Crebbin Happenings: Two in a Row...

Wow, I must be inspired or something, as I have completed posts two days in a row! Actually I am under the gun to get my vacation recapped before I head off for China. And speaking of China, I am going to do my best to blog each day. However, mystery firewalls, internet connections (or lack thereof), and pure exhaustion don't always allow that to happen, so please be patient. The past couple of years I have been unable to post photos, so I have emailed those to Mike in the states, and he added them to my journaling. The snafu in that is that with our main computer down, and me taking the laptop, Mike doesn't have easy access. So he will attempt to use Joshua's new laptop we got him for graduation, and see how it goes. Again, patience....

So where did I leave off? Oh yes, we are on to Thursday. We started this day by venturing out on our own to do a little snorkeling in the morning. We found a nice beach with easy shallow snorkeling. It was way better than what we had experienced off the catamaran. So many fish in an assortment of colors (and some without any color) within reach. Mike couldn't get enough of it. And there was entertainment on the beach too, as two endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals made their way onto the beach. Evidently they beach themselves while they digest. Since they are endangered, and the beaches of Kauai are one of the few places they inhabit, the occupied area is immediately roped off from the public. This happened at two different beaches we visited.

The rest of the day was low key, unless you count the unbelievable helicopter ride we took around the island!!! Now we added perspectives from the air to our list of land and sea views. We got the chopper with the doors off for even more breath taking views. It is hard to explain, but I don't think I have seen so many waterfalls in my life! We flew through Waimea Canyon, along the Napali Coast, and into the wettest place on earth, Mount Waialeale. And we thought the rain was bad in Seattle...this place averages 452 inches a year! My favorite view was within the crater, as we were surrounded on three sides by lush green scenery and waterfalls. But wouldn't you know it, the battery of our camera went dead then. Sound familiar? We got a new one for the trip, with two batteries. Mike was shooting so many photos and video from the sky that the first battery died, and the backup was back in the car. Here are just a few of the beautiful views he did manage to capture...

Open top sea cave we had seen from the water a couple days prior.

Around the bend is the area we hiked the first day.

Four in this photo. I think the two in the middle were called Twin Falls.

I recommend this indulgence to anyone traveling to Kauai.

The next day found us back in the water again, only this time in the form of a river. We kayaked two miles of the Wailua River, then hiked a fairly flat mile back to, you guessed it, another waterfall! However, don't let the flatness fool you, as you had to watch your step due to roots like this...


kayak parking lot

No, remember, no snakes in Hawaii. Just a really cool vine!

The waterfall was about a third of the size as the one from the first day, so this one we could swim under. It served as a beautiful backdrop for our lunch, before we kayaked back (but into the wind this way).

We did some more snorkeling on the way home, then enjoyed the tastiest Hawaiian Shaved Ice ever! Okay, maybe not ever, since this was my first time ever having it. It was shaved so finely it seemed to melt in your mouth, and served over the top of Macademia Nut ice cream! Yes, I ate the whole thing myself...

Not the best shot; taken by iphone, but you just had to see it!

Mike woke early the next morning with a bug....the bug to go snorkeling again! He went for a mile run, stopped at a beach and was the first snorkeler on the water. Once there he nearly ran into a sea turtle, and the two swam together for about 10 minutes. He said the experience was exhilarating. For lunch we ate at Puka Dog, which for this girl who doesn't eat hot dogs, it was delicious! They only serve two items, and I chose the vegetarian dog. Next you choose which relish you want, so I selected the star fruit relish. Mike had the mango version. The bun is completely wrapped around the dog. Even the Hawaiian mustard was worth mentioning! The place is just a little hole in the wall that we happened to come across, but evidently it is world renown...

For our last full day we chose to do some zip lining. The first three of six zip lines were in the trees, so we weren't able to take in much scenery, and the mosquitoes were making meals of us. Overall I have to say the excitement was a little anti-climatic for us, since we had done more "dangerous" adventures previously. So we challenged ourselves by tandem zip-lining upside down!

Other views from the day....

The sleeping giant, made famous in many movies. See his head on the right, hands folded over his chest.

This is right before the wave washed up and he got all mad at me because he got wet!

It was so hard to select what pictures to post, because there were so many beautiful ones to choose from. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and look forward to bringing the kids back some time. I will leave you with a few random pics from the trip...