The Real Jurassic Park | Kauai, HI
Happy January, my poor, abandoned bloggy friends! I may have taken a good month off from writing, but that month included plenty of travel. I spent my two weeks off from work in Hawaii and California, enjoying the sunshine, taking pictures, and gathering plenty of ideas for new #content. Apparently I can never give myself a real break.
My parents and I started out our adventure on Kauai, one of the most lush islands of the Aloha State. After some rest to get over the massive jet lag (8 hours of flying is no joke), we got a real Hawaiian welcome at the Smith Family Garden Luau. The evening featured a tour of their gorgeous gardens, an amazing and authentic Hawaiian meal, and a show featuring the music and dance of the Polynesian islands. If you're looking for a more classic luau, Smith's does a fantastic job.
We spent our next morning at Kauai's Hindu Monastery, a site in the hills of central Kauai frequented by people of all faiths. The monastery is definitely worth a visit for its lush views and general sense of peace. There's plenty of people on site who are happy to talk to you about the Hindu faith, show you around the grounds, and answer any questions you may have.
From there, we drove down to the town of Kapaa for some lunch. Kapaa is home to plenty of great restaurants, but some friends of ours highly recommended Mermaids Cafe. It totally lived up to the hype. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the BEST TACOS OF MY LIFE, but just take my word for it. They were awesome. The hibiscus lemonade wasn't bad, either.
You may have seen a little dinosaur movie last summer by the name of Jurassic World. The real Jurassic Park happens to be on Kauai, namely on the Na Pali Coast. A lot of the exterior shots from the Jurassic Park movies were shot in these incredible seaside mountains, and no wonder why. This place is unreal. We took a sunset catamaran cruise with Holo Holo Charters and saw some of the most incredible sites. Plus, they fed us. Shout out to food.
Much of the next day was spent kayaking and hiking our way up to Secret Falls in Wailua River State Park. I'm still impressed that I actually made it back to the hotel without dying. Four miles of kayaking and two miles of hiking in ankle-deep mud is much more physical activity than I've had in...a while. But it was all worth it for the view. You don't see that every day in Manhattan. And if you do, you should probably call the fire department.
We spent our week at Marriott's Kauai Beach Club, right on Kalapaki Bay. The whole property was lush and gorgeous, with lots of open-air spaces. The lobby/courtyard area, with its manmade waterfalls and stocked koi pond was one of my favorite parts of the resort. Plus, occasionally this cockatoo would make an appearance, shouting "Aloha" at the guests passing through. He was the best.
Kauai, you were good to me. Mahalo for your incredible hospitality to those of us just passing through. I know I'll be back soon enough.
Looking for some more visuals of the Aloha State? Check out the video I put together with some of my favorite moments from my Hawaiian adventure!