That night after THE HIKE, we decided to go out for dinner. It was our last official night in Kauai and it was our anniversary, so we didn't just want to go to sleep (actually we DID just want to go to sleep…we were exhausted and sore, but felt we should celebrate anyway!). So we went back to shower and change, and headed for a beautiful restaurant (La Cascata) in the Princeville Hotel (have I mentioned how posh and upscale this hotel is?). The hotel has a beautiful balcony with a view of the sunset and the bay. I was excited to get a picture of Derek and I there (especially since I was going to be wearing my new "Hawaii" blouse that I had bought just for the occasion). We get out on the balcony, pose…and realize we had forgotten to put the battery in the camera!! AAAHHRRGGGHHH! So, Matt took some photos of us with his IPhone! It's better than nothing, for sure…and thankfully I could lighten them up in Photoshop.
Then we went inside for a beautiful dinner with great food. And we laughed and laughed some more. But we also "hobbled" everywhere…all four of us were sore and our muscles tight! We were definitely a slow-moving bunch that night.
On our last day there (Friday, July 18) we had to be out of our room by 10 am. But our flight didn't leave until 9 pm. So we packed up and headed out to do some shopping. Sadly, Dana was sick. The lack of water the day before, we think, led to an infection, and she was miserable. We were so sad about that. She rested in bed, and was able to get on an antibiotic. So the three of us (Derek, Matt and I) went in to Hanalei to eat lunch, grab a smoothie at a juice bar, and shop. Our favorite little shop was a place called Ola's and we spent the better part of an hour in there…twice. We also had a traditional Hawaiian "shave ice" – it's a snow cone piled on to ice cream! We took Matt back "home" and Derek and I went one more time to the beach to enjoy the sun and surf. Then we took the very long and painful all-night flight back to LA and then to Austin.
Despite our fatigue though, nothing was sweeter than seeing the boys faces waiting for us, jumping up and down, as we came down an escalator at the airport. THAT is priceless.
Hawaii really was the vacation of a lifetime for us. The Hicken's were perfect travel companions – so easy and pleasant to be with. I can't wait to go back – and take the kids. Next time I hope to stay longer and relax a little more between adventures!
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