Hawaii - Kauai

On the Island Hopper Flight to Kauai we got one last look at Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa peaking above the clouds.

We didn't spend a lot of time on the beach on the Big Island, so the first thing we headed to on Kauai was one of the beautiful beaches. We had a couple of hours to blow before our helicopter tour of the island. So Maha'ulepu Beach was the first stop followed by Lappert's Ice Cream. I got Passion Fruit and Tom got Hawaiian Rocky Road with Macadamia Nuts. I loved all the opportunities we had to have Guava and Passion Fruit. They were some of my favorite things on my mission and I rarely get a chance to have them in Baltimore. But back to Maha'uleu Beach - it didn't disappoint:

The mountains in Kauai were breathtaking. I couldn't get enough of them!

After exploring a little of the island and getting good treats we took an Open Door Helicopter Tour of the island. It was exhilarating! Tom's new dream is to be a helicopter pilot.

Being in an open door helicopter was awesome! It felt like we could just reach out and touch the mountains. Here's a video to get a taste of the experience:

And a few pictures to boot...

The helicopter tour was unforgettable and one of our favorite things we've ever done! I don't know that we would have liked Kauai that much if it wasn't for the helicopter tour - it was that good! It was a great way to see so much of what the island had to offer in a short period of time - which was good since we only had a couple of days on the island. It gave us a lot more time to relax and enjoy the island since we saw most of the island's highlights in just a couple of hours.

After the helicopter tour we drove around to the western side of the island to check out a couple of things and watch the sunset. There aren't too many pretty sunsets or sunrises in Baltimore. So we loved the picturesque sunrises and sunsets everyday in Hawaii. We really enjoyed this sunset at Kekaha Beach:

The next morning we got to see one of our favorite sunrises at our hotel in Kapa'a. With the five hour time difference it was easy to see the sunrises most mornings and get an early start to the day - but at the same time we were sleeping in! It was the best of two worlds!=)

After the sunrise we headed to the northern part of the island to go Zip Lining at Princeville Ranch. It was a lot of fun and great way to see the island up close and personal. This place had 9 Zip Lines and a Swing Bridge - so much fun! Here's the bathroom at the Ranch - I loved the flowers! So many things in Hawaii were laid back and welcoming - even the bathroom sinks!

Tom in his gear

Here's a video of me Zipping...

Tom the professional zipper

Us before the last line - a double line you could race each other on! Here are some of the great views we had while Zip Lining:

The last line - King Kong - 1200 foot double lines to race on! With gorgeous views to add to the fun. Here's Tom and I racing...

After Zip Lining we were hot and wanted a treat so we went to Princeville and got Shave Ice - Guava and Passion Fruit with Custard. It was so good! We love Hawaiian Shave Ice, we wish we could get it around here - but it's just not the same. Perfect treat after a hot morning. Since we were on the Northern Shore we decided to check out a couple of beaches that looked so inviting from the helicoptor tour.

Hanalei Bay

Tunnels Beach

Last but not least we explored Princeville and Hanalei by shopping for matching Hawaiian outfits for my niece's wedding. We're not much of shoppers and it wasn't that easy finding outfits that matched - but we finally found an awesome place not to far from our hotel that had outfits we both really liked. I wish we all wore Hawaiian outfits all the time - it's another thing that's so laid back about Hawaii. After all that shopping we were exhausted and didn't feel like being adventourous so we got an exotic Taco Bell Dinner and headed back to the hotel to pack for our flight to Oahu.

For some reason I love taking pictures of palm trees. Here's a few pics of my tropical obsession ...