Smith Family Garden

One afternoon Rich and I toured the Smith Family Garden while Ava napped at the condo with Papa & Nona. During the day the garden is open for self-guided tours and in the evening it is the home of a Luau. We enjoyed having the garden to ourselves and seeing all the beautiful flowers. We also fed the many birds and for a while had a parade of them following us. It was a nice quiet afternoon and we enjoyed it being just the two of us.

The sign says we are 2646 miles from California.

Me feeding some of the birds before it got to be crazy.

Rich surrounded by all kinds of birds.

Rich got one of the peacocks to eat out of his hand. It kind of nipped him, but he said it didn't hurt.

My silly husband thinks he is so funny.

My with my camera. I love touring gardens because they are filled with beautiful flowers and so many colors. I really put my new camera lens to good use this vacation (thanks Rich).

We saw several Monarch Butterflies. We were pleasantly surprised. It was hard to get a good picture because they were so active.

Plumeria bud

Tulip Tree

I loved the Tulip Trees.

Frog

If you look closely you might be able to tell the bird is eating a fish. It was awesome to see the bird catch and eat the fish. I have never seen that happen in the wild before.

Lydgate Beach

In the middle of our week we decided to try Lydgate Beach. It is a kid friendly beach with a lava rock wall pool. It was the perfect place for Ava. She enjoyed going in the water because it was calm. She especially liked her daddy throwing her high in the air. Ava also had a good time playing in the sand with her Nona. The only bad part was Ava's eyes became red and irritated from the salt water and sand.

While Ava had fun with her Nona, Rich and I went snorkeling. There was a nice area for snorkeling and we saw a lot of fish. We bought some peas to feed the fish, but forgot them at the hotel. We decided to improvise and use some of Ava's Cheerios in a zip-loc bag. It did the trick. We had schools of fish swarming around us. It was exciting and a little scary when one big fish nipped my finger. Rich and I enjoyed ourselves, but decided Poi'pu was better because the water was clearer and easier to see the fish.

Sunset at Poi'pu

Is there a better way to end the day than with a beautiful sunset on the beach with your family? I think not. After our bike ride and a day of touring the west side of the island we went to Poi'pu. I was hoping we would see some sea turtles and then enjoy the sunset. Unfortunately, we didn't see any turtles, but we did enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Waimea Canyon Bike Ride

On Monday we went on a bike ride down the Waimea Canyon. My mom told me my brother wanted to do this last time we were in Kauai (10 years ago), but I never knew. I thought it sounded like fun, so we signed up for the Sunrise tour through Outfitters Kauai. My mom didn't care to go, so she stayed at the condo with Ava. The rest of us got up early and left at 5:15am.

I was hoping to see the sunrise as we rode down the canyon, but that didn't happen. We met at the shop, got gear, and watched the sunrise as we drove in the van to the canyon. On the drive we got some breakfast and an education on the island and its culture from our tour guide Harold. He was an interesting guy and quite informative.

Before we started our ride we stopped at the Waimea Canyon Lookout. It was a beautiful view. It was pretty hazy though and was hard to get pictures that did it justice. We walked around for a little bit before heading to our starting point.

We didn't start our ride at the top. I don't actually know how far of a ride down from the top, but we did about 12 miles. It was almost all downhill, so we didn't have to worry about pedaling. We just had to relax and enjoy the scenery as we blazed past it. I was happy we stopped a few times down so we could enjoy the view and get some pictures. I know some of the other people in our group (my brother and the other young guys) were hoping to zoom all the way to the bottom. I enjoyed a slower pace at the back of the pack.

A few times during the ride we exceeded the 25 mph speed limit. At first I was nervous going so fast downhill on a curvy road, but after a while I felt more comfortable. By the time we reached the bottom I was keeping up with the rest of the group and only the 3 required bike lengths back from my dad.

By this point Rich was bored being in the back with me and headed to the front of the line with my brother. He had a hard time being in back of me for most of the ride because due to my size I had a hard time going as fast as some of the bigger riders. I felt bad I slowed him down, but I enjoyed hearing him whistle songs from "Singing in the Rain" as we went down the Canyon.

Overall we had a great time. It was a nice way to start our day. We saw amazing views and learned a lot about the island. We are glad we had this experience and would recommend it to anyone visiting Kauai.

Halfway down we stopped for a snack. Our tour guide brought Kauai made cookies and starfruit from Harold's backyard.

In the distance you can make out Ni'ihau Island. It is a privately owned island and not for tourists. On this island they make beautiful leis made from tiny shells. These leis are special and very expensive.

At the bottom of the canyon we stopped at a souvenir store and found this giant shirt. I thought it would be a funny picture, so I climbed inside and encouraged Rich to hurry and snap the shot before I got in trouble.