Kauai Girls Trip

--written by Rachelle 

A few months ago I got a phone call from my friend Becky Platt.  She had just recently moved from Hawaii to Alaska (life of an Army wife) and was really having a terrible time.  No sunshine, too cold for kids to play outside, kids running around the house stir crazy...she needed a break and she needed to go somewhere sunny to recharge her batteries.  We decided we should head to Hawaii and we decided February would be the perfect month...wait for all the holiday buzz to die down.  We invited a bunch of our friends to join us but only Jody Dean was able to make it work, so the 3 of us spent a week together in Kauai enjoying the sun (and the rain...there was lots of rain) and had a great time!

At the Kilauea Lighthouse.  It was closed the day we went to check it out but it was still a beautiful spot to visit.

My beach body:)

Such a gorgeous day at Hanalei Bay.  Look at that blue sky and the great mountains...so gorgeous!

The pier at Hanalei Bay

Love the shave ice!

Heading down a very muddy trail to the Queen's bath

Last time I was in Kauai Hyrum and I were swimming in that pool of water...not this time!  You would have been swept out to the ocean!

It was sunny when we left our hotel in Princeville to drive to Waimea Canyon.  By the time we drove to the first "lookout" it was pouring down rain and we couldn't see a blasted thing!  We ran out of the car...took this photo and ran back into the car and we were all drenched!

Yay for rental cars with good heaters!

Absolutely no view!

We decided to get out of the rain and head over to Glass Beach

We explored around this cool old cemetery near Glass Beach.  There were a lot of factories on this part of the island and most of the workers were from Asia so the cemetery had a bunch of cool headstones with Chinese or Japanese written on them.

Really cool to see how the ocean has worn these pieces of glass into smooth shapes

We made a stop in Hanapepe.  We wanted to go across the old suspension foot bridge but it was closed due to some boards missing.  I hope they get that fixed, it would be sad for such a landmark to be closed forever.

We went to the Spouting Horn blowhole.  Yeah, that's me in the bright green shirt down by the ocean.  I didn't mind there were signs posted everywhere to stay away from the blowhole...I wanted to see it up close!  It was really cool!

Yeah, I'm a rebel!  It was super neat to stand near the blowhole and the spray from the ocean would hit my face

Rainbows in Hawaii...what a life!

We found a sea turtle at Poipu beach

'Opaeka'a Waterfall.  This was a fun stop while driving around, this is just from a lookout on the road, no hiking required for this view:)

The Wailua River...we would be kayaking down this river in a few days but it was kind of cool to see it from above

Wailua waterfall.  Again, this was just a lookout point you could drive to.  It was amazing the amount of water pouring over the falls, this picture doesn't really show how tall the falls are but it was a long way down...173 feet down

Last time I was in Kauai I had this pie and I was determined to have it while I was there again.  It's from "The Right Slice" and it's called blueberry pina colada...super yummy!

Jody relaxing at Poipu Beach...with a rooster:)  I love all the chickens that run around Kauai!

Another sea turtle sighting...they really like Poipu Beach

Kauai's famous "tree tunnel"

Yes, I'm an angel...

...Jody, not so sure

Walking along the beautiful Kapa'a Shoreline trail

Kayaking the mighty Wailua River.  We kayaked 2 miles and then hopped out for a fun hike to the Secret Falls.

Hiking to the Secret Falls...this part of the trail was fun.  Mostly it was a slippery, muddy mess!

Secret falls

Did I mention the trail was a 'bit' muddy?

Looking good after the hike!

We kayaked over to the Fern Grotto.  We were lucky to just miss a giant tour group as they were leaving just as we were coming so we had the place to ourselves.  It was very pretty and peaceful

On our last day we did an 8 mile round trip hike up to Hanakapi'ai Falls.  This is a great hike but also pretty strenuous.  I was totally spent by the time we got back to the parking lot!  But, on the plus side, the trail is just beautiful and the scenery is spectacular!  

Is this even real?

Just part of the trail...we thought this hike wouldn't be as muddy or wet as Secret Falls...we were wrong!

Taking a little lunch break...the roosters gotta eat too!

Just a little stream crossing...no big deal

This waterfall was spectacular.  We were planning to swim in the little pool below the falls but it was pouring over with such force the wind and mist from the falls was quite overwhelming

We found a great swimming hole on one of the river crossings on our way back out of the canyon.  It was super refreshing and nice to get my aching muscles cooled off for a bit

There was a cool bunch of bamboo on part of the trail.  This stuff is so much taller and thicker then you would expect.

Yep...the trail was muddy, muddy, muddy!

It was a tough hike but look at this scenery...totally worth it!

After the hike...I was done with life.  I told Becky, "I lost my Aloha on that damn trail"  Not to worry, I found it again once I got a bite to eat and some water (I ran out of water 2 miles before the end of the hike!)

Overall it was a fantastic week with friends.  We ate yummy food, saw amazing things, laughed and had a blast together.  When's the next trip ladies?