Thursday, September 13, 2012

Dream of a Lifetime

On Sept. 2, 2012, my husband and I celebrated 35 years of marriage.  One of the ways we celebrated was by taking a vacation during the month of August. It seemed fitting that 35 years deserved to be recognized with more than just a Labor Day holiday weekend getaway.  When we started planning our vacation, we discussed various places we wanted to visit someday, ... Hawaii, Paris, London, as well as Los Cabos.

After much time and energy spent researching airfare and lodging on the internet, we finally agreed upon Hawaii. And now to decide which island to visit and which side of the island would best meet our needs and interests.  We finally selected the island of Kauai, otherwise known as "The Garden Isle" and found a nice little one bedroom condo with an incredible ocean view.

I began then working on a website in order to plan our itinerary and which would include links to all the resources we would need ( lodging, transportation, meals, tours, activities, and luaus, etc).  After doing so much research online, I began to feel that I would know my way around the island well by the time we arrived, and the site ended up being 16 web pages!

Working on the site really increased my anticipation of the trip tremendously, but it was also a good way to keep our plans organized.  We were also able to pre-book some activities / tours online which allowed us to save some money too. Never before in our 35 years had we taken a trip where we knew day by day, what our plans were and where to go.  This allowed us to make the most of our time together although we still had the flexibility of choosing to relax whenever we wanted or needed some down time.

From the time we arrived at the Lihue airport in Kauai to the time we departed, the island far exceeded our every dream and expectations.  The people of Kauai were so friendly and helpful.  Everywhere we went the atmosphere was one of peace and relaxation.  We were able to view Kauai from every angle, as we took a helicopter tour of the island as well as a scenic dinner cruise up the NaPali Coastline.  We also explored a wet cave and watched a few sunsets.



My favorite "AH!" moment was driving through the "tree tunnel" to Poipu on the south side, but I also really enjoyed our meals at Scotty's on the beach in Kapaa on the first night and at Duke's Beach house the night we left to return to mainland.  If you are ever there, you HAVE to get the HULA PIE!   Jack asked the waiter, "Did Johnny Depp have Hula Pie?" and he replied "Johnny had TWO !!" 

We spent 7 days in Kauai and it's a trip that we will never forget.  It was worth every minute and the dream of a lifetime!