Kauai Road Trip!

This trip was exactly how weekend trips should be. Weekend getaways used to be so easy—Savannah for a couple days? Why not? Then we had kids and every trip turned into a disaster.

Not this one! This one was fun and so easy from start to finish. Here’s how we started it: I got the GyPSy Guide (see how GPS is in there?) and it guided us from the airport up to Kauai’s North Shore with a few stops on the way up and stories on the way back down. We chased rainbows up the coast, admired the scenic views while the kids ate snacks and napped in the back, and arrived in Hanalei before anything was even open. Arriving at dawn has its advantages.

“I didn’t know Kauai looked like THIS! With the waterfalls and the mountains and the beach!” —Eloise

We drove as far as you can drive, up until the road closes. It’s still local traffic only after a certain point thanks to this spring’s massively destructive rains. So we turned around and walked up and down Hanalei beach. DUDE. Super soft sand curving around gentle waves, with waterfalls threading down the emerald mountains behind us—it was sufficiently lovely, I suppose!!

The kids were somehow hungry in spite of two hours of snacking, so we walked over to kid paradise: Pink’s Grilled Cheese and Ice Cream. Then we walked over and got JoJo’s shave ice and Kauai coffee. In pursuit of these overabundant delights, the kids begged for rides on the ricketiest rusty supermarket rides you’ve ever seen. I did not think they stood a chance of working, but in went our quarters and vrrrrrrrooooooom went the rides. Isaac was displeased with the merry-go-round ride he requested. This made Chris and me laugh. “I’m on a merry-go-round in Hanalei with grilled cheese and shave ice and my adoring family. Nothing could be worse!” Eloise enjoyed herself.

“This sand is squishy like a tummy!” —Eloise

Then we cruised down the coast to STOP THE CAR! THAT IS A NENE GOOSE! THEY’RE HAWAII’S ENDANGERED STATE BIRD!!! Chris was not amused when I jumped out of the car to go take a picture of geese, even endangered state geese. Anyway, we got to the Kilauea Lighthouse at the Kilauea Point and National Wildlife Refuge, which is the northernmost point of the inhabited Hawaiian islands! To go any further north on land, you’d end up in Alaska. It had a satisfying sense of finality. You can go this far—no further. I love that romantic hopelessness of islands. Le sigh. 

There ended up being lots of Nene geese at Kilauea Point since…you know…it’s a wildlife refuge. This picture of my geese and the Nene geese was on Isaac’s school news broadcast Monday morning, because he’s always so excited to have his picture on there. He also simultaneously acts embarrassed that I submitted a photo of him, even though he made sure I was going to. Parenting is such a confusing line to balance.

That was our last stop of the day. We had mercy on our little troopers and checked into the hotel in Kapa’a for swimming and dinner by the pool. Up next: the Na Pali Coast!