Kauai: Part II The Queen's Bath, Secret Beach, and Kayaking

Kauai: Part II The Queen's Bath, Secret Beach, and Kayaking

• 6.12.2016

^^View of Hanalei Bay at sunset on a rainy day^^

The rest of our week in Kauai is a giant blur of exploration, food, and good old fashioned fun. If you know Bron very well, you know he likes to go-go-go!  He wore me out.  After the sun went down, I passed out in our king-sized bed by 9PM every night.  (I blame pregnancy for that too.)

We stayed in a one-room apartment at the Hanalei Bay Resort where there were pools and a hot tub, tennis courts, and a fire pit with a view.  Sooo relaxing!  It was located on the north side of the island where it rains a lot more often, but is other-worldly in its greenery and beauty.  Plus, we kind of fell in love with the quaint little town of Princeville where we shopped and ate most of our meals.  The people were so friendly and it just radiated a vibe that made us want to move there and stay forever!

On Tuesday morning we searched out The Queen's Bath, a natural tide pool made of lava rock.  We knew it would be low-tide and therefore most likely safe for us to swim.  It was just a ten minute hike past some waterfalls and across lava rock... and it didn't disappoint!  The Queen's Bath was so cool!  The tide pool was deep enough to jump into.  And every once in a while a big wave would crash over from the ocean and into the pool.  But the best part was all the little fish we could see and swim around with!    

^^We even spotted some real live sea turtles!^^

Next, that same morning, we hiked a half mile down a little trail to a place known as Secret Beach.  The beach must've been a secret (or else the waves were still a little too dangerous for swimming) because there were maybe twenty people there.  At least a mile long, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves!  We trekked more than halfway down the sand and found ourselves a private spot among some rocks.  We laid out, ate lunch, hunted for sea shells, (I stepped on a bee and got stung.  Owww!  I forgot how much those hurt.), and played in the water.  The under current was pretty strong, so we didn't dare go out too far, but we still managed to have a blast.

Also, side note, I sunburned my shoulders so bad that day they blistered.  That's never happened to me before!  The sun's rays really are more direct near the equator.  I should've known better.  Tsk.  Tsk.   

^^Pretending to be Ariel the mermaid for a minute.  Haha.^^

^^Kilauea Lighthouse^^

My favorite treat the whole time we were in Hawaii was Shave Ice!  Ohhh, it's mouth-watering goodness.  The ice is much more fine than a snow cone and having it heaped upon some macadamia nut ice cream made me swoon.  For reals.  It was food worth documenting.

I should have also documented my mango smoothie made from a little stand in a parking lot.  It was sooo creamy and hit all the right spots.  Mmmm...  

Next: scenes around the island.

Wednesday was the day we probably did our most touristy thing of all: we went kayaking!  We procured ourselves a tandem kayak and propelled ourselves up the lazy Wailua River.  (Well, maybe Bron did more of the propelling.  Haha.)  We pulled the kayak out at a designated place called the Fern Grotto: the trailhead to Secret Falls.  The trail was slippery and muddy.  We were so glad to have our thick-soled Chaco's, perfect for both hiking and water.  We meandered along the trail and marveled at the trees and thick rain forest growth.  Did anything ever die here?  Probably not.  It was amazing!  I cooled off under a small waterfall (Eeek!  So cold and fun!) and we stopped to eat lunch there.  Then we ventured just a little further up the trail to Secret Falls.  Wow!!!  You bet Bron got himself underneath.  It was all part of the adventure!  

^^Mountain biker joke: Look at that tree!^^

^^River Crossing!^^

^^Secret Falls.  We managed to arrive between tour groups.  Amazing!!!  Bron looks so small.^^

^^Happy 9th Anniversary to us from Hawaii!!! This man is my encourager, my rock, my life's adventure buddy. I love the life and family we've built together. I'm not sure it gets any better than this.^^

When we got back to the water, we decided to kayak upstream just to explore and see what the river looked like.  Well, we found some cows munching on grass and made it as far as a kayak could possibly go before turning around.  Success!  

Thursday, we spent half a day at Tunnels Beach.  Oh, the scenery!  From the sand, we stared up at the green cliffs jutting out of the ocean and played in the crystal clear waters.  What a dream!  But there are no pictures.  Oh well.  I guess we were having too much fun.

And we officially documented the Baby Bean after dinner Thursday evening.  Part food belly, part baby belly, I didn't care.  I was sooo excited to be showing just a little bit and welcome a third child to our family!