Aloha! After we got to Hawaii, went to a luau, and hiked the Nā Pali coast, we really started to love the groove of the island.
The morning of our fourth day on Kauai, we decided to try to see Queen’s Bath. To get to it, you have to park in a parking lot only big enough for about seven cars, then hike down a steep and slippery trail. At the bottom is an expansive view of volcanic rock formations and after you walk over it for a fraction of a mile, you’ll find Queen’s Bath. It’s kind of a pool in the middle of these elevated rocks next to the ocean (officially, it’s a sinkhole in the middle of these rocks). In the winter, this area is far too dangerous to visit because the tide is so much higher. Even the tide we could see on the edge of that day was nothing we wanted to get near. But Queen’s Bath itself was so calming and wonderful.
Because of that small parking lot at the top that I mentioned, we had been advised to make this visit at the beginning of the day, and I’m so glad we did! We had no problem parking, the trail was already very wet and slippery (probably from a combination of people hiking back up in their wet shoes and the spontaneous but frequent rain bursts that accompanied the week), but there were only a few other people there at the same time as us. It was a sight to see, but definitely don’t risk it if you’re on the island during high tide season.
*This trip was not sponsored by Patagonia, sadly. We’d be into that though. Hah, even some people at the airport asked us that*
Next up was some beach hopping! We were sure to check out Anini Beach because my friend, Page, had said it was her absolute favorite place to find shells. I enjoyed it, but unfortunately our time there was cut short because a coral attacked Matt’s knee. Ouch! We had to head back to tend to his wounds because of our plans later in the day.
Here’s a quick stop we made at Wailua Falls later in the day. We tried to go to a restaurant that fell under the vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free category, but it had odd hours and was closed, so we rushed through a lunch at Street Burger in Kapaa town. Do I sound like a local yet? Mahalo. Street Burger was another one of those tourist trap places, I felt, but it had a really great atmosphere. If you’re itching for a burger, then go there! But I was trying to have as much fresh seafood on this trip as possible.
Finally, our next planned adventure was Kauai Backcountry Tubing! I sadly have no photos of this because it was suggested that we leave our valuables and phones in the van, BUT, it was so fun! Note, the photo above was before we went because 1) I’m holding the helmet we got to wear with a light attached for the five tunnels (YES!) and 2) we’re still dry. We went tubing with a guided group through an old sugar cane plantation. Check out their promotional video here to see what it was like. My MOH, Bridget, shared the link with me before she even knew we were going to Hawaii for our honeymoon and it was so fun to add this to our plans. The tour guides were great, the water was “refreshing”, and anything where I get to travel and enjoy an experience while relaxing and laying back is good in my book!
Y’all. Then, we finally made it to the restaurant that we had tried to go to earlier, Caffe Coco/Eat Healthy Cafe. It. Was. Amazing. This little, so cute, feels like you’re eating at someone’s house, restaurant was just wonderful. I can’t say enough about it. It was raining when we sat down and we ordered some of the Pumpkin Coconut Soup. Matt got a hot tea, I had a Shauna-friendly fish smothered in curry sauce, Matt had something equally delicious and vegan, followed by some shared dessert (very rare for us since it has to be gluten-free and vegan and Matt doesn’t have a sweet tooth so it can’t be too sugary… or too big). Happy husband, happy shmusband. Yum. Excuse me while I go daydream about how delicious and perfect that meal was…
A hui hou, Shauna