Sunday morning, we began adrive up north, stopping in the little town of Hanalei to attend church. The northern coast of Kauai is absolutely amazing. Kauai is known as the Garden Island, and it's easy to see why. We felt like we were driving through a jungle. Here's a picture of the scenery across the street from the church.
After church, we continued our drive to the end of the road - literally. The road on the northern coast of Kauai ends at the Na Pali mountains, which are too rugged for roads. The Na Pali coast is known for its breathtaking beauty, but the only way to see it is by helicopter, boat, or hiking. The first two options are out for me because of my suspectibility to motion sickness, so we had opted for hiking (my preference anyway). We started at Ke'e beach on the well-known Kalalau trail. We only planned to go the first two miles to the Hanakapaia Beach. Not to be cliche, but really I don't think there is any way to describe how absolutely beautiful the hike was. The photos don't do it justice. But here's a couple anyway!
When we got back, we were covered in mud and dripping wet (it drizzled for most of the hike). That night, we enjoyed an anniversary dinner - we've been married twelve years!
Monday was our last day in Kauai. We were worried that the weather would foil our plans (it rained basically the entire time we were in Kauai - I guess a place doesn't become the "Garden Island" without a lot of rain!), but it didn't. We drove to Waimea Canyon, known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific."
Before returning to the airport, we also made a quick stop at Spouting Horn, a lava tube where the ocean spurts up through.
I can't resist one more image of Kauai. Every place we went - the canyon, the beach, the jungle, our hotel, etc. - there were wild chickens and roosters (known as moa) everywhere.
I wanted to close my vacation posts with a little thought (yes - I'm waxing philosophical about vacations....). From the time I left Massachusetts, until the time I got to the Honolulu airport, I only checked my email - or got online at all - one time. I didn't lay awake at night and think about all the things I had to do. I didn't stress about how my book was or wasn't selling. And somehow, the world still didn't collapse. It has been an intense few months - but for a while, life wasn't intense. It was about beaches and flip flops and yummy food.
Obviously, life can't always be about beaches. And obviously I can't go to Hawaii every month - or even every year. But I can take a break from intensity, just by choosing to let go of the intensity - even for a little while.
I know - easier said than done. But I think it's worth a try every now and then.
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