My parents Christmas gift this year was none other than a trip to Hawaii! My dad had done some law work for a former neighbor, Mike Thompson, who just so happens to have a condo on Poipu Beach in Kauai. Fortunately for us, he gave us a sweet deal so it made it all possible. We slept over at Mike's parents house the night before and Mark volunteered to take us to the airport bright and early. Rumor has it he had to get us out of bed, which is debatable, but either way we were boarding the plane on New Years Eve day for the beautiful island of Kauai for a week in paradise. We arrived late that night and were able to watch fireworks from our restaurant as it had no windows and was open to the nice ocean air. Our waitress happened to have gone to school with Bethany Hamilton. I don't think she was a big fan of all the attention Bethany Hamilton got because she said she should have known sharks were there because it was mating season. To Bethany's defense a shark attack hadn't happened there in a really long time or even ever. My dad being the wise crack he is, asked if she knew Carrie Underwood because of the movie Soul Surfer.
After dinner and fireworks, we found our new home for the week. It was a nice big condo with three different bedrooms, a loft, a kitchen, and a living room. We would be making most of our meals at the condo, after doing a Costco run, in order to save a little cash. The condo had several different beaches within walking distance. We spent lots of times in the waves- boogey boarding, body surfing, snorkeling, and even swimming with some big turtles right in the small beach by our condo. At the other beach, just a five minute walk you could spot whales early in the morning just off the shore. It was amazing to see so much wildlife in Kauai. When speaking of wildlife in Kauai, you can't forget the chickens. Chickens were everywhere. One entrepreneurial spirit was wise enough to capitalize on the fact that chickens were all around the island. He created a simple black t-shirt with an orange chicken on the back and the inscription underneath stating, "Stoopid Chikin." It sounds simple, but he is racking in the cash at $28 bucks a shirt.
Two different beach experiences provided a scare in different ways. One was caused by stupidity and the other was caused by fear of sharks. Let's start with the stupidity. We got away from Poipu beach and went to Shipwreck Beach on the other side of the island. It had massive waves and was really pretty. Mac and I were having a great time going out further and further in the surf. Mike warned us to stay close so we don't get caught in the surf. We were unwise and were having too much fun to listen to any cautionary advice. As you can already tell where this story is going, we did exactly what we were warned not to do and got caught in the surf. We were swimming and swimming but not getting anywhere. Lucky for us, some surfers, which Mac happened to think were highly attractive, were out there who were a little more experienced. They told us how to get out of the surf safely by swimming at an angle. Mike had told us so and we learned our lesson. The second scare was with Michelle in the water. She is not a fan of snorkeling around fishes. It doesn't help either that she is terrified of sharks. So after much convincing, Levi was finally able to get her to go snorkeling with him. They were out in the water when an alarm starts to sound. Panic arises in Michelle as she believes there is a shark in the water and she begins calling for Mike to help her- even though Levi was right by her side. She claims Mike was taller and already at shore, we just think it is hilarious she wanted Mike to help out when Levi was right there. As it turns out, they do a routine alarm once a month to make sure it is working. It was just an unfortunate event that it happened to be as she was snorkeling.
Tennis was also a popular activity for the Swenson Clan. They had some tennis courts right by our condo, however, you had to pay per hour. The lady running the place also asked Michelle if she was 18 or older. With those two strikes against them, we went elsewhere to find courts. We were able to find two public courts, aka free tennis courts. It also came with a homeless man that would sleep on the benches in the tennis dug out. The family, except maybe Mike, loved getting out and playing tennis together. Mike couldn't understand why we would want to play tennis when there were beaches around. Knowing Mike's love of the water, I can see his point. However, we also liked mixing it up with doubles games, five misses, and ping pong style tennis where you take one hit and then pass the racket to your teammate behind you. I played tennis in my Vans and still was able to come out victorious. However, on the day we played a little 21 in basketball it was a different story.
Mike's favorite activity, which compensated for all of the tennis, was when we went surfing. His surf book that we bought on our anniversary payed off royally. He was surfing like a champ. Mac and I were struggling a bit more but were at least able to get up. Trying to catch a wave was exhausting. Paddling out there took some energy, failed attempts to catch a wave took lots of energy, and then actual surfing or riding the wave in took little energy but was the most exciting part, not surprisingly. I was getting a little frustrated because I was not excelling and kept failing time and time again. I kept eating it in rocks and even have a scar on my left knee to prove it. Mac and I can say we caught our own wave, but Mike did awesome and was finally able to fulfill all of his childhood dreams.
We also did the touristy things as well. We drove around the island, tried some local taco stands, viewed the Spouting Horn, a blowhole, and went to the Grand Canyon of Kauai. We drove the island and did the Grand Canyon on the last day so we didn't have to get dirty for the airplane. It was pretty to see the Grand Canyon and fun to see the island. We had a fabulous trip and grew to love Hawaii even more. We spoke to a lifeguard on one of the beaches. She was heading up to Utah to go to Snow Basin and hit the slopes. I guess everybody's Paradise is different, but Hawaii definitely isn't a bad choice!
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