Aloha! Part 4

Alisha says:
Day 10: After a lot of really active days in a row we needed a more restful day. It was also a little rainy so it worked out perfect. Our rental vehicle had four wheel drive so we took Mike and Cherry on one of their first off road four wheel drive adventures. We took a 4wd road to a trail called the Jungle trail and went on a short hike. In the afternoon we went back to Poipu beach until it started pouring rain on us.
Day 11: Dave and I rented kayak and kayaked a few miles up the Wailua River and then hiked a few miles to Secret Falls, we stopped at the Fern Grotto and then continued to paddle our way back down the river. After getting some food we then rented some cruisers and biked along the coconut coast. Just as we got back and returned our bikes it started pouring again. I had to have a Hawaiian shaved ice before we left so even though it was pouring rain and a little chilly we got a huge Hawaiian ice to share.
Day 12: Travel day home. We had a long really great vacation!

 Driving across the stream

 Kayaking the Wailua River

 The start of the hike to Secret Falls

 The trail was super muddy, sometimes up to our shins

 The Fern Grotto

 I don't know if you are paddling back there

 Ready to cruise the coconut coast

Ending our vacation with a huge Hawaiian shave ice

Aloha! Part 3 - Kauai

Alisha says:

Day 7: I had a bucket list of things to do on Kauai so we started checking them off. We first headed to Waimea Canyon, which is a really neat canyon that has also been called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is 10 miles long and up to 3,000 ft. deep. We did a hike along the rim that went to the top of Waimea Falls.

We then finished up the day with some really good snorkeling at Poipu Beach. It was like snorkeling in an aquarium, there were tons of fish. There was even a seal taking a nap on the beach.

Day 8: We drove to the north side of the island and hiked part of the Kalalau trail. To hike the whole trail is a 22 mile round trip (which I really, really wanted to do but usually requires camping out one night and since we were traveling with another couple we couldn't do it) But, the first couple of miles down to the first beach was so amazing. You get these incredible views of the Napali Coast and the water below is a really beautiful aquamarine color. I love, love, loved it! After that we were hot and sweaty which meant only one thing, beach time! We went to Tunnels Beach which is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. This was possibly the best snorkeling spot of our trip. You snorkel out a bit and then the ocean just drops off. It was a little eerie at first but we saw a lot of cool fish and even a few turtles that we got to watch and swim by for a long time. This was possible my favorite full day of our trip.

Day 9: The morning was filled with sightseeing. We stopped at the Spouting Horn, and then also took a walk along the cliffs by Shipwreck Beach. In the afternoon Dave and I took a boat tour of the Napali Coast. The company we picked was super, the boats were small (there was only 7 total people on ours) and the captain was great. The captain said that we were treated to an exceptionally nice day on the coast, he said it is usually cloudy, raining and windy but the ocean was fairly calm and the sun was shining. We saw some spinner dolphins. They came and were swimming right by the boat, a few even jumped up in the air for us. We stopped and snorkeled and saw more cool fish, turtles and two reef sharks! At first I was a little nervous but we had been told that you don't have to worry about them so we had fun watching them. The coast was amazing. Really scenic and beautiful. Our boat was also small enough that we got to drive in many sea caves along the way. On the return trip we saw a whale and her calf.  It was super cool!

 Waimea Canyon

 Look at that view, amazing!

 The beach were we turned around

 Tunnels Beach

 Dave getting ready to snorkel on our Napali Coast trip

 Incredible!

 Driving in one of the many sea caves

Aloha! Part 2

Alisha says:
Day 5: In order to explore the rest of Oahu we rented a car. The only thing they had left at the rental place was a mustang convertible which ended up being really fun to ride around in. Dave said driving it around was one of his favorite things, he had a huge smile on his face the whole time. First stop was the Dole Plantation to see some pineapples and eat some delicious dole whip. Then it was on to the north shore to play in the big waves.
Day 6: Dave and I got up early and hiked the Olomana trail. It is an awesome hike with some good scrambles and spots where you are walking on the spine of a mountain with drop offs on both sides. We had the whole trail to ourselves and never saw anybody else. The view at the top was spectacular and the hike ranked as my favorite thing that we did on Oahu. After packing up at the condo we had a few hours before our flight to Kauai so we did some more driving around/sight seeing. That evening Mike, Cherry, Dave and I took a flight to Kauai for part two of our vacation.

We love Hawaii!

 The Dole Pineapple Plantation

 It's so cute and tiny!

Red pineapples

Scrambling up the Olomana Trail, only one way to go - UP!

 Unbelievable views

 Dave loved the convertible

  Me, Dave, Mike, Cherry