From One Paradise to Another

Since Jim's deployment is drawing nearer (nearer than Kathleen and I like to admit most days), we decided to take a mini-vacation to make the most of the time we have together. We booked a four-day trip to the neighboring island of Kauai, and even though we had lousy weather, we enjoyed every minute of our visit.

Kathleen was very excited about the airport and riding in a plane. Plane is one of her favorite signs, and it got a lot of use at the airport. (She'd just finished making the sign for plane with her left hand in this picture.)



The flight from Honolulu to Lihue is only 35 minutes long -- 18 minutes of that is actually airborne. That's the kind of flying that's manageable with a toddler!

We had initially reserved a hotel room at a resort on the Coconut Coast, but when we arrived and filled it with the three of us, a crib, our luggage, and the jogging stroller, we realized that making Kathleen's schedule work in one room might be a bit of a stretch. There were bungalows on the resort, too, and we asked about upgrading to one of those. The upgrade would cost a bundle more, but when we walked by the bungalows (with their ocean views) and thought about the extra space and peace-of-mind, we decided it would be worth it. However, when we talked to the lady at the front desk, she said, "I just read the notes on your reservation, and I see you're about to deploy to Iraq. I have a son-in-law in Iraq and a son-in-law in the Horn of Africa." And she upgraded us for free! Here's the view from the bungalow's lanai:



The bungalow was such a blessing. It allowed us to put Kathleen to bed at her regular time and take her morning nap, as well. We'd get up in the morning, take a run along the oceanfront trail, have some breakfast in our bungalow, and then Kathleen would nap in the bedroom while Jim and I read on the lanai. When Kathleen woke again, we'd throw her in the rental car and explore the island. (She grabbed her afternoon nap while we were driving around.)

As I mentioned, we didn't have great weather for our trip. It rained a lot, and there were high winds, so some of the sight-seeing didn't go quite as it should have. For example, Kauai is home to Waimea Canyon, which Mark Twain called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Here's our picture of that natural wonder:



Oh, well. We'll just have to go back to see that again sometime. Even in the rain, there's no denying the beauty of Kauai's mountains and beaches. They're just incredible. Less developed than Oahu, Kauai looks like what you think tropical paradise should be. We saw mountains and jungle and rain forest and wide, sandy beaches. And every now and then the weather would break, and we'd get a moment like this:



We hope we'll be able to go back to Kauai again -- and actually enjoy some sun!