Saturday: Delayed flight didnt stop us! We landed around 6, got our bags, our Jeep, and headed to the hotel. Our room was terrible, so we asked to switch and were moved to a lovely garden room. We quickly changed into our swimsuits and hit the hot tub with a Pina Colada. Sushi at the bar for dinner, not great. Went to bed early.
Sunday: Woke up early and walked on the beach. Guess who came up on not one, but 2 boogie boards?! We did!! First on the agenda was getting our marriage license at a little mom & pop store in Kapaa. They opened up just for us! Next we went to scout wedding locations. Lae Nani was the first stop, but we didnt think it was pretty enough as a low-rent apartment complex sat right next to the site. We ate at the highly recommended Blossoming Lotus vegan restaurant which was delectable! We met up with Jacqueline, my friend from San Fran who moved out here a few years ago. Her friend's daughter was having a birthday party on Kealia beach, so i enjoyed the surf there while alex got in a dog pen to play with a golden lab named Colin. After a shower, we headed down to Poipu to check the location, see the sunset there and get a bite. That location looked far prettier for the wedding, so we decided that would be the spot. We found a little pizza shop in Koloa and it started to pour! It was beautiful.
Monday: The Big Day!!! Went back down to Poipu early to pick up a wedding dress and try out the Puka Dogs that Althea recommended to us. They were delicious, and we shared the buns with the pretty birds that gather there. Had to head back to get ready for the main event. At 5:45 pm we met Haunani, the wedding coordinator and the Officiant on Shipwreck Beach. After some lovely Hawaiian blessings, and the traditional "I Do's", he asked us to each say one everlasting thing to the other, and with that and the rings exchanged we kissed and we were married!! It was a short and sweet ceremony, totally fitting of us. No pomp or circumstance in sight....We took a few photos on the beach, on the cliff above the beach, and at the ranch near the tunnel of trees on the way back to the hotel. We dined that evening at the Beach House, a beautiful restaurant on the beach in Poipu. It was romantic and tranquil and so lovely, the food was insanely good, and they brought us a special wedding cake that Alan & Janet has asked them to make. Truly a special day.
Tuesday: We picked up Jeremy at the farm where he was staying. We met some very friendly goats that Alex loved. Jeremy had made a friend, Sean, who was travelling from England, and we all headed to Secret Beach, one of the prettiest beaches on the whole island. It is accessible only through a private field and down a harrowing set of stairs that lead about a half mile down to the water. We thought getting down was hard! But my gosh, the scene was breathtaking. Not a soul around. Perfect blue water, big waves, sandy bottom, green cliffs surrounding. Alex enjoyed the water a little too long that day, and having forgotten to apply sunblock to most of his body was burnt to a crisp. Jeremy's friend Jeanie came by with her dogs. We rinsed off in the natural rock springs that flow from the cliffs and started back up the stairs. We have never felt pain quite like the stairs at Secret Beach! What a climb, but so worth it. We were destroyed, but soldiered on up to Hanalei to grab a bite to eat. We found the most amazing fish tacos at a place alongside the road, and we sat for awhile contemplation the islands's oversupply of Cocks and Chickens while feeding them our scraps of chips. But the day wasnt over yet! We decided to venture to the end of the road, Haena Beach/ Kee Beach to watch the sunset. After a jaunt on the rocks and some photo-taking, we were spent. A long drive back to our hotel, and we were out like lights!
Wednesday: With Alex's sunburn in full swing, we took it easy in the morning. Had a leisurely breakfast by the pool, then decided to do the south/west route and check out Waimea Canyon. We drove about halfway up the winding road before finding a scenic overlook to shoot pictures from. We got some pretty pictures and then it started to rain (it often rains in the mountains and the north here in Kauai while the rest of the island is dry).
Wound our way back down the canyon and took the road past Waimea and the Pacific Sands Missle Range. The south side of the island is very industrial and more simple, it doesnt really cater to tourists which is charming in its own right. We reached the end of the road and continued on the dirt path in search of Polihale Beach, a 15 mile long protected stretch of Kauai's western shore. It is the last accessible point before the cliffs of the Napali Coast rise up. Polihale is also where the ancient Hawaiins used to perform rituals to cast the souls of the departed into the wind and the ocean. I believe for this reason the beach retains a palpable spiritual significance...a kind of haunting. It is a very somber and almost bleak beach, the surf is heavy and conflicted there. It feels like you could and would get sucked out into a vortex of lost souls. As we trudged through the thick dunes, we noticed a truck stuck in the sand. Alex went to investigate as I tried out the water. I didnt dare venture to the wave break, instead keeping by the shore, and even there I was getting pulled hard out to the sea. I walked over to the stuck truck and met Lindsay and Brian, the couple who had unfortunately wandered thus. They had ignored all the signs which clearly stated NOT to drive on this beach in particular. We started digging. And digging. And more digging! Alex scavenged a 2 x 4, and we donated one of our scavenged boogie boards as traction to try to get them out....to no avail. So we took Lindsay on a journey to try & find help. We finally reached a beach, where a lifeguard was closing up for the evening. We asked him for help and within minutes he had flagged down a friend with a truck and a rope. Lindsay went with the friend, and we were off in search of Brick Oven Pizza, which we found and it was delicious! Wheat crust with all the veggies...mmmmmm. We drove through a rainbow on the way back which was truly magical. When we finally got back to the hotel, we hit the jacuzzi with a pina colada to end off the day.
