:

Big day! Big day! We headed to the east part of the island to visit Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of Hawaii, and boy is it! It was a bit of a drive, since you have to circle around the island, there's no direct path from the north. It was beautiful, the sights are amazing, and it's nice and cool up there, about 3,400 ft in altitude. The kids played around, we took amazing pictures and headed back down to the south part of the island. Must stop for Coconut water first! While coconut water is okay, freezing-ice-cold-coconut-water is AMAZING! Especially when it's served in a coconut with a straw, it just screams tropics. The kids had to have more Shaved Ice, same Blue Hawaiian Vanilla flavor.

Waimea Canyon. Trying to get the kids to talk to me about it...

Gorgeous, beautiful Waimea Canyon.

Enjoying yummy coconut water!

Grandpa Joe's turn. Joe is joining us in Hawaii, then heads back to take care of our dog.

Being coffee people we just had to visit a coffee farm that is conveniently located near Waimea Canyon. We visited Kauai Coffee Farm and saw sun grown coffee. Really my fist time visiting a coffee farm that's sun grown in rows, mechanically picked by harvesting-machines. It's all very organized and well done...but lacking character and the authenticity of "people". The coffee was fine, but I'm a coffee snob and left wanting more.

Breakfast at yum-must-try Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company.

Sun grown coffee at Kauai Coffee Farm. Still preferring shade grown in the mountains, I'm definitely a mountain girl.

Next we visit the Spouting Horn near Poipu Beach. It's pretty neat actually. You stand behind a fence near a bunch of a little tourist kiosks and watch ocean water gush through these holes in the volanic rocks and spray like a geyser. Just outside the rocks are sea turtles, what a treat.

Spouting Horn show for you guys, plus a couple of silly boys.

Boys watching the spouting horn.

Being in the area we headed for snorkeling at Poipu Beach. We saw a monk sea!!! Ah, amazing, roped off and protected by "monk seal volunteers", there he was chilling, burying his head in the sand and just loving the attention, sleeping and turning. We snorkeled over near by reefs, but it was a bit choppy and the "swell" was building up, so we called it early. The surfers were now out and that was great to watch...cause well, when I think Hawaii, I think surfers and here they were out, showing off for the rest of us.

We made a friend! Look who we got the pleasure of sharing the beach with, a horn seal at Poipu Beach on the south side of Kauai.

Finished off the night with a Mai Tai with a fun straw at Keoki's Paradise.

I got a lovely, ice cold, strong Mai Tai. Thanks to Keoki's Paradise, a lovely Hawaiian experience.

This is what life looks like for me in the backseat. All giggles and smelly little boys.

Steve and I snuck out for the evening on a date, while Joe kepted the kids. Aimed to get a night cap while watching the sunset at the St. Regis in Princeville, but the place was crowded and a bit too pretentious for us. The view was AMAZING, we enjoyed it for a bit and then hustled to the shore to watch the sunset along a walking path. We had a round of drinks at the Happy Talk Lounge at the Princevill Resort.

Day Four in Kauai:

Today the kids voted for beaches, snorkeling and pool, that's it! Okay, okay, so we researched and picked Hideaway and Anini Beach.

Hideaway: While we didn't get to snorkle with sea turtles, we were rewarded with an abundance of fish, colorful reef fish and an amazing private beach with clear water and great views. There was also a lot of shade and tranquility. A winner! Now, there's a bit of a hike, trek down, but we love this stuff. We only had to be cautious with Joe in the steep climb down.

Anini: It was flat, flat and safe, I liked that. Easy access to bathrooms, showers, picnic tables, but way too crowded to call it a perfect beach. We found some coral with colorful reef fish, but a tough comparison to Hideaway. No cool hike in, no seclusion and certainly no privacy. We snorkled, played in the sand and then headed back.

A steep hike in for Hideaway beach. Rope and poles installed for support on your way down. The hike down was part of the fun. Very mysterious.

It wasn't too muddy when we went, but I can see this being real challenging after rain. It's a good ways down.

The reward! Beautiful waters to snorkel in. Wow. Winner!

The snorkeling crew. Lots of beautiful, colorful reef fish.

A panaramic view of Hideaway Beach. Clear waters, reef, shade, sandy beach. Wonderful!

Kid friendly and calm. Pretty enough, but tough comparison to Hideaway.

All the Franklin boys out to dinner.

Lovely palm. I couldn't help myself, it took me back to my childhood in Florida.

This is my reality. Always giggling, I believe in this moment they were talking about farts. Yup, farts. That's what my life is surrounded by boys.

Day Five in Kauai:

Boogie boarding for the kids, waterfalls for the grownups (well Steve anyways) in the morning. In the afternoon we signed the boys up for surfing lessons, and I choice Postcards for dinner.

We found a restaurant for brunch right on the water. Lovely atmosphere, the food was fine, but the location and outdoor fun was the best.

We are tourists afterall.....

We visited a couple of waterfalls, this one is Wailua Falls. The waterfall that was featured in Fantasy Island... I know must of us don't know the show, but we watched an intro scene to tell the kids about it.

We found a good beach for boogie boarding, Donkey Beach, along Kealia Beach. I chilled, the boys all boogie boarded.

As if we haven't done enough today, we finished the day off with private surf lessons. It felt very appropriate for Hawaii to get surf lessons. Our instructor, Patrick, from Sunrise Surf Lessons was fabulous. The patience! If I could package Patrick's patience, I would certainly be a better mother!

Look at Aiden go!

Conner takes a turn, they both got up multiple times and were happy with the experience. Great day.

Day Six in Kauai:

The more I learned about Queen's Bath, the more I realized we did not complete the hike to actually see the water hole, so off we went today to find it! Giving it a 9.5 out of 10, the boys voted to spend the rest of the day boogie boarding. Queen's Bath was really amazing, we'll be back. Lastly we visited the Kilauea Lighthouse and National Wildlife.

Queen's Bath, really an incredible visit. A very rewarding hike. Advice for next time, bring a snorkle and mask, because the water is clear and there's lots of little reef fish in the watering hole.

Queen's Bath.

Queen's Bath.

Kilauea Lighthouse is no longer in operation, but still standing and now serves as a National Wildlife reserve, the birds are abundant. With Galapagos Island like birds, the red footed booby bird and frigate birds, etc.

Kilauea Lighthouse, you can see the white specs of Red Footed Booby birds in the background.

Our last day to boogie board and the boys took advantage of it.

We wrapped up our last night with food trucks!

Well, we wrapped up the kid's night with food trucks. We took advantage of our last night with Joe and snuck on out a little date.

Day Seven in Kauai:

Time to say good by and fly to Bangkok. On day seven we boarded our flight, long haul...!

We fly out, connect through Seoul, Korea. Lots of first today.

We flew Asiana Airlines and really enjoyed the royal treatment. It's been decades since I've been fed like this on a plane! Plus extra leg room, slippers for the flight, so very nice!