Steven took a trip to Hawaii in 1999 with his Mom and Grandma, about a month before we started dating. Since it's such a big trip (far away and expensive) I just assumed I might not ever get to go since he had already been....but the Lord often has other plans for us! Steven worked very hard last year in order to make this trip with Lincoln Financial....to the beautiful island of Kauai. The first 4 nights we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Resort in Poipu, it was indeed grand. Below is a picture of our room.
Our 2nd day in Hawaii was my 33rd birthday, what a great way to spend a birthday! We slept late, according to our time (Hawaii time it was a little hard to sleep past 4am). We enjoyed the saltwater pools and ocean and a night out to the Beach House Restaurant (with Lincoln). The co-workers we ate with had quite a few glasses of wine before discovering it was my birthday, so needless to say I got sung to quite a bit. My favorite was the local guy driving the bus, his tune was very original. Despite much pressure I declined going up to the front for a solo, for me to do that I would have had to drink an entire bottle of wine (and for the record, I didn't drink any). The only negative part of my birthday was not seeing my kids, so I decided to Skype with them before they went to bed. It was a sweet time until I noticed Eli was crying in the corner of the screen, which made me sad. Thankfully he recovered pretty quickly, or so I was told. We didn't Skype anymore after that, I think it was too hard on my sensitive little guy.
The next day we got to pick our activity and I signed us up for a zipline tour, which was really fun. We went on 7 different ziplines that got faster and higher as we went. The last one we went down next to each other over the valley of a mountain, it was really cool.
The last night at the Grand Hyatt Lincoln had a farewell party that included a concert by the Bacon Brothers...and yes that is Kevin Bacon in the picture below. Apparently acting is just his day job, he was in his element on that stage and has a great voice. We didn't get to meet him but it was fun to see him in person for over an hour!
The next day we checked out of the hotel and rented a jeep to drive around the last couple of days. We drove to see the Waimai Canyon which is the "Grand Canyon of Hawaii" and it was great, everywhere you look is a gorgeous view, either mountain or ocean, or chicken (for some reason there are a lot of chickens in Kauai, literally, on the side of the road everywhere). From the top of the Waimai Canyon we got a glimpse of the Napali Coast, which is possibly the prettiest view I have ever seen. That afternoon we checked into this quaint little cottage I found on Homeaway.com.
The cottage wasn't nearly as elegant as the resort but we loved the nature all around us, there were horses and roosters and this pretty peacock right in our backyard. There was a bathtub indoors but an outdoor shower, which Steven enjoyed more than me. One day he was showering outside and I heard a yell, apparently a rooster got a little too close for his comfort.
Steven quickly discovered another special thing about Kauai, they are famous for their shaved ice. It really is good, and I don't like that kind of thing nearly as much as him. He pretty much planned his day and meals around the next shaved ice encounter. :)
While the resort was toward the south side of the island, our cottage was on the North Shore and really near Hannalei Bay (from "Puff the Magic Dragon"). It was our favorite little spot and this picture really doesn't do it justice. We found great little local dives to eat at and a shop with cheap t-shirts for the kids, a great beach to swim in, and of course shaved ice and ice cream for dessert. Steven even picked up a local real estate book....but quickly put it back down when he saw the prices.
It was a great vacation. I missed my kiddos and was soooo ready to see them after a week, but it was a great time for Steven and I to just be us, no interruptions, no daily life stress. Every couple needs that now and then, especially when you have kids and busy lives.
Thank you baby for our wonderful trip! I will always treasure it.
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