Kauai 2015 {Part ONE}

For the last several years, Abe and I always joked that we were going to head to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary. Once we got back in the States, we teamed up with Roni & Brett and Kara & Justin and made it happen! I had never been to Kauai before and it was so much fun to explore a new island. It was beautiful and lush, with so many outdoor activities. It definitely wasn't a "hang out on the beach" kind of vacation everyday. Kara mentioned that she worked out more on our trip than she ever does! That pretty much sums it up. We were super active the entire time and it made for a fun adventure!



Haha, first stop: Walmart to grab some groceries!


Then we were off to Princeville to our Condos and were greeted with some leis


Our pool


Our first day in Kauai, we headed over to Hanalei Bay. This beach was pretty amazing because the mountains kind of surround it and you can look up at the mountains and see several waterfalls from the beach. The sand was super soft and it had a pretty neat pier.













After exploring Hanalei Bay (and probably not long enough), we headed over to Anini Beach. I LOVED this beach. The water was clear, the beach was a little more hidden and just beautiful.









After we headed up to do the Hoopi Falls Hike. We heard this was a fun one because you can jump into the waterfall. When we got to the first waterfall (which is the one you are supposed to jump into), there were a bunch of people sitting around looking at it and it did not look safe to jump in. We then headed to the second waterfall just to see it. The trees are so cool!













Not far from the hike was Lydgate Beach State Park. We all ended up getting in the Ocean and tried to body surf. It was so fun! We got some fun video and I made a video of the entire trip, but I can't post it for some reason!












The next day we headed to the Na Pali Coast to hike up to Haanakapi Falls. We woke up at the crack of dawn so we could get hiking before all the crowds. It is 2 miles in to a "beach" and that part of the hike gets really crowded with tourists. Since we got there so lucky, we didn't have to deal with too many people on the way in. From the beach, we hiked 2 miles up to an AMAZING waterfall. It is hard to describe how incredibly tall it was. It was so powerful that when we got up to it, we were soaking wet and it was windy. So cool. Most people didn't hike all the way in and turned around at the beach due to the mud and some obstacles while hiking. We had to cross several rivers and the terrain was interesting. I have so many good memories from this hike! The coast was so beautiful too!













































That night we took a REALLY LONG WALK and I was so tired from hiking 8 miles that day and then walking for several more. It was so pretty walking along the Coast and down to a fancy hotel and then back around.