Kauai - Day 2
Today started off pretty early. My body woke up at 2 AM, thinking it was time to go to the gym. I permanently snoozed that today. I went back to bed until I was awoken by a wonderful text at about 6:10 am here, but 9:10 in the morning at home. Well, no use in going back to bed if I had 20 minutes left to sleep. I also woke to find I was bitten in my sleep near my rear. Oh, that's going to be sexy. The bite I received the afternoon before was getting worse. I swell up to have an ugly raised section when bit by a bug. It's not pretty.
My cousin and I were planning on going on a boat tour with Holo Holo Charters for an 8 am departure. But we had to eat breakfast and take my nephew to daycare too. I was excited to have waffles with blueberries this morning. I have been craving it and had not-so-great versions since the start of this new addiction with my nephew. And then we were on our way. It was breezy today and I'm glad my cousin lent me a sweater that matched a white Express dress I have had for probably over 10 years. We checked in, shopped a little and chatted. The lady at the counter, named Megan, commented on my cousin Shanti's name. "Oh, I have a cousin named Shanti!" "So do it!" I replied. And it's pretty funny that Shanti ended up knowing Megan's cousin, Shanti. Small world. Shanti was also stating that when she was on Oahu, there were tons of Manzanos there. I thought about our growing Family Tree at Ancestry.com. Research!
We were escorted by Mike to our boat, the Leila, at the very end of the dock. It was much warmer in the sun and you can feel it penetrating your skin. Someone pointed out to me the one man that was fishing at the beginning of the dock on a pier made of rocks. She said that his wife was sleeping with one of the rich millionaires on the island while their 3-year-old son was swimming in the pool or on the beach. Because the wife was 'busy', the son drowned. I don't know what this man looks like or even know his name, but it's a reminder to yourself to be compassionate towards other human beings. You just never know what they are or have been thru.
After passing boats of Captain Andy's and Blue Dolphin, our group arrived at the Leila and we were asked to put our flip flops in a rolling cart with cubby holes. No shoes on the boat. We were all barefoot. We were greeted onto the boat and we met a former paddling teammate of Shanti's, Leila. She was Hawaiian and greeted me with some Aloha love. I immediately noticed the way she spoke and wanted to hear her speak some more. We went thru more instructions by the Captain and we were about head out. I took one chewable Dramamine this am, took another one before we departed as the guy next to me said he took two. Ah hell, better safe than sorry. I took another one. And we cruised out.
I couldn't believe what we saw out there. A huge pod of dolphins! I have never seen them in the wild before and it was so exciting to see. They did flips, swam around us and came so close. Shanti said she wanted to see turtle and manta rays. We got to our destination where the road accessible beaches end and we snorkeled. The water could have been a bit warmer but if you continued to swim, it was just fine. Immediately in the water, there were fish all around us of so many different colors. Leila was on the water as well sitting on a surfboard patrolling us all. She said there was a turtle! I want to see! So we swam in that direction and looking down, there it was. HUGE! It made me think of Crush from Finding Nemo. And I spotted one on my own a little bit later. It was awesome. Seeing that, the beautiful fish, the corral, the way the sun's rays turned into a disco ball under the water on the sea floor and complete silence was serenity. If I had the patience for an aquarium, I would have one because it's so relaxing.
Then we got out of the water because I was working up an appetite. I had half a glass of wine and thought that that may not be good idea as we rocked on the water while other folks were making their way back to the boat. We decided to sit on top and it was so much fun. No one was obstructing our view and we were the only ones on that side. As we patrolled a bit more further down the Na Pali Coastline, Leila gave us more information. She's well-educated on the island and the formation of the rocks. It's beautiful. You can tell she's very passionate and proud of her heritage and her home.
We came up to beaches you can only access via hikes or some sort of floating mode of transportation. We saw beaches with the Conch where 6 Days, 7 Nights was filmed with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche, where Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp and one of the latest James Bond flicks where a helicopter went thru the opening. Shanti says on her first visit here with Pablo almost 10 years ago, they just camped out on the beach and hiked around here. So amazing.
