Kauai, Hawaii.

we were gone for 9 very fun days. we stayed on 2 islands, Kauai and Oahu. both were so incredible and SO different! it really felt like 2 separate vacations! Kauai is very beautiful, romantic and very green!  despite the random wild roosters, it is a perfect paradise ha. we were on this island the longest and did a lot of activities- snorkeling, whale watching, zip lining, boat tour, shopping, dinner in town, swimming, played tennis, hammock time and just relaxed! my in laws were very fun to have around too, and are great to travel with! the condo we stayed in was so wonderful! it's 2 levels with a full kitchen, laundry and balcony area. the views from it were so nice, i loved laying in the hammock with Alex that was just outside of our room. my favorite night was when we sat on the balcony after dinner watching the whales spout in the ocean in the 75 degree weather. i love Hawaii.

 

view from the entry way, bedroom is behind the entry and a loft is up stairs. we loved it.



such pretty scenery...view from our room, and heading to the beach



an awesome cave we found on our way to the beach



my first time snorkeling! it was awesome, i kept getting scared though of touching the reef. we saw some very cool fish. we went to a second beach and found a random seal, we thought it was fake at first. it was awesome. 






we drove around a lot on Kauai visiting different towns, it was so fun with the mustang convertible we rented ha it screamed tourist!



after our boat ride we took a drive to see the "grand canyon" of this island. we were pretty tired from being on the boat but we knew we wouldn't have another chance to see it...i'm very glad we did.



4 hour boat tour. they took us on a catamaran boat and served treats and lunch. the views were amazing. along the way we saw, turtles, dolphins and a whale heat run (where the males chase the one female). we were so close to them it was a little scary but very cool. they also stopped and had us snorkel. i have never seen so many fish and had them be so close to me. i love snorkeling! thanks to our friends Nicole & Jake we had great gear. I got sick on the boat, so did my mother in law but after we felt much better and enjoyed the ride.



night time was very sweet. we usually would shower again from the long day adventures, eat a nice dinner outside and relax. a few times Alex and i would go and sit on the chairs that overlooked the ocean, lay in the hammock or hang out inside. it was honestly perfect.



a couple of times we went into town to shop and see what fun things the Hawaii people have. we loved their very chill and low key style of life. it definitely rubs off on you while you're there!

 



and then there was ziplinning. admittedly at first i was so excited and had no worries. but once i started thinking about it i got very nervous. i have never done anything like this before, closest thing to it would be hiking...obviously way different. but we were on this "just go with it" mindset and so i did. a mere 9 zip lines later i was very proud i did it! and was also the girl that everyone will remember...the one that was terrified haha. but Alex was so sweet and encouraging and i wanted to prove i could do it. it really was so fun! the zip lines get even longer as you go through the course. the last one you have to walk up 30" feet and then drop from there. but at least on this one i got to ride along the side of my husband.





and after all of these activities we decided to spend some time enjoying the pretty pool area. there were a few pools and hot tubs, which was nice to have our own private area.

my husband is a hottie for sure. there was a lot of this going on too :).



last night in town at Calypso, a very cute/romantic place to eat. i loved it, the fish was very good!



my husband carrying our luggage and heading to the airport..we were sad to leave but very excited to get to Oahu!

2nd part of the trip to come....