My parents and Patrick and Katie flew into SFO on Saturday afternoon. The girls went to get pedicures, while the guys watched football. Afterwards Matt and I took everyone to experience our Christmas present to each other. Our Christmas present was to have a 4D ultra sound of Baby Bu. I was 16 weeks at the time and we were eager to find out the gender of Baby Bu before our 20 week ultrasound, but the cord was between the legs so nothing could be confirmed. The images of Baby Bu were projected on an hundred inch screen so my parents, Patrick and Katie could also see the baby. Although we were not able to find out the gender, Baby Bu was moving around a lot and that was so cool to see.
Between my mom, my brother and I, we took a TON of pictures - 1,742 to be exact!
Day 1 (12-20-09): Our trip began very early in the morning as the shuttle service showed up 15 minutes early and we were frantically running around the house hoping to not forget anything. We flew Hawaiian Airlines from San Francisco to Honolulu and then got on another plane and flew to Lihue. When we landed we got our rental cars and drove to our house in Poi'Pu. We spent the drive to the house amazed at the lush green and gorgeous scenery around us. We pulled up to the house and were so excited about the view. There was even a whale there to greet us. Once we unpacked, we went to get something to eat since we were starving after traveling all day. After dinner we went to the only grocery store open to get a few things. We laughed at the prices of things - $9.00/gallon of milk was our favorite.
Here is the house we stayed in for the week.
Day 2 (12-21-09): Everyone woke up early due to the time change. It was not hard for Matt and I since we only had a 2 hour difference, but everyone else had a 5 hour adjustment. We sat out on the deck to star gaze and listen to the waves crash against the rocks. We ate our fresh fruit, omelets and Hawaiian coffee on the deck as the sun was coming up. The first thing we did on Kauai was to take a helicopter tour so that we could get an overview of the island. The island was amazing and the Napali Coast was stunning.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our helicopter ride.
Tree lined road
Hanalei Bay
Napali Coast
Wetest spot on earth
After returning from the helicopter ride we headed to Baby Beach, a 5 minute walk from our house. Without even knowing it and living thousands of miles apart, Katie and I ordered the same bathing suit. It was quite funny to discover that out in Hawaii. I guess we have great taste huh?!
Later that night we went to dinner at the Beach House restaurant timing it perfectly to catch the sunset while we ate.
After dinner we walked to a plaza not far from the house and enjoyed some ice cream.
Day 3 (12-22-09): Matt, myself, Patrick and Katie got up early and kayaked on the Wailua River, hiked to a water fall and swam under the water fall.
One of the funniest things about Kauai was there are a lot of roosters and chickens running around wild everywhere. Here we are at Poi'Pu Beach and caught this rooster running by us.
Another first for my family was having professional pictures taken. Matt found this great photographer, Nathan Sebastian on the island and he took us to Shipwreck Beach for pictures just as the sun was setting. I loved how they came out.
Here is Patrick grilling our dinner and Matt enjoying a beer on the deck after a fun day.
Day 4 (12-23-09): The girls went to the spa for the morning while the guys (minus Matt) played golf. At the spa we each got a massage, swam in the lap pool, worked out in the fitness center and took a yoga class. It was so relaxing. I got my first ever prenatal massage.
We went for lunch at Waimea Brewing Company. It was on a plantation and they had amazing purple sweet potato fries! Matt loved the beer! Patrick got a Blue Hawaiian.
After lunch we explored Glass Beach. This beach was right next to a bottling company and the sand is tiny pieces of glass.
On our drive back home we stopped off to explore the coffee plantation and we bought some Hawaiian espresso beans. We were able to sample all the coffee flavors too.
That night we went to a dinner theater and saw a live production of the musical South Pacific.
Day 5 (12-23-09): Matt and I went to Spouting Horn. Then Patrick, Katie, Matt and I drove to the north side of the island. We explored Hanalei Bay (yes, Puff The Magic Dragon song), Tunnels Beach, Kee Beach (the furthest point north that you can get to on the island without hiking), and saw surfers surfing 15-20 foot waves.
While we explored the north shore of Kauai, Mom and Dad went to the botanical gardens. Here are some of my favorite pictures they took from the gardens.
Traditionally for Christmas Eve dinner my Mom makes veal and chicken parmesan, but this year we did something different. We grilled up steak, fish and pineapple sausage along with sweet potatoes, salad and zucchini. We ate out on the deck and enjoyed the sunset. It was delicious. After dinner Patrick and Katie had a few small gifts for us to open. They gave us stackable cups for Baby Bu and some adorable Nike socks (Gator colors too!). Then we all watched a Bing Crosby movie called Holiday Inn.
Day 6 (12-25-09): Christmas morning was spent on Shipwreck Beach swimming, reading, boogie boarding and laying out. We went to a Luau for Christmas dinner.
Here are a few of the Mai Tais that were drunk at the Luau.
There was also some rum tasting that we (minus me) did before the Luau.
Day 7 (12-26-09): Shipwreck Beach was one of our favorite beachs so we headed there again.
We did a lot of reading and relaxing on this trip too. I was into the Twilight Series and Matt was reading about being a Dad.
In afternoon, we went snorkeling in two inlets within walking distance from our house. The variety and colors of the fish we saw were awesome. We saw turtles (one was 80 yrs old), a Spanish dancer (type of fish), an octopus, an eel and much more. I was so proud of my parents for being adventurous and doing the first part of the snorkeling with us. Thank goodness for the wetsuits we were given to wear because by then end of the 1.5 hours in the water I was freezing.
For dinner that night we grilled out again and celebrated Dad's birthday with GF gingerbread cake, whip cream and strawberries.
Day 8 (12-27-09): We were all very sad when it was time to fly home. We had an amazing week in Kauai and will never forget all the fun memories made.