Thursday: 7:45 am was the call time for our helicopter tour of the island. It was Alex's first time in a helicopter and I think he shed a tear as we lifted off. We got front row seats and it was so cool! The tour took us to see the whole island and the pilot taught us a little bit about the history of the land. The music he had piped was really bad! But the amazing vistas more than made up for it. Unfortunately, when we booked the helicopter ride, we didnt realize the amazing discount we were getting came at the cost of being required to attend a timeshare presentation...OH NO! So off we went. The resort was ugly and cheap, and the sales pitch was obnoxious and boring. The poor salesman who got to speak with us, Steve, was a typical Southerner man's man. He directed all his questions to Alex and deemed we had been "living in sin" for the past 6 years. We told him straight up that we were not interested, but we had to stick around for the full, agonizing 2 hours. What a relief to get the hell out of there! Sunshine never felt so good... We met up with Jeremy & Sean and headed to nearby Kealia beach for some boogie boarding. The waves were great, and of course Alex stayed in the water too long again. For dinner we tried a recommendation of one of Alex's colleagues, Sushi Blues in Hanalei. It was the BOMB. Alex got pretty tipsy on sake and we had an impromptu photoshoot on the kid's rides afterwards.
Friday: Got going late.. Olympic cafe for breakfast...Missed saying bye to Jeremy...checked out Anahole Beach, walked over a mile down collecting rocks and coral. Walked back, started to rain. Drove up to the second entrance of Secret beach which isnt so secret but also isnt so steep. Alex frolicked in the water while I slept in the sun. the sand was flying and it was a heavy surf day. Very windy! Lots of naked folks who kept covering up as we passed. Rinsed off in the rock- spring, and headed to Hanalei. Alex needed more coffee and we both had another fish taco from Tropical tacos. Checked out Hanalei Bay, I finally got in the water and caught some 1 ft waves. Took pics at the scenic overlook. came back did laundry complained about noisy kids. Real life is creeping back!
Sat: Olympic Café for breakfast again, we really liked that place. Then back to Anahole Beach again to shoot the marine life in and around the coral reefs there. Spent a good hour getting interesting pics. Saw some crabs trying to pull a large piece of what looked like blubber into their crab-hole. After feeling the sun a little too much, we went back to Kapaa to get Alex an espresso. Then back to Kealia to catch some good last waves on the boogie board. The wind was insane! It was hard to even get a foothold in the ocean, but we enjoyed every second of it. Got tossed around like we were in a washing machine! Thrilling stuff. After we rinsed off, we decided to head back to Hanalei one last time. We really love it up there and could see ourselves moving there. It is such a cute and tranquil town with a stunning bay. Alex needed one last fish taco, and as he satisfied his craving we met a very interesting local lady. She told us all about the chicken overpopulation and how she used to kill chickens to eat them. She also directed us to Hanalei Pier so we could watch a beautiful sunset. After grabbing an ice cream cone for me, we went to the pier and watched kids jumping into the pristine 2 ft-deep blue water. We checked out the real estate for sale around the beach, which was very, very expensive. The drive back to Lihue was bittersweet, as we knew our fun beach time was coming to an end. After a shower, we decided on Blossoming Lotus for our last romantic dinner in Hawaii. The meal we had was by far the best meal we have ever shared together! We had the Pizzettas, which were pumpkin seed jalepeno cheese, herbed jicama relish avocado and basil on flax crackers. Then the toasted sesame Soba Noodle Salad with local greens, tossed in citrus pistachio cream and topped with edamame, daikon relish and toasted pistachios. Our entrée was an indescribably good Live Lasagna consisting of zuchini, rainbow chard, kona tomatoes, and basiled cashew nut ricotta stacked on tomato sauce with red bell peppers. We somehow stuffed in the fresh carrot cake for dessert. The. Best. Meal. EVER! After consuming that bounty, it was all we could do to stumble back to bed and drift off to dreams of our new reality TV show, “Are you a real pirate?”
Today is Sunday, Mother’s Day, and we are sad to leave, but grateful for the memories of our beautiful and romantic wedding, honeymoon, and relaxing time together away from the stress of real life. We are excited and ready to begin the next chapter of our life together and feel rejuvenated and ready to face the challenges ahead!
-Reid
To see the first round of pics please go here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/alexrosson/Kauai
Thanks for Reading
