Kauai

Huge playfort at Lydgate Park. One of two that they have there. This is just down the beach from where we are staying about two miles.

Brian enjoying the morning sunrise in front of our condo.
These are the ducks, roosters and hens that the boys chase all over.

see the wild Boars.

Lunch at Secret Falls. I kinda cringed a little when Sam put his PBJ on the rock.

In Front of Secret Falls

The sunrise from our condo

This is the hike to Secret Falls

Notice the thick mud! Sammy took awhile to adjust to it. This is the trail to Secret Falls.

Kayaking up the Wailua River

This is where we are staying. Notice the miles of jogging beach behind Sam.

Here's the lazy river right before it goes into the ocean. It's pretty shallow here but the kids could still float down it.

The crowded Poipu Beach made us really appreciate our quite place. There were two monk seals sunbathing next to us.

I'm going to apologize in advance if this is totally boring to the reader. It's really my way of journaling and I figure you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

Day 1: Our journey to Kauai from start to finish took around 11 hours. Our kids, ages seven, five and four were so incredibly well behaved it would make any parent proud. There were a couple of moments....Like the time Jacob accused Sammy of smelling like diarrhea so loudly the whole plane of over 300 passenger must have heard the repeated announcements. Sammy was so mortified it took me five minutes squeezed in the tiny airplane stinky bathroom to calm him down. (I feel so sorry for the guy who has to sit right next to the bathroom!) Upon inspection it was discovered to my complete surprise that he was not guilty of this infraction upon Jacobs delicate nostril senses. Sammy doesn't have the greatest track record where this is concerned so I was utterly shocked and confused.

Jacob was busted for being dramatic without a cause and was sentenced to one hard core hour of quite time while the rest played on the beach as soon as we arrived. Only later, when I was sitting in his seat, did I discover for myself a rank whiff of the odor. It was real as it turns out there was not mistaking it. Jacob wasn't making it up- how confusing. I guess I should believe my kids more often. I have no idea who or what was the source of the fleeting odor. Just glad I didn't have to clean it up for once! Real glad.

We arrived at our oceanfront condo (not ours literally just rented) and were surprised at the spaciousness of the unit. It's not five star but the space and view make it golden. With the ocean just out the sliding glass doors across the soft green lawn we knew this was going to be a fun filled vacation for sure. (Never mind the old bag who chastised us for having loud kids only two minutes after we arrived.)

Day 2 Discoveries: Right next to our building there is a small meandering stream that takes a slight curve before emptying into the ocean. The kids had us blow up their tubes so they could float down the REAL LIVE lazy river. What fun! Eat your heart out Lagoon! They also built a sand bridge fort thingy doo dad and bobbed up and down on real logs afloat in the river (which made me nervous). The river was only about a foot and a half deep at the highest. Mostly shallower though like about a foot or even six inches deep. It had a nice fine sandy bottom. Perfect.

While I took a jog a couple miles down the beach Brian and the kids had coconut wars. I guess they were splash bombing each other with the coconuts and then competing to crack them open. Julia was more likely off in la la land with her mermaids and dolphins. Some coconuts were infested with worms. In truth, that's likely the reason they were able to crack them open in the first place. But shhh, we wouldn't want to wound their pride.

While I was jogging, waves lapping at my tennis shoes, I came across this ridiculously tall fence right off the beach. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why there was a need for such a tall 5 story monstrous fence along the ocean? I couldn't help but think of Jurassic Park and wondered if this was used in the filming of it. The first clue was the golf ball teasing me in the surf. It took three golf balls later before it dawned on my blondness that it was a driving range. Dang, and I was looking forward to some T-rex type of excitement.

I would yet discover a little excitement however, just a few more steps down the beach as I came across an amazing playground in the tree tops just right there off the beach. It was the south end of Lydgate Park. I couldn't wait to get back to the kids to tell them about it. It was HUGE! It made "the largest park in Utah" look like a joke. I told the kids it was a fortress just for kids and they wouldn't believe how amazing it was. We immediately headed down (in the van) as soon as I got back (and we collected all our belongings strewn all over the beach). Sure enough they went bazerk over it. We had the park all to ourselves. (except for the little drug deal that went down just as we arrived) We felt like we were explorers and made a huge discovery that no one knew about!

After that we went to the Hilton next door to our condo and bought wristbands so we could go down the slide and play in the pools, waterfalls and hot tubs. On the short walk over Julia discovered the first Gecko of the trip and Sammy held a bull frog warts and all.

Oh, and did I mention Brian saw a flying fish and we all saw whales spouting and fins flapping? Oh, and another funny thing are the roosters that Sam and Jacob chased all over the grounds. Picture two skinny boys running full speed in circles all over the grounds trying to catch roosters. Yes, pretty funny. Hawaii is well known for wild chickens and stray cats. Didn't you know that?

Had dinner at some fancy Japanese place while in our swimsuits still. Not underdressed for Hawaii standards. I had the fresh catch of the day...steamed Sea Bass topped with cilantro, ginger and some interesting mushrooms. I asked the Japanese waiter as to the where abouts the fish was caught (at Mama's Fish House in Maui they will tell you the exact location) he simply said in broken English "The Pacific Ocean". Guess we're not at Mama's.

Day 3...This is getting better!!! So today we had an awesome adventure!!! We rented some kayaks and paddled up the Wailua River a couple of miles before we beached the Kayaks and hiked up this super muddy slippery trail along the riverside, crossing the rapids a couple of times carrying kids, to the most spectacular Secret Falls. (and that's a major run on sentence- that doesn't do my sore rowing muscles, the scenery nor the whole entire experience justice!)

It was about a 3/4 of a mile there but it seemed a lot longer with kids in tow slipping and falling in the mud. At times the trail was quite steep, even narrow and at the edge of a cliff! It was an absolute blast. I was the first one to slip and get all muddy. The kids laughed. They would be next! At first Sam and Julia had a hard time with the dirty muddy factor and complained. City kids. But they eventually warmed up to it and were even fine later to accept potatoe chips, fruit snacks and a pbj from my muddy hands. Of course they had no choice and they were famished.

The forest was absolutely breathtaking with mossy bright green boulders, native Hawaiian flowers, tarzan type hanging vines and canopy trees shading us. There were plenty of roots to trip on too.

Holy cow! I almost forgot, or should I say Holy Boar! A half dozed wild bores came down this super steep mountain side to the river right there at the falls foraging for roots and worms! It was a little nerve racking to have my children so close to wild bores as I was not sure of their temperament. Our guide named TC, a local native Hawaiian, decided he would try and catch one upon us egging him on just a little. He didn't take much coaxing as he was absolutely salivating for this rare opportunity. He was just concerned the boars might charge at us or that there would be some green peace loving vegetarian he might offend. My only concern after I got my kids to safety was what to do with his gored body and wondered if egging him on was such a good idea.

He was unsuccessful at his hunting efforts but it was exciting never the less to watch him approach the boars with a big stick! His plan was to herd one in the water, trapping it at the falls, catch it by the hind legs and drown it. He was quick to rattle off his plan as if he had thought about this a hundred times. He only got within about 15 feet before the boars took off back up the mountain from where they came, away from us, with lightening speed. Chickens! I expected a little more spunk out of them. I admit I was dissapointed. And to think I was worried. My four year old could have scared them off. It looked like fun and reminded me of Survivor.

We ended the night by sitting in the hot tub at the Hilton again soaking those rowing muscles. A Pre packaged skillet dinner- Ready in Ten Minutes! at the condo never tasted better.

Day 3: Another adventure awaits! Going on a sunset cruise of the famous Napali Coastline!