This is our first 2-week trip since our honeymoon, 2.5 years ago. We’ve both been stressed by work and my status as a full-time grad student. We are looking to do as much relaxing as sight-seeing on this trip. We chose Hawaii because we wanted a short flight from Seattle and warm weather. We decided to visit 3 islands because we honestly thought this would be our first and last trip to Hawaii… Little did we know that we would fall madly in love with the place!

Our itinerary:

Kauai – 7 nights

Molokai – 6 nights

Honolulu – 3 nights

Day 1 Seattle to Honolulu, Honolulu to Lihue

Our flight to Honolulu arrives 1/2 hour early. The airport at Honolulu is “open air” and the warm weather feels amazing. We pick up our rental car in Lihue. We’re renting through Budget, and it will end up costing $180 with all the fees. Although we reserved an economy, they don’t have any, so we get upgraded to a sedan for free. I’d rather have the budget car, as our car back home is a Civic and the rental feels like I’m driving a tank.

We head towards Poipu. It’s about 5 pm, and the southward sky is an ominous dark gray. We stop at the Kukui Grove shopping center to pick up a few groceries and dinner. A half gallon of Silk soy milk is $6.00, and a box of cereal is $4.00. Since we don’t know how well the kitchen at Sunset Kahili is stocked, we pick up some sushi for dinner. A 9 pack of California rolls is about $6. I’d like to browse more, but husband is worried about getting caught in the storm as we’re trying to find our condo, so we head towards Poipu.

Along the way, the storm hits us. We finally arrive at Sunset Kahili. We can’t see the view since it’s dark and pouring, but the inside of the condo looks as nice as it did online. It’s painted a bright yellow, and both the bedroom and the living room overlook the ocean. There’s a dining area, and the bedroom can be closed off from the living room via sliding screens. It’s $120 per night and we are happy with it.

We eat dinner and go over the brochures we picked up at the airport. At 8:30, husband announces he’s tired. We’re in bed by 9:00–I guess there’s a first for everything. We fall asleep with the ceiling fan on.

Kauai Day 2

At 7:30 am, I wake up to the sound of birds instead of rain. It’s the most wonderful sound I can imagine. We can also hear (and see) the ocean from our bed, it is amazing.  Husband and I get up (another oddity–up by 8:00 am on a Sunday?) and check out our view, which is stellar. The pool, however, is extremely small and unsuitable for doing laps. I don’t know if I would stay here again for that reason, but it’s an excellent deal for people who aren’t looking to exercise in the pool. Because the condos overlook the parking lot, I wouldn’t want to be lower than the 3rd floor (we’re on the 5th floor).

We eat breakfast and decide to play the day by ear. We drive to Poipu beach, which is relatively empty this early in the morning. We walk on the sand and kick off our sandals. The water is warm on my toes; the temperature outside is perfect.

Next we head westward and stop at the Spouting Horn. The tide must be low, as it isn’t spouting very high. We resolve to come back again since it’s not far from our condo. We keep heading west and end up in Old Koloa town. We stop at Lappert’s ice cream shop, and I have a waffle cone with coffee/coconut/macadamia nut ice cream, and husband has a cinnamon roll ($8). It’s only 10:00 am, but it feels like afternoon.

At Old Koloa town, I notice some advertisements for excursions that seem too cheap to be true. Helicopter tours for $100? Snorkel cruises for $60? I realize that they’re soliciting for time shares. Husband and I had decided that we would have one “splurge” excursion; this seems like a cheap way to do more, but husband is extremely hesitant. I decide to talk with the person running the booth anyway and get the details. We’d have to go through an at least 90 minute presentation and tour of a new timeshare community by Poipu beach. For this, we’d be able to attend a luau and a snorkel cruise for $200 for the both of us. These would cost $450 otherwise. I’m ready to sign up, but know to consult husband first. He ends up talking me out of it. I wish we had done it. Even if it took twice as long, I think it would have been worth it to do excursions we couldn’t otherwise afford.

After that we decide to head to the National Tropical Botanical gardens. We wander around the main grounds, then discover that due to the recent downpours, the McBryde and Allerton gardens are closed. We decide to come back another day.

We then head towards Kapa’a to check out the Safeway. We need some cheap groceries… We notice that traffic is backed up a good half mile heading back. By the time we get to Kapa’a, it’s 1:00 pm and we’re starving. We end up eating at the Panda Express since we’re so hungry. Lunch is cheap at $15.

The Safeway has prices on a lot of things that are comparable to the prices back home. We buy some wild swordfish and salmon; we’re given marinade and seasoning to go with them. We buy ingredients for a salad, some Captain Morgan’s Coconut rum and Mai Tai mix (groceries = $30), and then head back towards Poipu. Another set of grey clouds lies southward. We decide to stop at Blockbuster in case rain keeps us inside the rest of the day.

At Poipu, however, it’s still pleasant. We put on our suits and head to the beach. This will be my first time swimming in the ocean. I learned how to swim specifically for this trip, and have had a fear of the water for a long time. Learning how to swim was difficult, but now I love it. We spend the rest of the afternoon lounging on the beach and trying to come up with some sort of an itinerary. We go for a swim and it is absolute heaven! After our swim we head back to the condo. Dinner is entirely mediocre–I don’t think I put enough marinade on the fish–but we eat on our lanai with a lovely sunset as our view. We watch the first two episodes of season 2 of Lost, then head to bed.

Go on the next part of the journey!