One more day in paradise.......

Aloha!  How sad that this amazing trip is drawing to a close!  This will be your final blog from sunny Kauai, although you are invited to visit again any time you need a quick fix of sunshine from our pictures!  :)  We kicked off today laying on Hanalei beach which has become a favorite of ours.  The surf was bigger than we wanted to tangle with but we succeeded in catching some rays if not waves, and enjoyed a nice walk on the beach to watch the surfers.

Keith's mom and Rick and I camped out on the Hanalei Bay Beach.

I love writing in the sand!  :)

and I LOVE the ocean!  Yay!

After our beach stint we headed to the Hanalei Dolphin for an amazing lunch!  Keith and I munched on "Fin Burgers" of grilled Ahi tuna while his mom had a grilled Ahi tuna salad and Rick went with the traditional fish and chips.  Mai Tais were had almost all around except I opted for a "Lava flow" which involved much coconutty goodness.  

al fresco at the Dolphin!

This big one didn't get away!! 

After lunch we headed around the corner to "Kayak Kauai Outbound: Kauai's Adventure Company" to rent kayaks to paddle up the Hanalei River.  I had been wanting to try paddling a longboard, a traditional polynesian sport, all week long so Keith was a good sport and offered to give it a try with me.  We LOVED it!  If you head to Hawaii, it's a must for sure!  The two mile route up river was a great way to get some sun and exercise and we agreed it was one of the cooler adventures of the trip.

Keith and I pose on our longboards.

Keith: Hawaiian Warrior

 

Paddling past some palms.

Keith's mom and Rick opted to stick with the original kayak plan. 

One of my favorite pics of the day.  It just looks like a postcard!  

Keith and I enjoy one last shaved ice before we leave the island....rainbow ice on top of homemade macadamia nut ice cream!  Mmmm!  And...the guy who worked the stand is about to take a trip to the Philippines through Compassion International with his fiancee to meet his fiancee's Compassion sponsor child!  It's a small world!  (For those of you who don't know Keith, he works for Compassion International and he and I both have sponsor children!)

What an awesome ending to an awesome trip.  We're back at the condo right now packing up our suitcases and then we're going to a tapas place called "Bar Acuda" (Baracuda?  Get it?) for our final dinner before heading to the Lihue airport to catch our 11:30 pm (Hawaii time...you do the math!) flight to the mainland.  We'll fly Kauai to Seattle, Seattle to Cincinnati and then Cinci to Nashville just in time for me to make a Thursday night rehearsal and then leave for Green Bay, WI Friday morning.  Hope you've enjoyed our Hawaiian adventure!  Mahalo for reading!