Leila pointed out an old fishing village that the state or an organization is trying to restore. There's a big X on the cliffs and it's said that it was marked as the most beautiful spot on the island. Moving on, tall cliffs and green valleys and sharp ridges could be seen. The cliffs were 4000 feet tall. Could you imagine the drop? Yikes. I love geology and the way the earth creates such beautiful and natural formations. The word "Amazing" just continued to come out of my mouth.
Then we stopped and were putting up the sail to head back. Oh boy. We were rockin! And I was not liking it. After awhile of sailing, I was not feeling good. Shanti did me a favor and grabbed me another Dramamine. That's three for the day! And Leila gave me ice chips to suck on. Oh man...I didn't want to move at first because Mike said it'd be better if I went to the back of the boat. I thought I could stick it out but I clumsily climbed back there trying to not let my towel fall off. And so there I was, at the end of the back of the boat for the remainder of the boat ride with my feet hanging off the edge. The cool splashes of the ocean on my legs felt good but could still feel the sun browning my skin even more. So I wrapped myself in the other towel and had my hat on. I actually fell asleep on and off while back there and sitting up, but it was better to be unconscious than thinking about how rocky this boat is. At one point, Shanti said 14 more miles. When we finally got to the dock, "that was the longest 14 miles of my life."
We arrived, I finally used the potty, and we chatted with her friend at Holo Holo. They were talking about this Buti Class and she showed me a YouTube video. Shanti explained the very sexual moves that she had to do during the class and it sounds like so much fun! I'll look into a Buti class at home.
Then we went to the town of Hanapepe where it's lined with art galleries. Shanti said it was the town that Lilo & Stitch was based off of. How cool! And it reminded me of Elvis. Big Elvis fan here! Coco Palms is where they filed Blue Hawaii and it is apparently closed with no reopening date. So sad. Her friend Kate owns The Bright Side Gallery that just opened up in town and there are some beautiful pieces there. There's a purple one of the ocean and surfers that I really liked. The smaller version was $250. So they chatted and then we went to go get smoothies next door. Yum!
Then we went off to pick up Sol! Came home, showered to remove the salt off of us, had dinner, I worked on the wedding for next week, uploaded some pics on Facebook of our excursion and looked up some hiking options for Thursday.
And I here I go to hike to Lolo Vista, in honor of my Lolo. I miss him so much.
My cousin and I were planning on going on a boat tour with Holo Holo Charters for an 8 am departure. But we had to eat breakfast and take my nephew to daycare too. I was excited to have waffles with blueberries this morning. I have been craving it and had not-so-great versions since the start of this new addiction with my nephew. And then we were on our way. It was breezy today and I'm glad my cousin lent me a sweater that matched a white Express dress I have had for probably over 10 years. We checked in, shopped a little and chatted. The lady at the counter, named Megan, commented on my cousin Shanti's name. "Oh, I have a cousin named Shanti!" "So do it!" I replied. And it's pretty funny that Shanti ended up knowing Megan's cousin, Shanti. Small world. Shanti was also stating that when she was on Oahu, there were tons of Manzanos there. I thought about our growing Family Tree at Ancestry.com. Research!
We were escorted by Mike to our boat, the Leila, at the very end of the dock. It was much warmer in the sun and you can feel it penetrating your skin. Someone pointed out to me the one man that was fishing at the beginning of the dock on a pier made of rocks. She said that his wife was sleeping with one of the rich millionaires on the island while their 3-year-old son was swimming in the pool or on the beach. Because the wife was 'busy', the son drowned. I don't know what this man looks like or even know his name, but it's a reminder to yourself to be compassionate towards other human beings. You just never know what they are or have been thru.
After passing boats of Captain Andy's and Blue Dolphin, our group arrived at the Leila and we were asked to put our flip flops in a rolling cart with cubby holes. No shoes on the boat. We were all barefoot. We were greeted onto the boat and we met a former paddling teammate of Shanti's, Leila. She was Hawaiian and greeted me with some Aloha love. I immediately noticed the way she spoke and wanted to hear her speak some more. We went thru more instructions by the Captain and we were about head out. I took one chewable Dramamine this am, took another one before we departed as the guy next to me said he took two. Ah hell, better safe than sorry. I took another one. And we cruised out.
