Kauai 2013 - Day 7 & 8

We didn't have anything planned for Day 7.  DH woke up in the middle of the night feeling sick to his stomach and by the morning, I knew he wasn't going anywhere.  We're not sure what caused him to be sick.  Maybe the few bites of the rotisserie chicken that had been in the fridge for a few days, or dehydration.  Anyway, he is feeling much better now.

In the mean time, the boys and I decided to go over to the Kauai Humane Society to see if we could take a dog out on a field trip.

**Caution, if you're not dog lover, this section will bore you.**

Let me just say, they have some gorgeous dogs at this place!  Cats too, but we were focusing on the dogs today.  We were told to select 3-4 potential dogs to take out and they would help us decide.  This was no easy task!  So many to choose from, but we decide to go with Deputy.  He is a medium sized beagle/hound mix with low to medium energy level.  Perfect for us!  Once we were acquainted, we drove him over to Lydgate Park and walked up and down the path for  about 1 1/2 hours.  He was a sweet boy who loved to walk with us, but when he had had enough, he would go over to the grass and lay down. Silly boy.

We enjoyed our time with Deputy and hope he finds a home soon.  He would be a wonderful pet for  a family.

****** UPDATE:  Deputy was adopted on 8/31/2013 ******   YAY!!!!!!

This is Deputy.  He's a well mannered 2 1/2 year old male.
Funny we would choose a dog with this name, DH is in law enforcement.

New friends

Deputy would let us know when it's time to rest!

"Right there, Michael. Yep, that's the spot!"

Lives on a great island, but needs to live in a great home!

It's going to be hard to say goodbye!

This is Zippy.  The boys fell in love with him.  Very sweet disposition and he loves a good neck scratch!  We would have selected him to take out on a field trip, but he was not fixed.  

We returned home to check on Mike, who was feeling a little better.  The rest of the day we just relaxed around the condo until about 5:30 when we strolled over to the Hyatt to watch the Torch lighting ceremony and hula show.  There is a lovely greenway path that wraps around all the condos in Poipu Kai and leads you toward Poipu beach or the opposite way to the Hyatt.

Here are some photos from our walk to the Hyatt and some are sunset photos I forgot to post from the last few nights.  

Can some on tell me if these are graphed  into the palm trees?

Greenway towards the Hyatt

Walking towards the Hyatt

Do you ever get the feeling someone is following you?

In case you're wondering what grass in Kauai looks like......

????????? See above photo?????????

Mr. Nene

Does anyone know if these ladies have a CD?

I have several excellent photos of the torch lighting ceremony and hula show, but I am choosing not to share them.  Since the young ladies are minors, I am respecting their privacy. 

Mike took the following pics with his camera.  Playing around with the exposure setting, created a unique look.

Another beautiful day comes to an end!











Day 8 ~  Waimea Canyon and the Nu'alolo Trail Hike

This was long, but rewarding 12 hour day for us.  We left our condo shortly after 7 a.m. and were at the top of Waimea Canyon by 9 a.m.  We drove directly to the end of the road which puts you at the Pu'u Kila Lookout.  The weather was not in our favor today. There was cloud cover once we reached the top, but we were able to get a few photos before it really started to rain.  We waited for over an hour for some clearing, but it never happened.

We decided to go ahead and begin our hike on the Nu'alolo trail knowing that we would have spectacular views at the end if the weather cooperated.  This turned out to be a wise decision.

The Nu'alolo hike is 3.75 miles to the ending lookout point.  The return trip is 3.75 as well, but feels like 10!  It also took twice as long.  I had researched this hike so I knew somewhat what to expect and we made a group decision to try it.  I also know our fitness level. We are very active at home.  Michael & I completed the Portland Marathon in October and we all recently completed a 1/2 marathon in July.   In addition, we have been hiking in the Columbia River Gorge.

I would say this is a moderate to difficult hike in dry conditions and extremely difficult if conditions are wet!.  I will also mention that our teenage boys had no problem with this hike and they both had packs on!  Mike and I tired a little more, partly, because we had ran out of water and had not packed enough food.

With that said,  I loved this hike.  My favorite so far.  You can't beat the views at the end! So worth it, but please do your research before you consider this hike.

Here are some photos.  Some I took with my camera which is a little point and shoot, Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS6 and some where taken with Mike's Nikon D7000.  So many pictures to choose from so I'm posting a lot!

The first set of photos will give you an idea of some of the difficult spots on the trail.  Most of the trail is flat and enjoyable.

54 steps going down, but what goes down, must go ?

Lovely ground cover of ferns in some spots

This trail is nicely maintained

This was on the way back.  The boys ran up.  Aw, to be young again!

Oh, Boy!

Almost there!

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The payoff! 

.25 mile to the finish line and Mike decides to take a nap!

After the hike, we did squeezed in a quick look at Waimea Canyon.  Spectacular!

Tried to recreate the same photo we took 22 years ago on our honeymoon.

Finally headed home, but not before stopping for Pizza at the Brick Oven Pizza.  Best meal of the day!!