My favorite trip ever! I surprised Hunter for our 20th anniversary together, with a week vacation to Kauai - one of my top five favorite places in the world! Beaches, waterfalls, flying planes & jeeps – the sweet life!

Here’s the surprise card I had him open – with only 36 hours to the flight [grin].

I had secretly cleared it with his boss to take the week off. 😻

Day one

We’ve been thinking about a Jeep, so I rented us nearly the exact model we were thinking of from Turo for the week. We spent the first 4 nights in the mellow town of Kapa’a at a cool place that had cats all over the property, and a garage of basic bikes we could use anytime.

Our first night! Celebrating with fantastic margaritas and mexican downtown.

Day two - Let’s go topless!

The rental guy was so nice – he even helped us take the top off at his shop. Hunter got the front panels off, then the back, and finally all four doors (and gulp, side mirrors, too).

We headed off for two adventures. First, Waimea Canyon (the “Grand Canyon” of Hawaii).

It’s so fun with everything off. With all the parts left 1-2 hours of driving at the shop, we’re hoping for a rainless day. 😝

The canyon is just gorgeous. I absolutely want to hike it some day.

Next, we’re continuing on clockwise to the northwest end of the island. There is a 4x4 only beach at the end with our name on it :)

The payoff at the beach with the views is great. We wandered around the beach until near sunset and shared a beer.

I just love how the jeep looks with everything off. 😻

Day three - The Secret Falls

The airbnb host told us when we checked in about a cool option that I immediately wanted for us. Basically, if we got up super early, he’d drop us off with a 2-person kayak at a river to the south of Kapa’a. Like a treasure map the only instructions were perfectly vague. Paddle up about 30-60 minutes, pass a historical village on the right, and then take a small river fork off to right. Go upstream, beach the boat, then follow a trail for ~45 minutes to a secret falls.

Total adventure - I’m giddy beyond belief.

The scenery is just jaw-droppingly beautiful.

We think we found the place to park the boat!

Hiking through the jungle, crossing stream inlets, following the main fork to our right.

OMG! Our guide was right! We made it – and we’re the first visitors of the day. It’s all ours!

We’re so happy!

Hunter brought a gopro waterproof camera, so we got to take a bunch of pictures and video and kiss under the falls. 🥰

Day four - low key

We did some biking, some great asian fusion food. At sunset most nights, we’d bike or drive to a beach and have a beer in the sand with some cheese & crackers.

Day five - up up and away!

Hunter’s getting his pilot’s license! We called around and one of tourist plane rentals would totally let him be copilot for the same fee. (Normally you have to rent a plane and fuel, plus instructor fees…) Turns out hunter got to fly the Cessna four-seater plane the entire time (!!)

Here’ we go! (This is the main Lihue airport, BTW. Small, no? 8-)

We fly clockwise around the entire island.

I’m losing my mind – I can’t believe here we are vacationing, unbelievable views, AND HUNTER IS FLYING!

Kauai’s famous Napali Coast – the NW corner of the island. There are no roads here. Only permitted-in-advance hikers can cross this.

Overlooking the gorgeous small town and bay of Hanalei – the NE corner of the island.

The inner mountains of Kauai host, Mount Waialeale, the 8th wettest place in the world. The 5000+ foot peak gets rain 300+ days of the year, averaging 500 inches (!)

Time to land, with some advice from the pilot.

We hit one of the most iconic falls in Kauai on the trip north – TV show “Fantasy Island” made them famous!

Some 4x4 shenanignas on the counter-clockwise trip to 2 nights in Princeville / Hanalei.

This was super fun – but it did shrink to a very narrow one-lane only and I had to backup ~1/4 mile when a group of locals came the other direction with a full pickup truck!

The view overlooking the Hanalei valley.

Chilling on the Hanalei beach – a perfect bay surrounded by mountains, gorgeous clouds, warmth, and waves. Beer and snacks is such a nice way to soak in the sunset.

Day six

We explore the northeast end of Kauai and enjoy some great food, the most dramatic evening lightning storm, and more off-roading on a beach – plus more of that chill-out sunset experience.

There were two huge banks of long clouds off-shore. The attacked each other with lightning bursts, every few seconds, much like 2 wooden ships in a cannon fight. Everyone, including the staff, cleared the restaurant to watch in wonder..

Day seven - do we have to go home?

Dropping our rental. Such an amazing experience together. This was the first of four jeep, jeep gladiator, or ford bronco rentals. We finally buy a jeep after the Jeep Wrangler gets big upgrades (like Wireless Apple CarPlay, an 11" touchscreen, better seats and lots more), at the end of 2023.