By Land, Sea and Air

When Chris changed his OB rotation to Hawaii it was to allow him to relax a bit more than than the local hospital would have. Hawaii offered good training and every weekend off. He says the decision was quite easy. :) I would love to tell you about our entire trip but our date this month was so jam packed that I would like to focus there.

With the help of Memorial day, our one day anniversary turned into a weekend of enormous adventure and fun! We splurged and went to Kauai for the weekend. Camping is not my idea of a romantic anniversary weekend but if it meant we could go to Kauai, I was in. Landing very early in the morning, we drove until we hit a local fruit stand for breakfast and then onto the Na Pali Coast Line. This is a hike that is listed in many travelers magazines as a top ten hike in the world. It is an eleven mile hike in and eleven out. I was a bit nervous but excited. Luckily, Chris was unable to camping permits for the beach at the end so we did not have to carry anything on the hike. The views were almost describable at times--- colors that I could not seem to pick up on camera. And the hike wasnt really that bad. (We remembered our hiking poles which helped a ton) Two miles in we stopped at a beach where we actually met up with someone I worked with in Tampa! Crazy. Then we hiked another 3 miles to a waterfall whose water was colder then the cold plunge in the spas we have been to! But with much coursing from my friend, we both got in. I swam for a few minutes but was honestly too cold to notice if Chris was by my side. Sorry babe! After the waterfall we headed back where I learned that the hike to the waterfall was "not so bad" because it was mostly all down hill which meant that the hike back was mostly all uphill. All three of us were dying by the end of it!

Our camping grounds were not far from the hike. We ran to set up the tent while it was still dry as we could see storms approaching. We successfully set it up in just enough time. The best part about this camping ground was that most of the campers were part of a family reunion. As a celebration they hired a local band so we got to hear live Hawaiian music while falling asleep that night!! I absolutely love live music-- any kind of live music- and this experience made camping so worth it.
The next morning we got up quite early to join a group on the appropriately titled "Mount Everest of Kayaking". My husband thought it would be fun to kayak 17 miles in ocean water along the Na Pali Coast. Somehow I agreed. Although many of the views were similar from our hike the previous day, we were able to work harder for such views this way. We were also able to go into some of the caves that were not accessible by land, which, I have to admit, was pretty cool. :) During lunch, I found what seemed to be the only beach in the state that had some cool shells. No worries- I didnt take too many. I just enjoyed the beach combing. There was also a mother and baby seal who beached themselves while we were there. After lunch we got on the kayaks and headed off again. Marital distress occurred around mile 15 as we were both exhausted. We made it though and although I am so glad we did that trip, I can say I never want to do that again. :) At the end of the trip Chris suprised me with a hotel for the night. I think we both fell asleep within minutes of walking in the door and without changing our clothes. Ew.

Finally, the 30th arrived. Our three year mark! We woke up refreshed and walked around the hotel grounds and found a hot tub for our sore muscles which was oh so wonderful. We drove around the island stopping to take pictures or go for a short walk whenever we wanted. At 3pm, we exchanged our gifts- a helicopter ticket ride! I bought his, his bought mine. I dont think it was a totally new experience for Chris but it was for me. The helicopter had no doors on it, the weather was beautiful, and the cold air was so refreshing. The views were amazing and we got to wave the Na Pali Coast line goodbye from the air.

After the ride we went for a quick swim in the ocean, found a local mart for some dinner, and went to a blow-hole sight where en joyed our evening. We ended our night by boarding the plane and heading back to Oahu, where Chris had to be back at work at 6am the next morning. I took a book and went to the beach.....Chris worked 6-6 everyday.... I read lots of books.

Just some extra pictures.......