Kauai Day 4 - A little more exploring and delicious food

Dani had a bad night with a stomach problem, so we started off a bit slower and relaxed a bit. Jared read a bit in the morning and then went for a run on the Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail farther to the sea cave and back.

We went to breakfast in Koloa at La Spezia, Jared had Brie Stuffed French Toast, I had an english muffin and sprite since my stomach was having trouble.  We walked around the shops there and bought some keychains for the kids and a toe ring for Dani.  We also got some treats to bring home for Kaci and our friends. 

After the shops we went to Wailua Falls, we hiked down to the bottom. It was very steep and required help from some ropes that are tied there. We swam in the warm water in the waterfall pool.

After hiking back up we stopped at the Harbor Mall to get more pie from the Right Slice fully automated location (this time lemon and Lilikoi cheecake) then drove to Johnny Got Crabs and Jared had a softshell crab po’boy sandwich and after we went to Uncle’s for Hawaiin shave ice (Mango, Raspberry, Passionfruit).

We headed back to the resort and read for about an hour by the lagoon.  Dinner was with the Funeral Home Partners at the Beach House. The appetizers were lamb chops, crispy shrimp, poki on a chip, and a brie cheese tart with carmalized onions served out on the beautiful lawn right by the ocean as the sun started setting. The dinner was the same for everyone starting with Thai coconut crab cakes, arugula and goat cheese macadamia salad, macadamia crusted mahi and filet mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus, and then a passionfruit mousse and flourless chocolate cake for dessert. The food was good, I was still not feeling well so only tried a bite of each dish. The sunset and ocean were beautiful.

Kauai Day 3 - a spectacular helicopter tour and celebration event

Wednesday started with a run, this time the other direction on the sidewalk towards poipu beach. 

The highlight was going to the Jack Harter Doors off Helicopter Tour… in a word, it was INCREDIBLE! We took the one hour doors-off tour of the island including Waimea Canyon, the Na-pali coast, craters with numerous waterfalls, etc. We both got to sit in the front of the helicopter with Dani in the middle (next to our pilot, Jason), and Jared near the open door. The front seat felt so small that Jared felt like he was going to fall out sometimes! Even though it felt very smooth, when Jared would stick his hand out, he could feel just how fast we were going, especially when we flew through the rain.

Waimea was just as beautiful from the air as it was on the drive the prior day. From the air, we could see the entire canyon even better, including huge waterfalls.

The Napali Coast was incredible - the water a striking blue with cliffs, beaches, and canyons everywhere - all inaccessible except by water, one hiking trail, or air.

One of the final stops was the "Wall of Tears" on Mount Waialeale. Mount Waialeale, the wettest place on earth, has so much rainfall that the water seemingly just leaks out of the vertical, green walls and forms high waterfalls. We even saw a full circle rainbow! 

After the helicopter Jared went back to work on celebration event prep (where Jason Widing presented Michael H and Tyler A the most funny blanket!). Dani read at the lagoon at the resort with Paige. The celebration event was at 4 in the ballroom at the resort. It was yet another spectacular celebration event, where we announced and celebrated the merger of Precoa and the Outlook Group. 

 

After the event we went out to dinner with a large group at the eating house again … this time we tried several appetizers including the spicy orange chicken wings and the pork and shrimp potstickers.  For Dinner Jared had Kamameshi with butterfish and I had the kale salad and the huli huli pork belly appetizer and we shared all 3.  We also had the chocolate souffle for dessert.

Kauai Day 2 - Waimea Canyon State Park

We began our first full day on Kauai with a run along the Maha’ulepu Heritage trail. After a Precoa breakfast at the resort, Jared worked on celebration event prep and I read a book (What Alice Forgot) by the Lagoon at the resort.  I spent the morning relaxing and chatting with Paige and Mel at the lagoon.

After that, the real fun began, as we joined Jim, Mel, Don, and Karen on a drive up to the incredible, spectacular Waimea Canyon State Park. The colors were unbelievable - like the Grand Canyon speckled in greens. A site we never imagined!

The road ended at the top of Mount Wai'Ale'Ale, at over 5000 feet altitude and one of the wettest places on earth, averaging nearly 370 inches of rain per year. The ground is spongy and marshy because it is so wet. By the time we were there, clouds were rolling in, though it was not raining (yet).

At each of the pull-outs, and across most of the island, there were roosters living in the wild. We were told that, back in 1992, Hurricane Iniki released many chickens into the wild, joining the wild chickens. Adding to this is that the chickens, as with all birds, are protected, so they seemingly rule the roost (of the island!)

The roads were super windy - normally a big problem for Dani, but the open top of the Mustang solved any potential issues - and made for some spectacular vistas.

 

On the way down, we stopped at The Right Slice for some yummy pie, as recommended by Nana and Papa, and some dinner at Kalaheo Cafe; Jared had the fresh catch Ahi with forbidden rice, I had the roasted beet salad with the fresh catch Ono added.  We went back to the Hyatt for a cocktail event with the Million Dollar Producers.

 

Precoa Escapes - to Kauai

Precoa Escapes brought us this year to Kauai! We have been so excited for this trip, to explore the entire island.

After landing, we picked up our rental car, which we even got a free upgrade into a convertable! We looked pretty cool in a Mustang!

We decided to rent a tandem bike to ride along the coast. We went for miles heading north along the coastline - until the paved path ended, and then beyond! We turned our tandem bike into a tandem mountain bike! We went up and down some steep hills, around some sharp turns, and into the sandy paths. It was super adventurous and we loved every bit of it!

 

After returning our bike, we headed to Poipu to the gorgeous Grand Hyatt Resort. What an incredible hotel and gorgeous grounds!

A few date nights

We love going on dates all around the city, whether it is a trip to a Friday Night Market in Portland,

A closer-to-home "cold weather" February date night to Pizza Smith

A fun dinner and escape room date with the Battles, Warnicks, and Smiths. 

or a trip to the temple. April in Portland brings beautiful flowers to the temple grounds. We love having the temple so close. We have enjoyed regularly attending and being able to walk around enjoying the beauty of the grounds.

 

Spending time together is wonderful!

A few random pictures

Pajama time on the landing

Scripture time before bed

We got a ping pong table - the only place for it is the garage.

Middle school orchestra concert

The upper Memorial Park playground

We love being able to bike to the parks

Dani's workouts sometimes require the long bike train

Jacob did a tennis camp

Kate and Liam would take turns being the 3rd wheel