The Day at Hanalei Bay

So today (Sunday) was an amazing day!!!
Actually slept fairly well, and a bit later then the last couple days!!

We had a yummy breakfast...scrambled eggs on toast - the eggs are big here, btw!  And fruit smoothies!
Since Doris has had a hankering for fresh sushi from the Dolphin Fish Market, since May when we were last here...Hanalei Bay was one of the first places we planned to visit.  And today was the day!  So we packed up our beach stuff and headed north.

A little side bar, Hanalei Bay is famous from the song
Puff the Magic Dragon...

"Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
  And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called 
Honah Lee"

Honah Lee refers to the town of Hanalei, Kauai....



Anyway, the drive up north is amazing!!  The scenery is breathtaking!! Mountains, trees, lush vegetation line the streets...the 401 has nothing on this!! lol

We eventually arrive at the town of Hanalei which is filled with shops, restaurants, fish markets...very quaint little town.  We are looking for Hanalei Pavilion Beach - its a calm little beach tucked away from the strong currents and waves...perfect for Doris, since her swimming skills leave something to be desired!!

It has been almost 6 months since we have been there so the directions are a little fuzzy... and Doris has many skills and strengths, but map reading is NOT one of them.  She is definitely of the GPS generation!!
So we drove a ways past Hanalei but again, every road and view is stunning so not really a horrible tragedy in anyway!!  Once we got turned around and headed back to town, I looked at the map and determined our course!  We found the beach!!  And it was as spectacular as I had remembered!!  Beautiful sandy beach, blue water, mountains in the back ground!!  Perfect!!

 

We had a nice relaxing time on the beach....it was super hot!!!




So only one thing to do at that point....take a dip in the ocean!!

After a little more laying on the beach, in the super hot sun and we were ready for some lunch.  We had seen a restaurant on the way into town offering fresh fish tacos, so our plan was to have these for lunch and then stop for sushi to bring home for supper....seemed like a god plan.

So we drove back into town, found a place to park and headed to Tropical Taco.....

View from our seats!!

After our very, very yummy fish taco lunch we explored around town, did a little shopping, Doris got her coffee fix....it was very pleasant!
It's now about time to be heading home....and stop at the Dolphin fish market....


Doris is very excited at this point....we had sushi
here last year, thanks to Sony's knowledgeable
suggestion and she has been raving about it ever
since....and even I had to admit, it was pretty good!!



So we pulled up to the market and Doris went in while I waited in the car.  Sadly, she was back very quickly with that pouty look she gets on her face...
they were sold out for the day!!!  :-(


It was truly devastating news!!!  This is what she had been looking forward to for 5 months...but not to worry, we will be back!!  So we head towards home now...in a saddened silence....
Until, a ways down the road we see a roadside market....we decided to stop!!
It was the mango bread that caught Doris' eye, but then another treat tempted us....fresh BBQ wild boar!!!
I mean come on....how could you not???  Its just angry pig!!!   And oooohhh so tasty!!!


All in all, very good day in paradise!!!!

