Back to Kauai - Boogie Boards and Luau

On day 2 of our vacation, we relaxed and hung out around the resort. The time difference of five hours behind means I'm getting up early, even for vacation, and of course, before the rest of my family. It just means I get to view some spectacular sunrises and enjoy the rhythmic waves in solitude. This morning I enjoyed a sunrise morning yoga class, held outside under the backdrop of the palm trees and the thundering surf.
Sunrise Yoga Class

The kids awoke and I took them up the cliff walk.
By the Sea

Cliff Walking

We found a "sand wall" filled with carvings. Brian added his initials to the mix.
Carved

Brian and Scott made use of the boogie boards (Poi Pounders).
Beach Bums

Or maybe, the surf "used" them and spit them out.
Pounded

The "excursion" of the day - the traditional Hawaiian Luau, held on the Hyatt grounds. The luau, as cliche as is may seem, must be experienced once while visiting the Islands.
Grand Hyatt Luau

23 years ago, Scott and I attended a Luau in Maui. They brought us and the several other honeymooning couples on stage.
Grand Hyatt Luau

The climax of the evening - the traditional fire dance - stunning under the inky skies.
Playing With Fire

Playing With Fire

Of course, there was plenty of food and drink consumed. We really enjoyed the Kalua roasted pork, which is cooked in an underground pit by the ocean. The recipe for the smoky roast is quite simply - pork shoulder, salt (Hawaiian salt if you can get it), water and liquid smoke. After our trip, I've reproduced the pork at home. I admit the pit cooked / smoked / ti leave wrapped meat is better, but when you can't be in Hawaii, you can try to emulate it as best you can.

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Back to Kauai - Arrival and Exploration

I figure three months late is better than never at all....

Somewhat fitting, as Scott and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary last weekend and with that, acknowledged the 23rd anniversary of Hurricane Iniki, which destroyed much of Kauai, days before we were scheduled to honeymoon there. Our honeymoon plans were altered - swapping in Maui's Ka'anapali coast for the southern point of Kauai. It would take us nearly 23 years to finally make it to Kauai, so a three month delay in recounting our trip seems appropriate.

Fortunately, I rely upon technology and vacation downtime to record snippets as the events are happening, or else I simply forget the details. Most of today's post was written while we were on vacation, capturing the real time essence of our experience.


We arrived late Tuesday night after a full day of travel - there's no easy / direct way to get to Hawaii from the Midwest. Still, it was a perfect day to fly and all our flights were on time or early. The worst wait was for the rental car - 45 minutes too long. I should have learned from our trip to Italy not to rent from Dollar rental car and need to remember that for the future.

We checked in around 10pm, which is like 3am CDT, so needless to say, we were Zombie city. It was difficult to find our room, and when we did, we all collapsed into bed. Except for the Boy, who was hungry. He ordered a full meal from room service and ate the entire thing while the rest of us slept. I didn't find out until the next morning when I found the remnants outside our room.
I awoke around 7am with my stomach grumbling. Quietly tip toeing out of the room in search of coffee and something to eat, I stopped abruptly after rounding the corner - this was my first daylight view of paradise:
First Glimpse
All I could think was "wow", we passed by all this last night, oblivious to it all...

I found the Starbucks, located at the Seaside terrace, an open air space in overlooking the ocean, flanked by palm trees waving in the ocean breeze. Most of the Grand Hyatt common spaces are open air, open roof, and beautifully landscaped to maximize the connection to nature and the sea - the warm, fresh air, the sound of the surf, the faint scent of plumeria in the air. The resort sits along the ocean, with swaths of sandy beach cut among the black lava rocks, aptly named Shipwrecks beach. To the east, the Mahauluepu heritage trail weaves high along the coast, providing spectacular vistas.
Grand Hyatt Kauai

Layers

Feeling Blue

We spent the rest of the day exploring grounds of the resort - with its multitude of pools, paths, restaurants and spaces. We hiked up to the eastern cliff, Maka-wehi point, before waking up the kids for lunch. We enjoyed lunch at the Iliana restaurant, where a pair of white swans glide in the lagoon next to the terrace. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the salt water lagoon. I brought Brian to the beach, with the pounding surf and we had fun just letting the waves hit our feet and more..


The experience whetted the boys' appetite for adventure, so after dinner (Hamura’s Saimin Stand in Lihue), we bought Boogie boards to use.

Saimin
A local favorite - Saimin, an upscale Ramen

It was certainly a wonderful start of our vacation. 23 years later, we finally arrived.

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Wave after Wave - Along the Coast of Kauai

What feels like eons ago (ie, two months ago), we had the most amazing vacation in Kauai and I am just now getting to the photos I took.

The upside to my tardiness is I get to enjoy the memories all over again and marvel at the vistas we were so privileged to experience.

The Fisherman #kauai #poipu #hawaii #coastal
Taken along the cliffside path - on the Maha'ulepu Heritage Trail in Poipu, Kauai
Can you see the fisherman?

Wave After Wave #kauai #poipu #hawaii #coastal
In the summer months, the constant display of the red "danger" flag at the beaches remind us the pounding waves exert much power, even as their rhythmic sounds, white froth and graceful curves hypnotize us.

Sand Stones

Have a quick look and listen:


Wishing you a most wonderful Friday and for those in the US, a great Labor Day!

