Goodbye Kauai...

We have had a wonderful week here and perfect weather every day. We took the first few days of the week to just stay around the resort and relax. Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday we took some day/half-day trips around the island to see the sights. Two of those evenings we packed a picnic dinner at found a beach to eat at and watch the sunset. Incredible times! Then the past few days we have just chilled out here, especially out at the beach.

The picture of Kilauea Lighthouse is from last year; it was under renovation this year and not very "photogenic..."

Craig and I fly back to the mainland and home in about 14 hours...

I leave you with a slide show of some of the beauty we saw this week...

Kauai Marriott Beach Club Resort

We spent the mornings here in the open air area overlooking the pool. The ultimate in relaxation.


We saw three cruise ships come into port and sail away during our week here. I like this shot with the two different types of "boats."


We ate several times at Duke's right next to the resort. Friday night they had live entertainment.


A sailboat with a beautiful backdrop of the mountains.


A mother hen and her chicks stayed right beside us all afternoon; might have been the tortilla chips we fed them...


Loved watching these kids play on the rocks and jump into the surf.


The most incredible pool you'll ever see (this is only about a quarter of it). And the beach & ocean just beyond. We enjoyed sitting at both.


Two stray cats hung out at our patio all week.


Bird of paradise plant right near the resort.


Watching sunsets from our lounge chairs at the beach.


The pool and hot tubs were enjoyed at night as well. Great way to end each day.


Some guys trying to look cool as they bask in the sun!


Early morning; everything is peaceful and still.


View from our patio on the first floor; just a short walk to the open air area, pool and beach.


Pattons patio to the left; ours to the right. So convenient!

We have so enjoyed our week here, as always. While we have taken in all the beauty this island has to offer, some of our best memories will be of our time just relaxing here at the resort. The pictures in this post are of this wonderful place and how we spent our days...

Our favorite place on Kauai...

Without a doubt, for Craig and I, every trip to Kauai must include a visit to this little church over in Hanalei. It holds special memories for us, as it was a favorite of Craig's mother when she visited it a few years ago with us. We always have to go here even though we have now seen and walked through it about five times. The front doors are always opened; the smell of flowers and aged wood permeates the place. The light explodes through the stained glass and shadows of the palm trees outside dance on the windows. One of these days, we will attend a church service here on a Sunday morning. So I wanted to include a slide show of what makes this little place, one where few tourists probably venture to, so special to us...

Kauai with the Pattons

Right after picking them up at the airport we headed to Costco for shopping and dinner; turns out they like the hot dog & soda combo like we do!


By the first day here they were already into the relaxing mode here at the Kauai Marriott Beach Club Resort...


Dinner out on Monday night at Duke's and their famous Hula Pie!


Mike & Martha at Wailua Falls (famous from the Fantasy Island show of the 70's).


Shadows of the four of us at Waimea Canyon overlook on Wednesday.


On the rocks for a photo at sunset...


Sorry to my readers/followers on the lack of posts this week now that we are on Kauai. Last week on Maui it was just me and Craig and he was working alot of the time. This week, our good friends from home, Mike & Martha Patton are here on Kauai with us. This year marks their 20th wedding anniversary and it was a desire of theirs to come to Hawaii to celebrate so we invited them to come with us. We have been planning this for 6 months and now that we are enjoying the time together, it is so much fun! We like to do the same things (basically just chill out with some short trips to see the beauty of this place), eat the same way (Hawaii on a budget with a few dinners out to splurge) and lots of the same hobbies and interests, some of which we only discovered by spending lots of time together each day (it's cozy here in our condo).

Pictures today are of our dear friends enjoying the island...

Kahana Beach Resort

For my final blog post for this week and this island, I did another slide show of a variety of pictures from the week of the resort and its surroundings, what we saw, memories made and all we enjoyed. We've had a wonderful time indeed... See you next week over on Kauai...

Long and winding road...

Today I learned how to create a slideshow! We took the morning to drive around to the north side of the island. At times we were on a one lane, barely paved road, meant to fit two vehicles traveling either way! I took so many pictures, I figures this was the best way to enjoy them all! I don't think they need an explanation. The beauty of this place will speak for itself...

Just click below on "View All Images"...

Lahaina

Beautiful sunsets from the Lahaina waterfront.


A steak dinner at Ruths Chris is the best!


The block-long park with the banyan tree. That is only one central tree whose branches have dropped and started new plantings. Amazing!


We had to visit the Harley store, and no, we didn't buy a thing!


Walking along Front Street full of eclectic shops and restaurants.


The nearest town to us here on Maui is Lahaina, right on the water and where the cruise ships tender when they have a port stop here. We are about 10 minutes away, and with all its shops and restaurants, it is the place to go. It's got a certain charm and character about it; hard to describe. Not like any place I can compare it to. Here's a link to read more about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahaina,_Hawaii

We have made several trips there over the week we have been here. To "Moose's" for dinner one night for their burgers; to walk along the waterfront and visit the many shops, to stroll under the famous Banyan tree planted in 1873 which takes up an entire city block; to dine at Ruths Chris Steakhouse as our special treat; and to take in the sunset as it bids another day farewell behind the island of Lanai.