A Night Out

Last night was our first official evening out...jet lag is a bitch!! We've been in bed by 10 every other day so far. 
The night life is pretty low key around here, but from past experience we knew Trees Lounge is usually a good time.  And it's only 2 minutes down the street, so why not!!
I just want to say that I LOVE LOVE what they call Aloha Spirit here.  The people are just friendlier and genuinely nicer.   Doris and I were sitting at this long, bar style table at first alone, then a couple of guys sat at the other end.  We were just sitting there, chatting and this lady comes up and asks if she can sit next to Doris.  Of course we say yes, because it's awesome to meet people, especially locals that we can learn from.  So she sits down, and we start chatting.  Her name was Marnie and she was super nice...and she has a friend who teaches Aerial Silks...and provided us with her information so we can take a class.  She then engaged the gentlemen at the end of the table in our conversation so now we are all chatting.  She had ordered fries and upon their arrival, she offers us to have some...two complete strangers...she offers to share her food with. 
I mean hello??  would that ever happen back home? I don't think so.... you would barely talk to strangers, let alone share food with them!!!  Then as it turns out, the guys at the end of the table know the owner and he is trying new recipes on them, so when I commented that his dinner smelled good, he offered for me to try it!!
I declined, feeling a bit awkward by all of this politeness that I am just not used to!  However, when his dessert came and he saw me eying it, and offered me that, I could no longer resist....and OMG it was good!!
Warm banana chocolate chip bread pudding with whipped cream.... I had a bite and offered it back and was told to have as much as I like. 
It turns out that the other guy at the end of the table owns a used car dealership and he's lived here for 10 years.... and has offered to take us on a 4x4 tour when he is back from a business trip.  The other guy was his son who works at a surf shop and has offered to give us a surfing lesson.
This such a friendly, giving place...it makes you think about how things are back home and why it can't be like this here.  It sure makes me want to be a better, more giving person....pay it forward people! Random acts of kindness go along way....
It was a fun nite....nice to get out and mingle with the locals for sure!

Our First Full Day

Well, where to begin?  My day actually began around 2:30 am with a rude awakening from the local wild rooster population.  Apparently they are confused here and believe that sunrise is in the middle of the night when it's still dark!!  And they don't stop....ALL DAY!!!!!!

 So needless to say, I did not have a very restful sleep.  So by 6:30 when I was still awake I decided to get up and check out the beach!!  Sunrise anyone?

 I had a lovely, long reflective walk along the beautiful beach, early that morning.  This is the reason I am here. To reflect, to take in the beauty, to love my journey.  "No regrets" someone once said to me....and I have tried to live by that ever since.  This is one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I plan to enjoy every second of it!

After my walk, I headed back to the condo to see what Doris was up to!  We decided it was a good day to go out for breakfast.  So we headed out in search of food, and gas for Turtle!!
Not far up the road, we found gas...and food.  We stopped at Olympic Cafe, a place I had been to before so was well aware of the yummy eats we would find.  And we did....sooo good....

The portion size was pretty large, and to answer a question from this picture on facebook, no, I did not eat the whole thing....and Doris helped me....but damn, it was good!!

And you can't beat the view from our table....stunning!!!
Then it was off to do what Doris and I do best....shopping!!!  We explored Kappa a little bit...hit a local flea market and drove down the coast a little bit.
Next stop Cost-U-Less, as recommended by our landlord.....this is where you went before there was Costco. (yes there is a Costco here!!  Which is on our list of things to do...).
It is basically just a smaller version of Costco, some good deals, some not so much...but it's super close.  And Cranberry juice was half price, which we need to go with our giant bottle of vodka:

And okay, I just have to mention...this bottle was $22.50!!!
I mean, come on.  We are soooo getting ripped off in Canada.....
and we are taking bets on how long it will take Doris and I to finish this...





Now to my super discovery in Cost-U-Less........

Those of you who know me, know that JD is my weakness!!

 I LOVE LOVE IT!!!

But you will be proud of me...given large amount of vodka just recently purchased, I did in fact refrain from buying this bottle...even though it was only $36.00!!!!  Hello??? Crazy price!!!

Maybe when the vodka runs out???  We shall see.....






After our shopping adventure, we headed home.  Then off to our first real trip to the beach....
Nothing but sun, sand and water... beautiful!!  And yes, we did use sunscreen!

Bathing beauties... :o)







Well, that was pretty much it for our first day!!  We had a few beverages in the afternoon, did some blogging and facebooking...keeping our friends back home up to date with our adventures.  So then I couldn't drive into town to go to real Costco or Walmart, so we just had a couple more drinks (we have to finish that bottle people) then walked up to the Italian joint at the end of the street for some excellent pasta and pizza. 

Sadly, we were in bed by 10pm!!  Since the roosters kept me up and the oh so lovely jet lag....it will be a while before we get back on track....  Oh did I mention that Doris had earplugs, but failed to mention this to me until today....so she slept quite well!!  High hopes for tonight now...we will see!!  Fingers crossed!!

