Author: amyewhitelivecom

This was our 3rd trip to Kauai but it definitely took the most preparation because of Hawaii COVID restrictions and precautions. But I had researched it thoroughly and we were able to travel with ease and skip some long lines because we were so prepared.

We landed in Lihue around 11 am and went off to find some lunch. We settled on Oki’s and I got the Hawaiian Lunch Box. Neither was a good choice.

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We received a notice that our room was ready for check in at 1 pm and we also had groceries delivered from Safeway. We were given a great room . We stayed at a Marriott Family Vacation Club and had a 2 BR/ 2 BA condo. It was just right., what a view!

Saturday was spent swimming in the ocean and pool. We also rented beach chairs and an umbrella for the week from a local surf shop. One thing you see everywhere on Kauai are chickens and roosters. So many that many souvenirs and shirts have chicken themed designs.

We spent our Sunday at the beach swimming and snorkeling and boogey boarding. We stayed in Poipu where the Hawaiian Monk Seals come ashore amidst the crowds. (Just a reminder when you see ‘gallery’ of images like below, you can click on an image to see it larger and then browse though the gallery.)

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Dinner at The Beach House with a beautiful sunset.

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Monday we decided to head to the North side of the island. Our first stop is the Sacred Forest. It is the only Rudraksha forest in the west and produces these cobalt blue marble fruit. It is part of a larger monastery property. There was definitely something special about it.

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Then it was on to our favorite north shore beach, Anini. I attempted to recreate one of my favorite family photos from 2016 but I really missed the mark. I found that my pictures this year just weren’t that great. And maybe because I only took my iphone and underwater camera.

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We tried as many different Shave Ice places as possible (in Hawaii they drop the d from Shaved). This was my favorite of our whole trip. Both Quinn and I got a Pina Colada Shave Ice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and topped with Coconut Foam. To Die For!

That night we got take out pizza and ate on the balcony to this view.

Our adventure started at 7 am boarding Island Packers ferry in Ventura on our way to Santa Cruz Island, which is the largest of the 8 Channel Islands. Fortunately we were in good company with the Conrath family.

We arrived at a cool and foggy Santa Cruz Island at 8:15 am. We had a full day planned with tickets for the 4:30 pm ferry home.

Some of the gang ready to go!

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First up, a hike up the Cavern Point Loop to Potato Harbor. Walking in the clouds.

I captured this flower along the trail. It was quite dewey!

A look down to where we started. The ferry at Scorpion Harbor.

Moving along….

Unfortunately we weren’t able to see the spectacular views. On the bright side, it was cool weather for hiking.

We had never seen these beautiful blue winged ravens before. Upon closer look, we realized they were tagged. I overheard one of the campers saying that Raven #14 was quite an a-hole in the campground.

The fog is starting to burn off. It was nice that once we got to the top we had the place all to ourselves and only saw a few other people.

The Amy’s.

On our way back down.

The Channel Island Fox was the main reason for the trip. Hayden has recently taken a keen interest in foxes and this fox can only be found on the Channel Islands. This trip was to celebrate H’s 13th birthday in early June.

The foxes and the ravens on the island are known for their cleverness in getting into backpacks and coolers in search of food. There are “Fox Boxes” where we stored our food.

There were two foxes playing (or fighting) and this one ran off and started screaming.

We had some lunch and rest time and got all our stuff back in the Fox Box. Then it was on to kayaking. There are alot of caves along the coast of Santa Cruz and we were told that we had perfect conditions for kayaking. I didn’t get many pictures but here’s Quinn and I going through one of the caves.

Don exiting a cave.

Amy C. got this picture, with Quinn and I on the right. You can see the kelp forrest below the very clear water.

One of the highlights of the day was seeing a Bald Eagle. Our kayaking guide noticed that hundreds of seagulls were flying and squawking very loudly which suggested a Bald Eagle was nearby. Sure enough a Bald Eagle came swooping in and plucked a baby seagull out of a nest. It was a pretty incredible sight.

After kayaking we had to make a quick change back to dry clothes, gathered our stuff, and busted a move for the 4:30 pm ferry. We were all pretty bushed after a long, full day of adventure.

One last sight on our way home. What a day!

Now that our family and most of our friends have been vaccinated, we can get together unmasked and have fun! Of course my friend Amy was the first to kick it off with a belated birthday party at her house.

I offered to bring a charcuterie board. Trader Joe’s is the place to go to get everything you need for a charcuterie board — there are even a bunch of websites that will show you how to put it together. I use a huge teak platter that I got from my mother.

These aren’t the best of images because it was dark but it was so good to see and hug our friends. It was a pretty great evening!