the garden isle

We just got back from our mini-vacation to the neighboring island of Kauai. All I can say is...amazing. We got to Kauai when the sun stared rising and the roosters started crowing...literally. I guess after the hurricane of '92 the chickens were blown from their cages and have mass produced since then.

We stopped at this great playground (I think the greatest in all of Hawaii) and let the boys get some of that crazy energy out (kind of like the Mountain Maze for those of you who are from Chattanooga). They had a blast.

We then ventured on over to see the 80 foot Wailua Falls.

We then headed over to Puka-Dog for lunch to get their famous hot dogs...with their famous lemon garlic sauce and your choice of 5 fruit relishes. I actually heard about this place on the Travel Channel the night before we left. So of course we had to find it once we got there.

Our next stop was to Gaylord's Plantation and we got to take a carriage ride around the property. The boys thought it was the greatest thing since it was their first horse drawn carriage ride. They also had other animals there to pet but after seeing these donkeys chew the wood off the fence, the boys weren't too excited to get up close. This is Waimea Canyon...the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. Amazing to see and freezing at the top....3400 foot elevation. There was also Waimea waterfall which is 800 feet high...so high that the water was blowing away before it could hit the ground. We then made it back to our hotel in time to check in. We left the next day after swimming in the hotel pool for a little while. It was nice to get away and spend some time together as a family. Whenever they have $9.00 tickets one-way again, we want to go back.