[happyramblings]: Hawaii: Day 1

Marty and I went to Kaua'i, Hawaii the week before Christmas. Originally, we were going to take the kids, too. But airfare for 6 people was just too much so we promised them a nice trip to the beach as soon as possible. We flew with air miles so we were pretty much at the mercy of the airlines to get us there and back. And the trip there was not great. We left at 9am Dallas time and got to Kaua'i at about 10:30pm Hawaii time which was 2:30 in the morning for us. We had 3-hour layovers in both San Jose and L.A. But that was fine because plane rides make for good sleeping for me and movie watching for Marty. We flew over some mountains. I think this was New Mexico but I'm not sure.

Then we finally arrived in Kaua'i. We were both really tired and pretty much just checked into the hotel and went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up pretty early. I wanted to go for a really short run. It was my first run after the White Rock Marathon just 4 days before so I was going to try for 2 miles but was still pretty sore. There was a golf course by the hotel and I ran to it and watched the sun rise and it was really beautiful. I took these pictures with my cell phone and they aren't great but you can see how pretty it was.

I ran by the golf course and found a little trail by a stream. My legs were hurting a little but the scenery seemed to make it go away. But then I came upon a goose. She did NOT want me to pass her. She was hissing at me and looking like she wanted to take a chunk out of my leg. Everytime I got near her, she would hiss but if I turned around to go the other way she was fine. But I didn't want to go the way I had just come from. I guess she had babies nearby. But after a minute or so I found a branch and poked it at her and ran past her. Of course I had to get a picture of that pissed off goose.

Marty was awake when I got back and we checked out some of the scenery. Here is the view from the hotel room and the beach right in front of the hotel. We were on Kalapaki Beach in Lihue, Kaua'i.

After we went to the beach for awhile, we got cleaned up then wandered around the hotel grounds before getting our rental car. We stayed at the Kaua'i Marriott Resort the first two nights of our trip. It's a beautiful hotel.

After we got the car we headed north to Kapaa where we were going to have an early dinner. I have a friend from high school that manages a bar there called the Olympic Cafe and he invited us to dinner. We were running pretty early so we decided to check out the town. We found a little market and shopped around. And the only thing I took a picture of was this chicken! You would not believe all of the roosters and chickens on Kaua'i! They are everywhere!! And they have no sense of time. They start crowing at about 3am and never stop all day.

Here's a video that I took the last day we were in Hawaii just so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about with the chickens and roosters. They are loud!

After we shopped for a little bit, we headed over to the Olympic Cafe. Here's a picture and also a picture of the sign in the parking lot. There were houses right behind it and the sign cracked us up!

My friend, Greg, greeted us right away. It was good to see him. It had been at least 20 years!! And we had a nice dinner. But this was the first time I realized that it was actually kind of chilly in Hawaii. The restaurant was open-air and breezy! I was glad that I had brought a jacket!

And we got back to the hotel just as the sun was setting. It was a fun and relaxing day. And just as a preview for day 2 ... it was anything but relaxing! Stay tuned. :)