Chillin' at the Beach



Since it was Matt's last day in Hawaii, we decided that spending the day at the beach would be a great way to end his mini-vacation.  Besides, it's been a busy couple of days and we needed some down time.  We checked out of the condo and drove over to our new hotel, the Garden Island Inn, to drop off our food and luggage.

Our room wasn't ready but our hotel was happy to keep our luggage until the room was ready.  The front desk clerk assured us he would put away the food in our mini fridge and our luggage while we were away. Very friendly staff.  Originally, we were going to hang out at Hanalei Beach partk but it meant a 40 minutes drive so we opted with the beach just across from our hotel.

We rented lounge chairs for the day and picked aspot that offered both sun (for Nicole and I) and shade (for Matt).  Turns out our hotel was just across the street from Sunshine Helicopters and the small shopping complex so we were already familiar with the area.  It was a perfect day to spend at the beach!

For lunch we walked over to a Mexican restaurant.  The rest of the afternoon we cotinued to laze about at the beach.  Tough life! 


In the evening, Matt took us out for a birthday dinner at a Japanese restaurant.  I wasn't terribly hungry since we had a late lunch, but wow, was the sushi ever good!  I imagine that some of fish was locally caught but who knows?  What I do know is that the food was great.  I ordered a Mai Tai at the start of dinner, just one Mai Tai, and was I ever feeling the effects of the alcohol!  LOL!  Must have been all that sun!  Good thing I wasn't driving.

After dinner, we dropped off Matt at the airport.  What a great time we three had together!  Too bad Matt couldn't stay longer.

Despite the fact it was a very relaxed day, I felt pretty tired by the time we returned to our hotel.

The following morning, Nicole and I decided to go to the beach for a couple of hours.  Getting a tan is like making grilling bread with one side of the toaster no working.  We also wanted to take advantage of the sunny day as there was rain in the forecast.


After lunch we drove along the coast to Hanalei Bay which we were told was quite beautiful.  It was a nice relaxing drive as we stopped to check out some vistas along the way.  We weren't disappointed.  Hanalei Bay is a great spot!  Nicely sheltered,  the waves were perfect for some novice surfing.  It was a beautiful beach with mountains in the background.

There are some interrested pine (evergreen?) trees on Kauaii that remind me of cypresses. Tall, slender with branches that are slightly apart from one another.  Not the kind of tree one would expect in a tropical climate.
 
Then there are the ubiquitous chickens.  They are everywhere!

When we got back to our hotel fairly late in the day, we were pretty tired. Amazing how lying in the sun can be so tiring!  So we just relaxed in our room.  Another great day in beautiful Hawaii!