Kalalau Trail

One of the things that appealed to me the most about Kauai was the abundance of hikes. I had heard so many amazing things about them - the breathtaking views, outrageous greenery and of course, a little sweat never hurt anyone. With a little tip from Maddie (who heard about it from Kimber who heard from Erin), we decided to give the Kalalau Trail of the Napali Coast a shot. No, not the part that earns it the title of one of America's Most Dangerous Hikes. Nope, we opted for the abbreviated, safer version.

Two miles in to a secluded beach, then two more miles into this valley that ended with the Hanakapi'ai Falls - 300 feet of waterfall that fed into a natural Olympic-sized pool! This is seriously the kind of waterfall people dream about - it was absolutely mesmerizing.

After a little dip, rest and snack, we hiked the 4 miles back out. It was a grueling hike, but I think we had mentally prepared for it since so many people had told us about it, so we managed :) If you ever find yourself in Kauai, this hike needs to be at the top of your list!

Views, views and more views. 

See the little microscopic person? The picture doesn't even get the whole waterfall either!

We took a dip at the falls. It was FREEZING.

 Secluded Hanakapi'ai Beach

We treated ourselves with shaved ice after the hike :)

P.S. Back to blogging! Hope I can keep it up again this time!

Pumpkin Patch 2.0

After a successful first pumpkin patch trip this year, my second trip was equally as fun. This time, we headed north to Stocker Farms - our go-to pumpkin patch. After scouting out the right pumpkin for our doorsteps, we headed to Erin's place for some good grub and vino. We stayed until our eyes couldn't stay open, which I think is a sign of a good night :) Once again, thanks for hosting, Erin!

Autumn holding a pumpkin.

 Also striking a pose with an orangie.

What can I say? It's what we do best.

 I'd be lying if I didn't admit this guy was heavy.

Lesson learned: buns make you taller!

The thing I love about ghords the most: they are seasonal through Thanksgiving!

Zip n' Dip

As soon as we decided on Kauai for the honeymoon, I knew I'd have the opportunity to check something off of my 30 before Thirty list. (More on that later!) Thanks to Merith's suggestion, we discovered Princeville Ranch Adventure's Zip n' Dip tour: a series of 9 ziplines with a little dip in a waterfall-fed swimming hole. It was so. much. FUN!

You do eight full zips, then have a little swim/lunch break, then tackle the King Kong - a 1200'  zip across a 10-story-ish deep valley. It was incredible. Climbing the tower to get to the ziplines was not so incredible in the wind - it has to sway at least a foot in each direction! I'm not even afraid of heights, but it gave me the jitters - I felt safer on the zipline than the tower! So if you ever find yourself in Kauai, give this adventure a go. You won't regret it!

Those helmets are hot, huh? 

Joe getting pumped for the first zip!

 (picture take upside down, so I felt it was necessary to share that way too!)

 Dip time!

The King Kong tower!

Pump, pump, PUMPKIN patch

 

Ahh, the pumpkin patch. An annual tradition that started back in 2009. Not surprisingly, I went to two pumpkin patches this year. Since Steph couldn't make it the pumpkin patch outing hosted by Erin, she wanted to get her fix in sooner. So Merith and I graciously offered to join her. (Twist our arms, right?) We ventured out to the middle of nowhere in Carnation on a cloudy Saturday morning to pose with pumpkins, pick out our favorites for our doorsteps, take the mandatory jumping photos, have a bite to eat and ask strangers to put their kitten on a pumpkin for a mini-photo shoot... 

Oh wait, does that last one need some explanation? Well, the short of it is: someone spotted a kitten in a man's shirt pocket. A gravitational force pulled me toward the kitten and I asked him if I could pet her. (We learned his daughter named her Sprinkles!) Then Merith brought it to the next level and asked if we could put the kitten on a pumpkin to take photos of it. Bold, Merith, bold. But he and his wife kindly obliged! That's when I captured the moneymaker above. I'm thinking it's a prize winner, don't ya think?! If there are any kitty calendar creators out there, I take offers...

All in all, a fabulous fall outing. Pumpkin Patch 2.0 to come soon!

P.S. Pumpkin patchin' from the past.

 

 

Four months later: The 4th of July!

After taking such a long blog break, it's hard to even know where to begin to catch up. So rather than be methodical about what to post, I'm just going to post whatever photos inspire me at the moment. Right now, with the weather cooling even more, I've been having dreams of summer. And what better summer event to reminisce than the 4th of July?

All of the usual suspects at this 4th - Samish Island, Knutzen family and their cabin, Steph/Mads/Kami, Joe, Mom, Dad and Kam on the firetruck in the parade, fireworks, good food, crazy fireworks, Maddie's patriotic jello shots and more. But the latest amazingly adorable addition to the 4th: Baby Lila! Kami's little bundle of joy who was only a little bump last year :)

So in no particular order, my 4th of July... 4 months later! 

Queen's Bath

Let me tell you, when you have five months of pictures to share, it's really hard to know where to even start. So for now, I'll leave you with this photo Joe snapped of my admiring Queen's Bath. It was a little rough in the water that day, so we didn't get to go in, but it was just so pretty! I could have watched the waves crashing there all day. If you're ever in Kauai, be sure to check it out!

Honeymoon Teaser

Eventually I'll do an official honeymoon post, but for now I'll leave you with one of the many sunsets we witnessed in Kauai. It was pink, purple, orange, blue and yellow and the way it reflected off the water made your jaw drop.

Is there another place on earth that regularly has this good of sunsets daily?! I'd like to know, so I can add it to my dream travel list. Wouldn't that be amazing? A travel quest for the world's best sunset?! Oh yes, one can dream.