I woke up Monday morning to all the birds singing outside our window. There are lots of feral roosters (and chickens) roaming Kauai and they made themselves heard every morning. Here is the morning song we heard.
Then it was on to tubing the ditches. There are irrigation ditches that were build for transporting water for farming and now you can tube down them.
Pitstop at an overlook.
At our destination. Look at these beautiful bamboo trees creating a web above us.
Here we go!
There were about 20 of us on this trip with Quinn being the only kid.
A look down at our river ride.
We went through 5 tunnels. The longest was about 3/4 mile long.
Those hard hats, gloves, and water shoes came in handy while you were banging around in the tunnels.
Then back to the hotel for a little swim and Harry Potter on the rocks.
After dinner we made a Shave Ice stop with some more Harry Potter.
And then on to Hanalei Bay to watch the sunset.
Tuesday we spent our day at Anini Beach. It reminded us so much of one of our favorite St. John beaches Maho Bay. Don started to Anini as Maho Lite.
There is a big beach park where there were lots of cars but I had read a tip to keep going down the road and we found ourselves in a great little spot where we could just back our car up to the beach and Quinn could climb a tree.
You see lots of these around Hawaii.
I told the guys it was bad luck to knock them down but they didn\’t listen.
I could sit and stare at this view all day long.
Did I mention roosters all over the island?
Yes, more shave ice. This time Organic Rainbow for him.
Our resort had a restaurant which was pretty good. A nice option when we don\’t want to get back in the car.
I jumped up from dinner to go check out the sunset.
Last time we were in here in 2008 Quinn had just turned 1 year old and our lives were in a time of great change. We were living in Seattle and we knew that Washington Mutual was being taken over by Chase but we didn\’t know what that meant for Don or our family. I snapped this picture of Don on the phone getting the news that he was being offered a job in Columbus, Ohio. It wasn\’t until later we found out the job was actually in NJ. But look at our little nugget!
Back to 2016! We arrived around noon but couldn\’t check in until 3 pm so we stopped at Duke\’s for an ocean side welcome lunch.
Quinn started on the 2nd Harry Potter book.
One more flashback. Last time we were at this Dukes it was pouring down rain and some boys were boogie boarding on the sidewalk.
On this visit we stayed on the North Shore of Kauai in a community called Princeville. The North Shore is known for being lush and tropical and also getting lots of rain. And when we arrived it was raining!
We stayed on a bluff overlooking the ocean with a walk down to the beach. I went out investigating.
Sunday Morning we woke up to the beautiful view!
Breakfast on the lanai. Every morning we were visited by a 1-footed bird we named Eileen 😉 But it turns out quite a few birds that would visit our lanai were missing feet for legs.
Quinn talking to Eileen.
Then it was out to a beach called Tunnels. Just gorgeous!!
Honestly, the snorkeling was not that great. This was about as good as it got!
But the views from the beach were gorgeous! Because of the amount of rain that falls on Kauai you can see waterfalls everywhere!
And it\’s great to have the natural shade of the tree lined beaches. Reminded us of St. John.
The birds that visited us were so beautiful that it was hard to be annoyed with them!
Our Afternoon Shave Ice. This one is the Keiki Delight. Vanilla ice cream, topped with fruit flavored shave ice, and then topped with a \”snow cap\” of sweetened condensed milk. Yummy!
A look at the competing shave ice and gloomy clouds across the street.
A stop at a scenic overview overlooking the taro fields.
Don and some friends from work signed up for a Tough Mudder. It\’s a 10+ mile run with obstacles throughout. We made it a family affair and got Quinn signed up for the Mini Mudder. I was the event photographer.
Getting ready to head out for the day!
Don\’s team is clean and ready to go.
The weather wasn\’t too warm, but it sure was windy and very dusty!!
Here\’s a look at the course map. The runners get to start with events like Ladders to Hell and Arctic Enema 2.0.
And here is Don\’s wave getting ready to go. I wish I had panned to the left so you could see the HUGE hill climb they get to start with. [WARNING: Loud Music]
Quinn and I had to get to the Mini Mudder so off we went. Getting ready for his start!
And off they go!
First obstacle was the Mini Everest. It was great seeing the kids work together and pull each other up and over.
Quinn was so helpful that I had to encourage him to move on with the race after helping 3 or 4 kids up and over. And then down the other side.
Through the mud pit.
Looking in the background, I wonder if Don is one of those ants marching up that giant hill.
And then do it all over again for a total of 6 laps or 1 mile!
And he\’s officially a Tough Mudder!!!
So proud of this little dude!! This type of event really isn\’t his thing and he just took it on and completed it with a great attitude.
He was so parched and thirsty that only a blue iceee would do!
Then it was back to Don\’s race! We caught up with them at the Pyramid Scheme. This obstacle doesn\’t look so bad but was tricky because it was slippery and wet. Teams were having alot of trouble getting up. But Don\’s team formed a chain and they were up and over this obstacle in about 2 minutes! You can see their human chain right in the middle.
Off to the next obstacle. In these two pictures you can get a glimpse in the background of the hills they had to climb.
They made quick work of this one.
This is Blockness Monster. You can see all the teamwork that is involved in getting through some of the obstacles. Teams helping teams. In the beginning you can hear Don asking Quinn to join them 🙂
And still smiling…at least Don is! This is after the Kiss of Mud obstacle where they crawl through the mud under barbed wire!
And approaching the finish! Only 2 more obstacles to go.
Ring the bell. Don is all the way to the left. A dip in the water to clean off all that mud.
Last event. Electroshock Therapy. I was reading that this one is a crowd favorite! A handful of the wires are powered to shock them and I certainly heard lots of grunts and ughs as they ran through.
They did it! My unofficial time was about 3 1/2 hours.
The reward!
And I couldn\’t be more proud of these Two Tough Mudders.
The White House 