Arriving in Kauai

Well we finally arrived!!  Our journey began with many, many hours of packing....which we will not discuss.  Then a 2 am shuttle pick up, a two and half hour shuttle bus ride, an interesting interview at customs, a three hour hang out at Detroit airport, and then boarding our 4 and a half hour flight to Phoenix.  Much to our surprise the flight was faster then expected and we arrived in Phoenix about half an hour early...which was very good news since we had less then an hour originally to make our connecting flight to Lihue, HI.

View from runway in Phoenix

Our joy was slowly diminished however, as we sat motionless after landing as the gate was still occupied by the prior flight. So, we then sat there for 45 minutes.... and yes if you do the math that means we are now later then our original arrival time and our window of making our next flight is becoming smaller and smaller....and smaller..... So we finally get to our arrival gate with minutes so spare for boarding our next flight...so yes you guessed, two very tired Canadian girls running (with very heavy back packs I might add) through the Phoenix airport.  We had a brief moment of happiness that our next gate was A14 and we were in gate A8.....however, we then realized that it was NOT close to gate 8 at all, it was in the next section entirely....run girls, run!!  I know the anticipation is killing you....so YES we did make it to the gate just in time!!!
Sadly though, no bathroom breaks, no lunch...no nothing!!   But we were on the plane and that's all that mattered!!!  So about six and a half hours later....we were in Kauai!!!!!!!!!!!!

Turtle!!!

Shady....

It was a very surreal moment that we were actually back in Hawaii after many months of planning and dreaming of this moment!!  It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day!!  And our luggage actually made it on the plane...so all in all a very successful journey indeed.  We called our rental car guy for a ride ...... I'm not even going to explain that one....lol.....so we got a ride to pick up our Island Rental car.   We were shortly introduced to what we now affectionately refer to as "Turtle".

Turtle is your typical island beater as they are referred to here in Hawaii.  It is two toned, very old, very dirty and pretty rusty...as my dad said, she looks like she has had a few shells replaced....see photo and you will understand!!! But it was cheap and it drives so we love it!!!


We finally made it to our condo and are very pleased with our accommodations!!

our living/dinning area

kitchen, lanai in back ground, over looks tennis courts

Did some unpacking, got some groceries, made some dinner (very gourmet...lol) and fell into bed totally exhausted and completely elated!!!  I am so happy and grateful to be here....every moment here is a blessing indeed!!!

Our Kauai Adventure

It is just over one week until our Kauai adventure begins.  Sadly, it starts with a 1:30 am shuttle to the Detroit air port, followed by a four hour wait for our flight, and two 6 hour flights.  This is the price we pay...but well worth it.  By 2pm - if all goes well - we will be landing on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii.  It has been a long time coming, and planning...it's hard to believe it's almost here! 
A little history for those of you who don't know.... Doris and I have been friends for little over two years.  In May of this year, she won two plane tickets anywhere West Jet flies!  So, like any sane people would do, we picked Hawaii.  I had never really thought that much about going to Hawaii, it just seemed far!  But Doris was very gung-ho, and hell she was giving me a ticket, so what could I say!!  lol... Of course it was an amazing choice and we spent 16 days exploring Ohau, Maui and Kauai.  Needless to say, we fell in love with it's beauty and Aloha spirit.  Especially in Kauai.  And yes, I will now give props to Doris for dragging me to Kauai, as it was the one island I wasn't that excited to visit - boy was I wrong!!!  It was the most beautiful place I had ever been in my life.  My experiences there literally changed my life and who I wanted to be as a person.  So almost immediately upon our return, we were plotting how we could go back.
So with a bit of encouragement from some close friends, some fancy maneuvering and a little luck....we are leaving soon for three glorious months in the beautiful island of Kauai.
Stay tuned for updates on our experiences of life on the island.....