Better Than Ice Cream: Kauai Adventure

I think it's safe to say we totally scored with our Kauai accommodations! We stayed in the Poipu area at the Koloa Landing Resort for the first 5 nights of our trip. It just so happened that there was a Travelzoo deal that popped up for a two bedroom condo there and the dates of the deal actually aligned with our trip. We jumped on it and booked. Then when my brother-in-law's dad passed away suddenly back in February, we immediately wished we'd booked a 3 bedroom so we could bring Michael and Lani and their kids along. Of course when we checked, they were "sold out" of all the 3 bedroom condos they'd set aside for this deal so told me it was a no-go. I wasn't about to give up and wrote a letter, made some calls, batted my eyelashes and pulled and few strings and before I knew it, I was told we could have a 3 bedroom AND be upgraded to one with an oceanfront view. We were thrilled to be able to surprise them with a trip (and I think it's safe to say they were pretty excited too).

Two full walls in the living room opened up to the giant lanai where we spent a lot of time reading and eating our meals.

Peak-a-boo ocean views from the Lanai

Our flight didn't land until after dark and the Hertzogs were already in bed when we arrived so we crashed but then were up bright and early the next day to hit up Poipu beach (~4 minute drive from our resort).

There was a lovely little cove that was more kid-friendly but the girls (particularly Emma) were still a bit nervous about the waves.

Shortly after I first got in the water, a lifeguard announced that a monk seal was heading toward the "kiddie pool" and that all occupants to leave the area because they are "very dangerous." There was something about his tone that made me think he was kidding so I didn't budge until the second announcement when I realized he wasn't kidding! Oops. The seal ended up beaching it's giant bod on the sand and laying there for the rest of the day (we got pictures of another one that I'll post on another day). Apparently the sea life is not scared of people because this large turtle swam right up to the shore and gave us a good show too!

I can't say enough how awesome it was to have cousins along to entertain our kids. They did so great together and almost, just almost babysat themselves. (There was the time we discovered they'd colored on the box spring and on the bottom sides of the rattan throw rugs. Thankfully when we asked Isla if they'd colored anywhere else, she told us "No. Because it was WAY too hard to color on the other side of the rugs!") Ok so maybe they still needed adult supervision but just barely.

Each of us couples got one date night while we were there and Lani and Michael got to go out first. I rallied the kids and Graham played head chef and whipped up a delicious pasta meal with bacon and squash that all the kids loved.