Vacation Diaries - Kauai Day 1

I'm doing it. A play-by-play, day-by-day review of our trip to Kauai. Skip my next 7ish blogs if you don't want to hear about it. This is totally for me. I want to savor every single memory for as long as I can.

So it begins.

We woke up in our friend's basement guest room with a warm Shiba Mo (Bella) next sandwiched between us. I was present through much of Bella's early days and consequently, she pees every time she sees me. She dropped this habit for everyone else in her life, but when I walk up to their house she just looses it. There is nothing quite like the unconditional love of a Shiba Mo.

Our party of 4 piled into a Honda Accord with a driver, 4 suitcases, and 4 carry-on's. We did not pack light and I'm sure the car was riding low. It was warm enough in Portland that our arms stuck together in the back seat, but we were on our way to Kauai so really didn't care. A quick stop at the Beaverton Bakery in the airport & we were on our way.

The flights were totally uneventful, and it was great to sit only a few rows away from our friends. When I saw a photo of the carry-on meal I started laughing so hard I cried. My fiance (PS) sat next to me making the same "throw-up" motion that our cat makes when he gags up grass. I walked up a few aisle and got the same response from our friends. One ham sandwich later and we all had gas. Thanks, Hawiian Airlines.

We made it to Kauai & parted ways to pick up our rental cars. At the rental car terminal we saw a lot of people being total assholes to the employees. We were both talking about how terrible it was that people would treat others so poorly...I think it was good karma. When we exited to pick up our car we flashed the Hawiian dude big smiles and asked him how our day was. He upgraded us immediately to the car of our choice: Some luxary sedan or a brand new 2011 soft-top Jeep Wrangler. He showed us how to flip back the roof and take off the side windows. We slipped him a $10 (hey, we're not rich, but the guy did us a huge favor) and were on our way.



Kauai isn't very big and this was our 2nd trip there in 2 years, so we know our way around. We took of from Lihue to Princeville, to settle in at the Westin. On the way we stopped at Walmart (b/c we're high-class like that) and picked up groceries for the week. We learned a few lessons last year: More practical food (breakfast items, a few dinners to BBQ) and less booze (why have it in your room when you can have great drinks w/fresh pineapple anywhere on the island)?

The 2nd part of our party was beat, so went directly to the resort. They had met our final party-member (my friend's brother) at the airport and shared a car. My fiance & I stopped at a few fruit stands on the way to the resort to pick up fresh pineapple, guava, papaya, mango, and mini bananas.

It was evening by the time we made it to the resort. Even though the time-share belongs to our friend (and her brother) they had graciously offered us the 2nd room, with her brother sleeping on the pull out couch in our common area. We unpacked and got dressed for dinner at the resort. It was my first time eating Blue Marlin and it was WONDERFUL. We ordered the first round of drinks of the trip and headed to the swimming pools and hot tubs after dinner. Then we all went to bed and slept like babies. It is impossible to not sleep well in Kauai...the place is just downright good for the soul.