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September 2015 Desktop Calendar - Autumn Sunrise

The unique fact about this photo - it was taken with my iPhone 4s a year ago. I am constantly amazed by the high quality photos I get out of my camera phone, so much so, that for "all purpose" photography, I prefer its use over my big DSLR.

The change of season and associated weather fluxes often gives us these brilliant sunrises. The crimson and magenta quickly fade as the sun climbs, so you have to enjoy the colors while they last.


To download the September 2015 calendar for free at Box.com, click on the link:
Free September 2015 Calendar - Autumn Sunrise

I hope to be back to a regular blogging schedule now that the kids are back in school. Between various projects, sending my firstborn off to college, increasing my running mileage and general summer "laziness", I've been ignoring the blog. I'm currently working the backlog of Kauai photos and a yoga studio shoot, so will have those to share soon.

Happy Fall!

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August 2015 Desktop Calendar - Full Moon

As I type this up, the 2nd full moon for July is looming, so I think it is appropriate (and totally serendipitous) that the upcoming desktop calendar features a full moon. Two full moons in one month is called the Blue Moon.



As always, you can download the August 2015 calendar for free at Box.com:
Free August 2015 Calendar - Full Moon




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Along My Run | 17 - Running in Poipu, Kauai

AKA, running in paradise. AKA, the most amazing return to running after an injury.

My previous run transpired in mid-May, so I was laid off 6 weeks. During those 6 weeks, I swam, pool ran, did yoga, took some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) classes and took spinning classes to keep from going crazy. My ankle / calf is all better now, so the break from running was worth it.

In the week leading up to our vacation, I started easing back into running using a run/walk method. The morning we embarked on our travel to Kauai (an epic, 20 hour door-to-door trip), I ran two miles continuously, so I knew I could use the time in Kauai to build upon that distance.

We stayed on the southern part of Kauai, in the Poipu / Koloa area, along the ocean and right along the Maha'ulepu Heritage Coastal Trail, which starts at Shipwrecks Beach in Keoneloa Bay.(click on the map below to for a detailed view)

Scott and I explored part of the trail that winds up through the cliffs, and Friday morning, I set off on a trail run at sunrise, heading east. It was so beautiful, I ended up stopping frequently to take pictures and simply revel in the scene unfolding in front of me, to hear the waves crash and breathe in the salt air.

Running in Kauai #shirleyruns
Reaching the Makawehi Cliffs

It's experiences like this that really make me appreciate how fortunate, how lucky I am to have this life, this opportunity to be in this place at this time.
Running in Kauai #shirleyruns
Sandstone / Limestone Pinnacles


I couldn't pass up the chance to take a yoga selfie:
Running in Kauai #shirleyruns

I ran over two miles out and came across signs to the Makauwahi Cave. I reached the cave and the filled pond.
Running in Kauai #shirleyruns
It was at this point I decided to turn around and head back to the hotel. If I had followed the stream out of the cave, I would have found the hidden Mahaulepu beach. We would eventually get to the beach during a horseback ride later on our trip.

Some scenes on my way back. Of course, I got lost (I don't recall seeing the arm chair on the cliff earlier), but eventually made it back to familiar territory.
Running in Kauai #shirleyruns
Chair with a View - Punahoa Point

I never ran this trail again - this 4.4 mile run took me over an hour to complete at a pace of 14 minutes / mile and I was exhausted at the end. Running trails and through sand is hard work! At one point, I wasn't paying attention (looking at the amazing scenery) and as a result, lost my balance, tripped, fell and scraped my left leg. I was a sweaty, bloody, dusty, sandy mess afterwards.

On subsequent runs, I opted to run to the west, across some easier trails combined with roads, reaching Poipu Beach Park and beyond.

Bespoke #shirleyruns #seenonmyrun #irunoutside #kauai #paradise
Maka-Hu'ena Point


Running in Poipu Kauai
Keoneloa Bay


Running in Poipu Kauai

I really enjoyed all my Paradise runs, even the killer hills, warm temperatures and blazing sun (once the sun comes out, wow, it is super strong). Hopefully, some day in the future I'll get to experience it again.

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Five Amazing Sights - Kauai, Hawaii

I have a few sights to share from our trip to the island of Kauai, Hawaii!

Yes, that's why its' been so quiet here - between the trip, the 4th of July holiday, catching back up at work and my photo hard drive crapping out, I've been too busy to blog. No worries on the hard drive - I had a full back up of all my files. More on that in a later blog post. I know you would rather see photos of Kauai instead of hearing about file back ups (but seriously, if you haven't backed up your files / photos, please DO IT NOW!).

1. The southern part of Kauai - the Poipu Beach area. This beach is called Shipwreck's beach and was great for boogie boarding.
Shipwrecks Beach

2. Hule'ia Stream, where you can kayak or SUP downstream, flanked by the Hau’pu Mountains
It was a SUP Kind of Day #kauai #Hawaii #sup

3. The Kilauea Lighthouse - on the north east side of the island
Shine Your Light On #kauai #ocean #Hawaii #cliff #lighthouse

4. The Waimea Canyon - dubbed the Grand Canyon of Hawaii
Overlook #kauai #outfitterskauai #waimeacanyon

5. The Na Pali Coast - a truly amazing and magical place, only accessible by boat, foot (difficult hike) or helicopter. The background setting of several Hollywood films.
Na Pali Coast

All photos were taken with my iPhone 6. Once I get my hard drive situation stabilized, I'll be able to get the photos off my big camera and write up proper blog posts on our amazing adventure!

Shared with Five on Friday

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