I couldn't believe what we saw out there. A huge pod of dolphins! I have never seen them in the wild before and it was so exciting to see. They did flips, swam around us and came so close. Shanti said she wanted to see turtle and manta rays. We got to our destination where the road accessible beaches end and we snorkeled. The water could have been a bit warmer but if you continued to swim, it was just fine. Immediately in the water, there were fish all around us of so many different colors. Leila was on the water as well sitting on a surfboard patrolling us all. She said there was a turtle! I want to see! So we swam in that direction and looking down, there it was. HUGE! It made me think of Crush from Finding Nemo. And I spotted one on my own a little bit later. It was awesome. Seeing that, the beautiful fish, the corral, the way the sun's rays turned into a disco ball under the water on the sea floor and complete silence was serenity. If I had the patience for an aquarium, I would have one because it's so relaxing.
Then we got out of the water because I was working up an appetite. I had half a glass of wine and thought that that may not be good idea as we rocked on the water while other folks were making their way back to the boat. We decided to sit on top and it was so much fun. No one was obstructing our view and we were the only ones on that side. As we patrolled a bit more further down the Na Pali Coastline, Leila gave us more information. She's well-educated on the island and the formation of the rocks. It's beautiful. You can tell she's very passionate and proud of her heritage and her home.
We came up to beaches you can only access via hikes or some sort of floating mode of transportation. We saw beaches with the Conch where 6 Days, 7 Nights was filmed with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche, where Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp and one of the latest James Bond flicks where a helicopter went thru the opening. Shanti says on her first visit here with Pablo almost 10 years ago, they just camped out on the beach and hiked around here. So amazing.
Leila pointed out an old fishing village that the state or an organization is trying to restore. There's a big X on the cliffs and it's said that it was marked as the most beautiful spot on the island. Moving on, tall cliffs and green valleys and sharp ridges could be seen. The cliffs were 4000 feet tall. Could you imagine the drop? Yikes. I love geology and the way the earth creates such beautiful and natural formations. The word "Amazing" just continued to come out of my mouth.
Then we stopped and were putting up the sail to head back. Oh boy. We were rockin! And I was not liking it. After awhile of sailing, I was not feeling good. Shanti did me a favor and grabbed me another Dramamine. That's three for the day! And Leila gave me ice chips to suck on. Oh man...I didn't want to move at first because Mike said it'd be better if I went to the back of the boat. I thought I could stick it out but I clumsily climbed back there trying to not let my towel fall off. And so there I was, at the end of the back of the boat for the remainder of the boat ride with my feet hanging off the edge. The cool splashes of the ocean on my legs felt good but could still feel the sun browning my skin even more. So I wrapped myself in the other towel and had my hat on. I actually fell asleep on and off while back there and sitting up, but it was better to be unconscious than thinking about how rocky this boat is. At one point, Shanti said 14 more miles. When we finally got to the dock, "that was the longest 14 miles of my life."
We arrived, I finally used the potty, and we chatted with her friend at Holo Holo. They were talking about this Buti Class and she showed me a YouTube video. Shanti explained the very sexual moves that she had to do during the class and it sounds like so much fun! I'll look into a Buti class at home.
Then we went to the town of Hanapepe where it's lined with art galleries. Shanti said it was the town that Lilo & Stitch was based off of. How cool! And it reminded me of Elvis. Big Elvis fan here! Coco Palms is where they filed Blue Hawaii and it is apparently closed with no reopening date. So sad. Her friend Kate owns The Bright Side Gallery that just opened up in town and there are some beautiful pieces there. There's a purple one of the ocean and surfers that I really liked. The smaller version was $250. So they chatted and then we went to go get smoothies next door. Yum!
Then we went off to pick up Sol! Came home, showered to remove the salt off of us, had dinner, I worked on the wedding for next week, uploaded some pics on Facebook of our excursion and looked up some hiking options for Thursday.
And I here I go to hike to Lolo Vista, in honor of my Lolo. I miss him so much.
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