Kati's Keepsake: Hawaii

We spent last week on our family vacation to Hawaii. We stayed in Princeville on the Kauai island. It was beautiful-mountains, rain forest, beach, ocean and beautiful sunsets. There was beauty in every direction. It was very relaxing and great to spend time with family and explore the island. We were very busy, and the time flew by way too fast.

These are pictures near the Kilauea Lighthouse. The water was so blue here. After our trip to the lighthouse, we stopped in the little town for some shave ice. Delicious!

There were many different beaches along the island, we were able to visit quite a few of them-mostly on the North Shore-Hanalei Bay, Aninini Beach, Ke'e beach, Tunnels Beach. We found some great snorkel spots and saw lots of colorful fish.

We loved spending time with Jackson, he did great on the plane rides, but had trouble adjusting to the time change. So we were up EARLY every morning. Jackson and I got to watch the sun come up every morning-great memories.

Leanne and Ryan went on a long hike one day, so we took a trip to visit one of the plantations. We took a train ride through the plantation to see how all the fruit is grown. I didn't know pineapples grew on the ground! That was really interesting. We also stopped along the way and got to feed the wild pigs, chickens and goats. Jackson loved this part.

We took a quick detour on the way home to look at the Wailua Falls.

We took a drive to the South shore of the island and drove up the Waimea Canyon, also know as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, the veiws from up there were amazing.

We stopped in Poipu on our way down from the canyon to see the spouting horn-its a hole in the rock that the ocean water sprays out of straight up in the air. It was really neat. The beaches on the South shore were beautiful, I wish we could have spent more time there...maybe next time!

One of our favorite things we did on this trip was a sunset sail. We went out on a giant sail boat, they served us appetizers and drinks and we got to watch the sun set over the ocean. The captain of the boat took Jackson up and he got to drive the boat, too.

This is the view from an overlook on a walk that we went on a few times.

Jackson absolutely loved the water. If there was water around he was in it within minutes. It was fun to watch him splash and laugh. The pools at our condos were really nice, a good change from the salt water.

We took a river boat to the Fern Grotto, and learned about one of the most popular wedding sites on the island. After the boat ride we went to the Smith family Luau-complete with a garden tour, Imu ceremony, feast, and an incredible performances from all the different cultures that make up Hawaiian history.

Chris and I spent one night out together, we watched the sunset from the St. Regis bar, then went to dinner at Fredricos's and had tacos, and listened to some live music. It was a great night.