Kauai Anniversary Trip Day 2

*Regular Font: David
*Italicized Font: Shantel 

Word of the Day: Perfect, the perfect start to our Hawaiian vacation. Or maybe Kīnā 'Ole (doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to the right person, for the right reason, with the right feeling; the first time.)

When we planned our week, it ended up being mid-week to mid-week, and with a weekend in the middle - we weren't sure exactly how to schedule our planned excursions. We ended up deciding to do BOTH our kayak river tour AND the Garden Luau on our first day there. Those were the two things that we wanted to do the very most and it felt like a good kickoff to our trip to have them on the first day. (Plus they were both close to our hotel so we had plenty of time to come home and get changed between.)

The River Kayak Tour was my #1 planning pick for our entire trip. The thought of kayaking down a river (imagine my arms waving in the air as I pretend to paddle a kayak) then hiking through the Hawaiian Forest to a hidden waterfall (imagine my arms pretending to hike) seemed like a dream, and whenever people asked me what we were going to do in Hawaii - that's what I led with (arm movements and all). 

It did NOT disappoint. 

We were up plenty early enough to watch the sun rise out our window (thank you time-zone-jet-lag) and met up with our tour group who took us to the mouth of the Wailua River. With very little instruction we were off, paddling together down the lush river, through the heart of the Wailua Valley. 

This was actually my favorite part of the whole day. I loved how peaceful it was. We ended up paddling mostly apart from everyone and really felt like we had the river to ourselves, it was quiet and peaceful. I was in the back on the way there and then we switched on the way back. I loved just talking to Shantel and looking at the beautiful surroundings. We would get into a really rhythmic paddling with me trying to match Shantel's paddle strokes and you could feel the boat speed up as we got totally synchronized. Every little bit I would stop paddling and just take in the scene around me and I loved it. 

From the tour website: This peaceful river winds through a tropical garden paradise of abundant palms, ferns, flowers and wildlife. After paddling through the Garden Isle’s most beautiful jungle river you will come to the trail head for Secret Falls. Enjoy a moderate hike through the Wailua rainforest, original home of the first Hawaiians, who paddled from the Marquesas Islands to Kauai almost 1500 years ago. The final portion of your hike is to the enchanting Uluwehi Waterfall, which descends 125’ into a natural pool surrounded by rocks and vegetation.

The kayaking was breathtaking and the hike was just SO cool. (Our tour guide knew so much about the local plants and we kept passing these tiny purple flowers he called vervain. Everytime I saw them, I thought about Lucy and could almost hear her little voice from her spot in the carrier on my back "Those are MY purple flowers, for me!" Which is what she says everytime we see purple flowers on any of our hikes.)

The waterfall was incredible. 

We waded out into the pool and climbed behind the 125 ft waterfall. The other people in our tour were friendly and we enjoyed eating lunch while soaking in the incredible view. The trip back out was equally as enjoyable and I left thinking that we should have put this activity at the end because it was SO great that nothing else we could do would possibly be able to top this adventure!  

I really thought that in the moment, I can't imagine we'll do something better than this all trip (I was wrong). I loved how warm the water was around the falls and I loved climbing all the way behind the waterfall. 

Before we went back to the hotel we drove around for a little bit and saw a waterfall, a great view of the Wailua river we had just kayaked and a beautiful Hindu Monestary which houses a Rudraksha Forest that visitors are invited to enjoy each day.

That night was the Smith Family Luau, which was David's #1 planning pick for the trip. We were surprised at how beautiful the gardens were and we enjoyed exploring before the dinner and dance. We were delighted to be seated next to a handful of honeymooners at a romantic table for two, right in front of the live music. I teased that I had upgraded us to the Romantic Honeymoon package. We took some beautiful pictures in front of the lake, ate loads of Hawaiian foods, and enjoyed the Luau show!

We were exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel, especially me (Shantel). But it was such a perfect first day in Hawaii that it was hard to imagine anything but the trip being downhill from there. (Spoiler, it wasn't - we did everything in the exact right order.) 

The show really was so awesome and I loved that after working hard paddling and hiking we could just sit and relax and take in some of the culture. Also, I feel like the best part of this whole night was at the end, we went and sat by the lake as the crowd all headed out. Once everyone was basically gone, we got up and walked toward the exit, which was a decent walk. The whole think was lit by tiki torches and so we had a beautiful fire lit stroll to end the night.