Kauai 2022–Day 4!

Hellooooo, peeps, from Day 5; our final day here in Kauai before a long travel day home. :(

Yesterday, we packed in so much fun (yet again), and enjoyed an amazing evening luau that had us returning to the resort so late—especially when combined with our body clocks and the time difference—that I was way too wiped to sort through all my pics.

But today, in tiny pockets of down time (especially during another glorious balcony sunrise), I sifted through the best of our Day 4 activities.

So heeeeere we are, at the end of our day, yesterday, just an hour before our luau show began at dark…

And now let’s rewind back to the very beginning. :)

It began with another beautiful sunrise. The most vibrant, orangey one of our trip. So stunning. So peaceful. It’s truly been my most memorable timeframe of each day during our stay. 

UGH. The beauty. Incredible.

Nearly as incredible as my babies and their smooshy, sun-drenched morning faces. :)

We’ve progressively worn them out more and more each day, ha. ;)



Believe it or not, yesterday was the first time during our stay when we had any rain.

It started to roll in just after sunrise (so fun to watch it on the horizon, across the ocean, coming our way), and was a wonderful, soaking downpour during breakfast and for just a little bit after.  

Naturally, before we left the property for the day, as everything dried out, we staged another impromptu photo shoot. ;)















And just look at those beautiful skies after the rain. 



Now.

Our destination for the day: the North Shore of the island. And holy, moly, MOLY was it almost infuriating to take in that stunning drive, half an island away, and realize ALL THAT BEAUTY was there, just waiting for us. Argh!

Not that I would change any other excursion or location during our visit, but it just HURTS to know there’s sooooooo much to see and experience and you can only manage a fraction of it! 

Where to stay??

What to do??

What to see??

The bottom line is: you can’t go wrong.

But I can see how people (very, very lucky people) visit multiple times or come and stay for weeks so they can explore oodles of books and crannies.

Along our journey, we stopped at the well-known Kilauea Lighthouse. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day, but the view from where we stood was still picturesque.

Further still, along the drive to the North Shore, the mountains loomed so beautifully—and plentifully!—on the horizon. 



And check out the view form this lookout stop. A best of the best favorite of mine, among so many favorites. I mean…GAH. Just spectacular. Like with the Napali Coast, and the Waimea Canyon, and the Kalalau Valley, the pictures just don’t do it justice.

Family selfie stick adventures. :)



Kiddos selfie stick adventures. ;) They’re getting pretty good! Ha.





Beach hair, don’t care:



With the wind and salt and humidity and scalp exposure to sun, it’s been easiest to give up and NOT fix it. Or really brush it. And I’m really not kidding, ha. Hence the hat that shows up in a bit.

More insanely-gorgeous driving views…



Lunch pit stop at Tahiti Nui…



More gorgeousness everywhere, in every direction as we resumed the ride.



Eventually, once we were truly along the North Shore, it was like: beach, beach, everywhere a beach! Where to stop?? Which one to choose???

We literally made it as far as the road goes on the island (the legitimate end) in Hanalei, and then turned back around and blindly picked one—Haena Beach—on account of proximity and the fact that the kiddos wanted to get out of the car and in the sand, stat. Ha.

Look at my tall, tan Chicklet. She’s stretched out soooo stinking much this summer. Growth spurts HURT my Mama heart!









In the end, this was the perfect beach spot for our crew. Such a picturesque backdrop, the surf was manageable enough to be entertaining, it wasn’t too rocky, and it wasn’t too crowded. All good things.

Is this camera phone on??? I can’t see anything through the sun glare…





















Now. Unfortunately, we spent so much time enjoying our drive and stopping at lookouts, and enjoying the beach, that we didn’t account for quite the time we needed to make it HALFWAY ACROSS THE STINKING ISLAND back to our hotel to change before our scheduled luau. Oye.

As we watched the clock on our journey back, we knew it was going to be impossible to make it work. But it was also a no-go to show up at the luau in our wet, worse for the wear, sandy, mismatched car clothes. I mean, if ever there’s a time to bust out your coordinating tropical prints, it’s at a luau on Kauai, for heaven’s sake!

Enter our hilarious backup plan: stopping at the halfway point for a shop-and-change-in-the-dressing-room-and-make-it-work excursion. Flash shopping at its finest, ha.

In the end, I kept on my haggard dress I’d worn and destroyed all day, and let the girlies pick out things they liked that worked together—then sent the men off to coordinate! STAT.

I’m not gonna lie: when the hubby sent me this pic of shirt options (that didn’t even come through until he’s bought and changed into one, ha), I’ve never laughed at or loved him more:

Where else can you forget your fashion preferences and GO HARD with the Hawaiian shirt than in freaking Kauai???? He gave up all his natural clothing instincts in the name of family matching. :) I think it was even a linen blend for crying out loud, and I don’t think he’s worn linen in his life, ever. Hysterical.

(In case you’re wondering and you can’t wait for the below pics, he went for that middle coral/red one).

When all was said and done, and our quick shop/change montage was complete, we still rolled up to the beauuuutiful gardens of the luau property just a smidge late.

But, hey, we made it! In luau style.

And to be fair, we called in advance to notify them of our flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants arrival.

Look at my sweet Chicklet in her stinking adorable, soft, soft, soft blue dress. A great find:



The grounds were so stunning—hello, ponds, gardens, wandering peacocks!—it was so hard to continue along the path to our destination without stopping a million times!

Hellooooo, hubby’s shirt. And Chica’s sweet yellow jumpsuit that suited her so well. I gotta say, we might have been racing to shop, but it worked out.

Luckily, we arrived just as all the guests were gathered for a bit of background regarding the traditions of the luau feast. It was so fascinating to hear all about it and watch as the roasted pig was dug up from the ground.













After the pig was dug and the blessings were complete, we headed into the pavilion for the feast.





Thankfully, the schedule allowed for plenty of time for wandering after the meal was complete (while some fun music was happening), so we got our fix of the beautiful grounds.





A mama duck and her babies! So small and fuzzy! The kiddos were so enchanted.





You can start to see in these pics how tired our crazies were! A long day of sun and surf. They still had energy, but they were starting to look a bit wilted—Mama, too, ha.























As soon as it was fully dark, we made our way to a beautiful outdoor amphitheater with a stage situated across the water. 

I’m not sure what I was expecting for the entertainment portion of the luau, beyond some traditional dancing, but this definitely exceeded my expectations!

It was a full hour long show with amazing music and choreographed musical numbers, featured traditional Hawaiian, Tahitian, Japanese, and New Zealand dances (plus many more I know I’m forgetting!) interwoven with historical of many Hawaiian, Polynesian and Pacific cultures. So fun, and we snagged front row seats!











I was so impressed with my kiddos’ attention spans and interest throughout the performance. It made me so hopeful for future fine arts events as a family. :)

By the time we drove the rest of the way back to the resort, showered and collapsed, we were practically sleepwalking, ha.

But it was yet another epic day in Kauai, and I’m so grateful for all we were able to see and do!

More mañana, peeps.

Mahalo!