Sunday, July 26, 2015

Hawaii | Kauai

Kauai is probably my favorite place I've ever lived {so far}. When I was seven years old, we moved to Kauai, Hawaii from Port Huron, Michigan. And yes, it was a HUGE change from the Michigan winters. I have mostly pleasant memories growing up here and made some of my best friends that I am still close with to this day.

All in all, I spent ten years of my childhood here and moved away after I graduated from high school to attend a small private college in Washington state. My parents and brother moved to The Big Island {Hilo side} in 2004 so we try to concentrate our trips on the Big Island but Kauai is still my favorite so we always have to take a few days {5 in this case} to hang out here since it's where all my memories are!  

Last time we visited Kauai was 2009 -- I cannot believe it had been six years. That is just crazy talk. I must say that it has been nice to explore the mainland and Europe, but there is really no place like Hawaii {or Kauai for that matter}.  We splurged on a 5 star hotel and it was so worth it! I really felt pampered and the pool was heavenly. If you ever find yourself on Kauai, The St. Regis is definitely the place to be. We tried to spend as much time as possible there and it was a bit of a challenge because I had so many people I wanted to see and old haunts I wanted to revisit. But, I feel like we did a good job of relaxing + seeing the island.  It is so much more beautiful than I remember it. But, you know what they say. You do have to leave in order to truly appreciate the beauty.





One of my favorite things we did was a NaPali Boat tour. Can you believe I lived here for 10 years of my life and never did this?!?! Yikes. Well, never again... and next time we are going to do a Helicopter Ride even though we are both deathly afraid of heights. If not now, when!? 




Jake got in some golfing {2x} so he was a happy camper! While he golfed, I beached. It worked out perfectly. 


Below was our gorgeous view at Breakfast at the hotel. This photo doesn't do it justice - the view is breathtaking. 


The day before we left, we finally made it to Ke'e Beach {my favorite}.


There was a guy selling coconuts from the back of his truck so we gladly obliged. Best $5 I ever spent. We couldn't even finish the coconut water, those things are so full!



I love this church in Hanalei. I remember spending some time here as a child and it has some very special memories for me.


....and Justin Bieber even made an appearance. So, we were at the pool and I had been dying to spot a celebrity. Every time we travel anywhere, I am always trying to find a celebrity. I was so disappointed after not spotting one during our last trip to NYC. Anyway, I totally thought I spotted Anna Kendrick at the pool and all of a sudden, Jake taps my arm and he goes "The Biebs is here!" I was like no way... upon further inspection, it was him, doesn't the security guy make it obvious?! He hung around the pool and said hi when people came up to him, but he wouldn't take any photos. He headed off to a massage but I knew we would see him again. We had dinner reservations at 7 pm so we had to head back to our hotel room and get ready. When I pushed the button for the elevator, boom - out pops his security guard and none other than Justin Bieber himself. I decided that I didn't want him to think he was such a big shot, so I didn't even look at him. Guys, I snubbed Justin! Jake said he looked at him and he wasn't wearing sunglasses and he just noticed all of his tattoos. So, I missed my shot of seeing him up close. Who does that?! And finally as we were heading to the airport, we spotted his escalade and security guard taking all of the bottled water so the valet guys didn't have any left for us. Rude! Haha... he must live such a crazy life, though. The next time I looked at his Instagram, he was in Bora Bora crashing someone's honeymoon. So there's that...


and lastly, a Sunset dinner on our last night. Kauai -- we love you and we'll be back soon!


xoxo,
Kim 

2 comments:

  1. hahahahaha..... LOVE that you chase celebrities on your vacations!! It is even better that you ignored Justin. Totes laughing inside!! :)

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