This is another epic post. We were just so tired at night that I got behind. We are home safe and sound. Trying to adjust back to our own time zone. I also don't have the guide book with me, so I really hope I get all the Hawaiian names right for this post. I had a hard time with pronouncing them, let alone spelling them :-)
Once we knew Corbin loved the waves, we had fun playing at Hanalei beach. He loved it!
He also had some fun being closed into the sand castle. He kept pushing down the turrets as fast as Adam built them.
He also got more used to the water and would swim with me but only with me. He was like a little barnacle. He would cling to me as we swam around.
The Hanalei valley. They grow lots of tarot root for poi in the valley.
Friday night we were swimming and they were setting up tents for some event. We were curios to know what was going on. So on Saturday we went down to the beach and it was crawling with local canoers. There was a local outrigger canoe race going on. All ages from under 12 to masters. It was pretty cool. All the teams had their own tents set up on the beach and fans and families were everywhere. They also had some good local Hawaiian food venues. We had Laulau, which is pork or chicken wrapped in tea leaves and steamed. We also had sweet poi and rice. And lots of yummy little cakes. It was very good.
A men's event.
U15 girls. Those were some burly girls!
A pretty close finish!
Adam and I also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary while on the Island! We decide to spend the day with Corbin alone before leaving him with the fam for a romantic dinner. We went down to Kapaa and took a little detour to see the Wailua Falls.
It was much cloudier and windy on the east side of the Island. This Kite boarder was enjoying the wind though!
We decided to go to Lydgate State Park because they have two pools that were created to break the waves. You can get some good snorkeling and often see turtles and and feed the fish. We saw a few fish and Corbin could even see them too!
We then stopped at Scotty's BBQ for some lunch. Our waiter was from Mt. Vernon and went to Western! Small world!
We then headed home for Corbin's nap. Meghan and I hit the beach and Adam caught up on some reading. Then we got all dressed up and headed out to the Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant for some anniversary dinner.
After a yummy dinner of Ahi, soooo good, Hawaiian chicken, sushi, and dessert! We stopped at a local bar to listen to a young guy play the Ukulele and then walked on the beach! It was a pretty great anniversary! Corbin did a great job with the rest of the family. He hasn't had anyone put him to bed for a while, other than me or Adam. Thanks guys!
The next day we decide to head to hike part of the Napali Coast Trail. This sign greeted us. Why would you want to swim here? Wow!
We hiked part of the Kalalau trail up to the Hanakapi'ai falls. Another long hike for Corbin, and us! 8 Miles total. And this one was hot. Of course I brought all the extra clothes that I should have had for our swamp hike but oh well. And we should have had more water for this one too. We had the most gorgeous views though. The day before would have been cloudy, so we lucked on on the views!
Neal agreed to go on the hike with us but still needed to work on his tan. We were glad he came along! I think he had fun though :-)
Corbin didn't fail with his "WOW's"!
Looking up the valley.
These trees grew the coolest roots. They looked like Tepee's.
There were also small stands of huge bamboo. They made the coolest sound when the wind blew. It was quite beautiful.
We were standing under this huge tree wondering what kind of tree it was, when I almost got hit with a falling mango! Ask and you shall receive. Adam tried wondering if it was a money tree but it didn't work.
A sneak peak of the falls.
It was pretty cool once we got up there. And the cold fresh water was much welcomed to swim in!
Along the way we also found some Hawaiian mountain apple and guava. Yum!
The beach at the end of the valley.
The hike back was HOT! And we ran out of water. We were about a mile or less from the end of the trail and we were trying to keep Corbin from having another melt down (sound familiar) when Neal came running back up, he had gone ahead, with water! It was amazing! It really helped us. We knew we were thirsty but it made such a big difference. Even Corbin stopped fussing. Thanks Neal!! It was another great hike! Adam carried Corbin again for the whole time! He was a hero!
Aaah. We had a great time! A HUGE thanks to Susan and Mark!!! Good fun with the gang! We made it home. We are pretty jet lagged from our red eye. I think Corbin is adjusting.
Next adventure Corbin's second camping trip, a wedding, a visit to NH and probably one down to Bend. Phew, we are busy!
We went camping for 2 nights at Birch Bay, a whole 30 miles away. Our friends could only stay one night. It was tough camping with a one year old. We had to follow him everywhere. He wanted to go in the road, in the neighbor's camp, in the fire, down the path. And then he wouldn't sleep well in the tent, even with the pack and play. But it was cooler up there.
