What I Did On My Autumn Vacation
Posted on November 12, 2006 @ 9:18 am
Now that I’ve finally caught up on sleep and sorted through my photos, I thought I’d give you the scoop on our trip to the island of Kauai. All in all, it was an amazing trip. I had always heard people describe Hawaii as paradise, and Kauai — the Garden Island — definitely lives up to the reputation. There’s just something magical about being able to walk out on the balcony of your hotel room, take a deep breath, and smell the sweet scent in the air of the countless flowers growing all over the island.
I could go on for hours talking about Kauai’s natural beauty, its quaint rural charm, and its friendly locals, but I won’t bore you with all that. Suffice it to say that we had a wonderful (and relaxing) vacation. I’ve posted a few photos from the trip below (more are available on Flickr). Click the thumbnails for a larger view.
A few highlights from the trip:
- Clearest sign that I’m a mega-dork: “Honey, I downloaded a bunch of episodes of NPR’s This American Life to the iPod, so we’ll have plenty to listen to on the flight over. I even got a headphone-splitter so we can listen at the same time!”
- Biggest surprise: Thumbing through the airline magazine on the flight over to Hawaii and discovering someone on my blogroll wrote one of the feature articles. Nice work, Nicole!
- My favorite thing about our resort: An on-site sushi bar!
- Most memorable experience: Taking a doors-off helicopter tour over Kauai the first morning after we arrived. If you ever make it to the island, definitely invest in a helicopter tour; it’s a fun way to see the island, much of which is inaccessible any other way. The “doors-off” experience adds an extra thrill, and it allows you to take photos without any the glare from the windows.
- Friendliest local: The hangar guy from Inter-Island Helicopters who insisted on changing the flat tire we discovered on our rental car after returning from the tour. Dude wouldn’t even accept a tip for his trouble.
- Official inside joke of the trip: As Strong Bad says, every good trip needs an inside joke that only the people that went on the trip will get. Ours was replacing the phrase “Good idea!” with “Now that’s what I call a Pro-Positive Teen Life Decision Point Choice!” Don’t ask.
- Best snorkeling: Poi’pu Beach. It doesn’t get much better than parking the car, walking across a short stretch of beach, swimming ten feet out into the water, and seeing so many tropical fish that you feel like you’re in an aquarium.
- Most painful moment: Somehow getting my pinky toenail caught on my sandal strap and ripping it off. The toenail, that is. Gross.
- Best meal: I’m on a never-ending quest to find good Thai food (since there doesn’t seem to be any in Georgia), and Toi’s Thai Kitchen fit the bill. Yum!
- Best dessert: Hawaiian “shave ice.” It’s like the best snow cone you’ve ever had times a million.
- Most confusing moment: Hmm…it’s either the preschool-age girl I saw at the pool one afternoon dancing around and singing the “I like to move it, move it!” song or the car we spotted on the road with Alaska tags. How does that happen?
- Favorite souvenir: The tiki idol I brought home to fill the space on my desk once occupied by my dearly departed Guy Noir bobblehead. Here’s hoping it’s not a cursed tiki idol like the one Bobby Brady found that time.
Thanks again to the guest bloggers who covered the site while I was gone! We had an awesome vacation, but it feels good to be back home and back in my usual groove.
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Photo Ops |
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I think that the snorkling@ Ke’e beach is better. Did you make it up there?
We spent an afternoon at Ke’e beach, but I think we hit it at the wrong time. The waves were pretty rough and there wasn’t much to see when we were there. From what I gathered, though, Ke’e (and nearby Tunnels Beach) are supposed to be the best on the island. We just picked the wrong day to be on the north side of the island.
Military get to keep the tags of the state they are resident in. The military used to be the second biggest industry in Hawaii after tourism, not sure if it still is or not. This is also how I see Hawaii tags around Washington D.C.
Brett: Aha! That’s likely it. My best explanation involved top-secret flying car research and development.
mmmm. there’s a hawaiian family that lives in my hometown and makes authentic hawaiian shave ice for the county fair every year. it’s heaven-ilicious.
My ex is Hawaiian I still remember all the great stories from the Islands, I also remember her whole family coming to the big family Thanksgiving feast in LA California and everyone complaining “how cold it is in LA”.
I wish we had the time to visit there, but alas, money and time were not on my side.
Carl
Isn’t it the best? I had a delicious coconut/passion fruit mix while we were there that I’m still drooling over.
Welcome back. When we went Kauai, it was hot and steamy. My favorite thing about the island though? The wild fowl. You hear them everywhere.
Regarding little girls singing inappropiate songs…
When I five, my parents and I took a trip to Datona Beach. I was skipping down the beach ahead of them, singing loudly for my own amusement when my horrified mother demanded I stop singing immediately despite my father’s laughing protests to leave me alone.
The song I was singing?
Rod Stweart’s ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy’.
Hawaiian “shave ice” is my favourite
If you prefer other locations, you could have an overview which places are best as reviewed in http://paradisetrips.net. Though based from personal experience, an autumn in Hawaii is much enjoyable. With or without a shave ice.