Kauai - July 2024

 Yes, the alarm went off at 4:30 am! We dragged our sleepy selves out of bed, got a quick cup of coffee, donned our swimsuits and sunscreen and headed for the other side of the island to Kikaola Small Boat Harbor where we will catch our raft for our ride.  You can know a lot about somebody from how they behave when you travel and when experiences are challenging. Matt never misses a beat. He is always good natured and he moved quickly to get us together and out the door. We cooperate seamlessly like we've been together for decades instead of a few short months. Our compatibility never cease to astound. The first thing I noticed when arriving at the Harbor is that we are the only people over 50, and most of the people are very young. This is a fast and rough ride. But Matt and I are nothing if not adventurous so we were not fazed. The ride was amazing and the beauty of the Napali Coast never ceases to amaze. We went through several sea caves and saw several pods of dolphins. It...

 Today is our Wailua River adventure. It is sad to realize that this week is getting close to ending. It is also the second anniversary of Matt's wife's death.  We got up at 6:00, got our breakfast, got drinks and snacks together, swimsuits on and slathered with sunscreen, we headed to our meeting place.  Took a few minutes for orientation and then a short van ride to the mouth of the river where our kayak will begin. The day was beautiful with very little wind. The kayak ride is about two miles each way. We kayaked up and beached our kayak for the hike to the Secret Falls. This is a fairly short hike, just a little over a mile, and it is very easy compared to the hiking we've been doing. David and I went here on our honeymoon in 1996, almost 30 years ago. Matt and I got in the water and got under the falls, same as David and I had done all those years ago. I am heartbroken thinking about him and how much he gave me. Thinking about all the dreams and hopes we shared at th...

 Slept well but woke up at 5 am again. Seemed like enough sleep for my body and my mind was racing when I woke up. Memories of David are everywhere. It feels like he should be sitting across from me drinking his coffee, making me laugh. But he is gone. Sometimes I am so sad that I feel like I will never recover.  We had our coffee and yogurt and a rather slow morning. I was able to secure park passes for us on Thursday to Haena State Park but no parking passes or shuttle passes so I don't know if we will figure out how to use them.  Headed to Sleeping Giant to hike today. This hike turned out to be stellar. I had hiked to the picnic tables before but never all the way to the top. It was nice doing something I had never done and also quite difficult. Matt and I are well matched hikers and we enjoy it very much. The views for this hike were absolutely incredible. I felt my mood shifting with the moving of my body and the terrible darkness started to dissipate.  After h...

 Had a much shorter night last night. Watched a movie and by the time we got to sleep, it was closer to 10:30. And of course, I still woke up at 5:30. But I feel good and can tell I'm acclimating.  Today, we planned to go to the end of the road and do the hike to Hanakapi'ai Beach via the Kalalau Trail. I was very excited to do this hike again as it will always be one of my all time favorites. We had our typical coffee and yogurt and set out for the long drive. The drive to the end of the road past Princeville and Hanalei Bay was beautiful and never disappoints. When we arrived at the end of the road, we were stopped at the Park Station and told this hike can no longer be done without a permit and they were sold out. I was terribly disappointed but there was nothing to do but turn around. Matt, in true keeping with the stellar person he is, took it all in stride and kept his ongoing positive attitude. We drove back to Hanalei and stopped and wandered around a bit. I got my car...

 Another night of heavenly sleep. I think I'm catching up. Falling asleep before 9 and sleeping until after 5. My Fitbit confirms that I'm getting really good sleep.  We had a very leisurely morning. We are slowing down and enjoying it! Decided to hike over in Poipu today along Shipwreck Beach where the sandstone cliffs can be seen. The wind was really strong today. The ocean was absolutely incredible with gigantic waves and crashing along the shore with awe inspiring views. It was an easy"hike". Probably more of a walk along the coastline with beautiful views but not much elevation gain. Saw the grounds of the beautiful Poipu Hyatt.  After our hike, we wanted to eat simply again. We tried to find another taco hole in the wall but the place we found had no seating and I, being the more difficult customer, wanted to sit down. We ended up eating out of a Thai food truck that had a picnic table. The food was good but it was food truck food. Matt love it. It was just ok f...

 Feeling like a different person today. Happy to be alive and very happy to be here with Matt. Mr. Positive who never misses a beat. He is an amazing human in a million ways. I feel so lucky to be with him, especially at this juncture in my life.  We got up and made coffee with the coffee I brought from home. Sat outside and watched the sun come up while enjoying the coffee. Such wonderful moments and at the same time, my heart continues to break in a million pieces. I'm sad David's life ended knowing how much he loved life.  We decided to drive to Waimea Canyon today and got a pretty early start. Ate some yogurt and nuts in the room and headed out. Beautiful drive and we stopped several times to admire the views. Got the the lookout finally and wow, just wow. These views are hard to absorb. The Canyon is beautiful and awe inspiring.  We wanted to hike and headed on up the road to Ke'e State Park to the trailhead. The day was beautiful although very breezy. Grateful ...

 Got up this morning at 4 am. Yikes. So early and I didn't sleep well. Not sure why. My Fitbit said I got a bit more than five hours of restless sleep. I've been thinking about David constantly the last couple of days and missing him intensely.  We drove Matt's car to the airport uneventfully and parked. Caught the shuttle to the airport with no problem. I stood in line at Peet's for 20 minutes for my coffee with heavy cream only to be told they had just run out of heavy cream. So I ended up with a gigantic half sweet caramel latte for the same price. Not too bad of an exchange. And I got my fix. The flight was very smooth and easy. My left hamstring and foot were throbbing the last couple of hours but I got through it ok. The line for Budget car rental was long but we finally got our car and headed out. We had a few hours to kill before we could check in. Drove to Kapa'a and found a restaurant right by our place and had lunch. Shared a Hawaiian pizza. Never could g...