Kauai Part II

The next day in Kauai was set aside for a whole lot of work. Tyler and I split up for the day. He spent the sunny day at the beach and skimboarding. I went with my events crew to various locations around the island. One of my favorite spots to see from that day was the Waimea Canyon. It's also called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Waimea Canyon is the largest canyon in the Pacific and truly a dramatic sight to behold. The canyon measures 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and more than 3,500-feet deep. Tyler and I didn't get to visit it during our honeymoon so I was excited to see it. Even though we didn't spend too much time there (as with most of my site experiences) I was still able to get some beautiful photos.

That evening we were able to return to one of our favorite restaurants from our honeymoon, Beach House Restaurant. It's a really popular restaurant and for good reason. The food is amazing & the views are gorgeous. The perk of hosting an event there next Winter...free dessert!







The next day had quite of bit of 'work' activities as well. After my morning meeting, we headed out for our helicopter tour of the island. We were lucky enough to have done a helicopter tour during our honeymoon as well, and we were excited to experience it again. For a reason that is beyond me, we didn't we think about motion sickness during flight. Well about 10 minutes into our 50 minute flight it hit me. About 30 minutes in, it hit Tyler. Luckily we were sitting up front next to the air and the aloha bags-just in case.

Views of the Napali Coast






View of the Waimea Canyon



There were hundreds of waterfalls on the inside of the island. We were also lucky enough to fly to Mount Waiʻaleʻale. In Hawaiian it means literally, "rippling water" or "overflowing water". At an elevation of 5,148 feet, averaging more than 426 inches of rain a year since 1912, with a record 683 inches in 1982, its summit is the one of the rainiest spots on earth. Last time we were there the rain was too heavy and we couldn't fly into it. The mountains around us literally looked as if it was crying. There were at least 50 different waterfalls within the scope of the helicopter window. It was amazing. I didn't get a good photo of Waiʻaleʻale because by that point if I put my eye near that camera I was going to lose my lunch. I did however get great photos of some beautiful waterfalls earlier in the flight.





Luckily, we made it through the flight without getting sick, but yet again, we both couldn't wait to set our feet on the ground.

We ran to Dukes for a quick lunch then headed over to our next activity The Smith Family's Fern Grotto Wailua River Cruise.



On the cruise (that luckily was smooth and slow enough that no one got sick-yay!) you sail down the Wailua river, past the 'Sleeping Giant Nounou' and end at the Fern Grotto. See the giant below in the mountain?









The Fern Grotto is basically a small cave with ferns growing down from the mountain. Before Hurricane Iwa in 1982 the ferns grew to almost cover the entrance of the cave. Visitors were allowed up to the cave and it was used as a popular place for lovers to wed. While we visited, The Smith Family sang the Hawaiian Wedding Song that ended in a romantic kiss for the visitors.





There were also tons of peacocks around the Smith Family Plantation. They're beautiful!