The Garden Island - Day 1

I'm so grateful to, again, be in this beautiful place. Kauai is more than beautiful - it's magical. I can't even truly describe the feeling I get when I first breathe the Hawaiian air, but if you've been here, you know. I hear it all the time - the air smells good. And immediately makes you feel good. It's my happy place! 

Our first day was pretty uneventful. It was already late and with the long flight we were exhausted. Picked up some dinner at the Island Country Market, checked into our hotel, got settled in and crashed. It was about 10pm so, 2am MN time! It's a long flight no doubt. 

We found a cute condo across the street from the Coconut Marketplace which is a little shopping and restaurant hub in Kapa'a. We have a beautiful view of the ocean from the walkout lanai. It doesn't get much better than this! We chose Kapa'a for its nice, central location on the island. If you take a look at the map, it's close to Lihue where the airport is, and right in the middle so main areas of interests - to the north we can travel up to Haena and to the south make our way to Wamea. Most of the west coast isn't drivable due to the amazing and beautiful Na Pali Coast. If you've never heard of the Na Pali Coast, think Jurassic park green luscious mountains, caves of rushing water, water falls, beach and more. A catamaran cruise over there is awe-inspiring.

We flew into Lihue and were staying in Kapa'a. The island isn't big - we've easily made it all over the island by the typing of this blog. It helps that we've been here before and everything came back to us pretty easily. Renting a car is a must! It's much easier to get around and enjoy all there is to see.

Kauai is referred to as the Garden Island because of its lush vegetation - tropical rainforests cover most of the island. It is the greenest island and therefore, the rainiest. I will say - the rainiest day on Kauai is still better than the best day in Minnesota! So far, we've only had 1 rainy day as of the writing of this.

Our first Hawaiian Sunrise of the trip!

Such a peaceful, calming place

Our first full day, Friday, February 14th, we started out at the Kauai Humane Society. We prearranged to take a dog on a field trip! Currently the Humane Society has over 80 dogs and over 140 cats. It breaks my heart to know that. :( We wanted to do our part to give at least one so some love. I'm happy to say there were 2 other couples there when we got there, also picking up their field trip dog and as we were leaving, more people came. 

We were paired with a sweet, young pitbull named Jake. He was super rambunctious at first but calmed down quite a bit when we got in the car. We took him to Old Koloa Town and Shipwreck beach and did lots of walking around and lounging in the shade. It was a hot one! We had him from 10am-3pm and I am so thrilled to say that when we returned, they told us someone who had been interested in Jake was coming to pick him up that day to adopt him! I was so excited for Jakey - he was a good boy.

Jake, you're such a good boy! I'm so glad you found a home!

Such a cutie

Had lunch at my favorite food truck - Taco Libre in Koloa Town. Highly recommend!

Shipwreck Beach - Beautiful!

After dropping off Jake, we hung out by the pool for a bit.

If you didn't already know, chickens run wild all over Hawaii. Hens and roosters everywhere!

For dinner we enjoyed live music and great food at Rob's Good Time's Grill

Rob's Good Times Grill - Lihue, HI