Seven Days in Kauaʻi — streams of being

Slow Yourself Down

After a whirlwind elopement in Maui (> read about that here), Josh and I caught a plane and island hopped the next day to the island of Kaua’i. We didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t have a plan, but we knew it would be beautiful. It was that and so much more.

The ‘Garden Isle’

Kaua’i is the type of place where you forget who you are. The scenery is so breathtaking, so unreal, so unfathomable to a mainland flatlander that your senses immediately come online, forcing you to drink in the present moment and nothing else.

From the lush gardens and tropical rainforests, to the flowing rivers and endless waterfalls, to the deep valleys, pristine beaches, and local culture that demands you to “slow yourself down,” as soon as we landed, we knew we had entered a special place on earth.

Josh and I chose to stay on The North Shore, opting for proximity to remote beaches, surfing, and world-renowned hiking. Our accommodations were in Princeville, but we spent most of our time around Hanalei.

Ha'ena State Park & the Kalalau Trail

When Josh and I travel, we always return home more exhausted than when we left. FOMO is real. We love to push ourselves to explore and experience all that we can in a 24-hour period.

Not this trip.

We only scheduled two things: this hike and a Nā Pali Coast boat tour.

The Kalalau Trail is known as one of the most beautiful, and more difficult, hikes in the entire world. It’s an 11-mile one-way trip that requires a permit for overnight camping. Unfortunately, Josh and I were not prepared to do the entire 22-mile jaunt. We only completed the first leg of it to Hanakapi'ai Beach and the base of Hanakapi'ai Falls, making the difficult decision to turn back due to rain and the risk of flash flooding on the mountain.

Still, the rumors were true; this was one of the most breathtaking hikes I had ever done. The terrain was challenging, but not impossible. It was rocky and SO muddy, but the elevation gain was gradual, and the beauty surrounding us made any level of discomfort completely tolerable.

Hanakapi'ai Beach, which was inaccessible by car, proved to be the perfect recoup spot to hang out at before we hiked back. AND, Josh was super excited because he saw Pierce Brosnan just chilling in the water snorkeling by himself. Apparently, I was supposed to know and be really excited about this fact. We left him alone—he was just hanging out in his backyard, after all.

On the way down, it torrentially rained the whole way; it was as if we had jumped into the ocean in our clothes…so we took them off and ran down the mountain in swimsuits and hiking shoes. Honestly, this whole day was such a highlight of the entire trip.

Paradise Everyday

The next few days we wandered, waking up early and going to bed early. The island grew dark by 7:30 PM and most things shut down by 9:00 PM. The notorious free range chickens of Kaua’i woke everyone on the island up by 4:15 AM, so it wasn’t hard to get up by 6 and get on with it.

We visited many beaches, a botanical garden, frequented the food trucks and coffee stands of Hanalei on a daily basis, chased nene birds (Hawaiian geese), drove around the entire island, explored the eclectic shops of Kapa’a, stumbled into the art district of Hanapepe, drank Mai Tais, relaxed, and celebrated Josh’s birthday at The Plantation House by Gaylords on the 25th. Josh also spent an afternoon surfing at Hanalei Bay.

I didn’t take nearly enough pictures, and the ones that I did barely do it justice!

Nā Pali Coast Boat Tour with Hanalei Charters

When people see photographs of Kaua’i, it’s likely of the Nā Pali region. Spanning 17-miles across the island’s North Shore, this is one of Hawaii’s most sacred and geographically diverse sites. Around 1200 AD, Polynesian Navigators braved the open ocean in outrigger canoes following nothing more than the constellations until they reached the coast. Over the next hundreds of years, Tahitians migrated to the island, forming the basis of traditional Hawaiian culture.

Remnants of what was still stand today. From ancient heiau (temples) and burial grounds, to archeological sites depicting commerce, community, and spiritual activities, the region is a historically rich and culturally significant area worth traveling to.

Though the Nā Pali coast was mere miles from our accommodations, our only options to reach it were by boat, kayak, hike, or air. Josh gave me a choice: boat tour or helicopter tour. 1,000% recommend the boat tour.

Our four-hour tour began with a shuttle pickup, a trek back into the Ha'ena State Park area, and then boat boarding in a bay. Our tour was small, and so was our boat, so we were able to whip through the water and access unique places other tours often have to miss. We were given lunch and snorkel gear and otherwise just stared in amazement at the 3,500-foot cliffs, lava tunnels, waterfalls, rainbow flora, sea caves, and hidden beaches all afternoon. We passed through an area where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed, too.

I took zero pictures (!!!), but Josh grabbed a few (bottom row) and the others are stock that do an excellent job capturing what we actually saw.

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific: Waimea Canyon

As our week in Kaua’i began to wrap up, we had one final stop, Waimea Canyon. Waimea Canyon sits on the other side of the Nā Pali Coast, eight minutes from our condo as the crow flies. But since you can’t drive through the Nā Pali region, we had to drive nearly two hours all the way around the island to arrive at Waimea Canyon State Park for our final hike.

The climate on this side of the island is far drier, less humid, and less lush than to the north and east. The red dirt, a natural byproduct of the dark, iron-rich basalt rock that surrounds Waimea Canyon, reminded me more of Sedona, AZ than it did of Hawaii. In fact, as we made our way up the canyon we stopped on the side of the road to explore the Red Dirt Waterfalls - truly a unique experience.

Compared to the hike we completed earlier in the week, our Waipo'o Falls via Canyon Trail hike was way, way, way more difficult for me! The terrain was easier, but the elevation gain seemed higher, I was more tired, and my subtle fear of heights kicked in in a major way. I also thought Josh was going to fall off the cliff multiple times. First fight as a married couple.

But the views were worth it!

Pitstop in Portland

Because we hadn’t spent enough money or time away from work, when it was time to journey back to the mainland we selected a flight that had an overnight layover in Portland.

Rather than staying in the airport, which would have defeated the purpose of this detour, Josh booked a haunted hotel that used to be a school house (McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel). Honestly, it was pretty cool…and trippy! The hotel rooms were old classrooms. The boiler room was turned into a huge multi-level bar. The old teacher’s lounge was converted into a heated chlorinated saltwater soaking pool. I mean, it was just weird in there!

We grabbed a rental car and gallivanted all around Portland for the day, me in happy tears because my soul feels more alive in this part of the country than anywhere else I’ve been to in the world. We aimlessly meandered into thrift stores, book shops, breweries, craft bars, home design and textile stores, a fly fishing shop. I just loved it all.

We squeezed in a quick hike to a waterfall too, because that’s possible when you don’t live in the Midwest.