Grand Hyatt: We just love this hotel and the lush, beautiful grounds. They work all day to keep the hotel in great shape. At night we love to leave open the sliders and listen to the sound of the ocean.

The rooms have a/c , which is nice in the hot afternoons, but it turns off automatically in the room when the sliders are open and you go out on the balcony. Great idea! Also each room has a ceiling fan which works well too when you turn off the a/c. However, in a hotel room, you do not get cross ventilation, and when there is no breeze in August, they can be hot. The entire hotel makes use of the open air feeling, the lobby, restaurants and lounges are all opened up to the trade winds. The staff is very friendly, and we noticed many of the workers in all parts of the hotel are the same each year. The Hyatt must treat them well, because everyone has a smile for you.

Drive to North Shore:

All of us got up early, got a bunch of beach towels from the valet station, and climbed into the mini van. We drove up to the north shore, making many stops along the way, checking out beaches and historical sites. The weather was overcast some of the time, but didn't bother us.

Saw the: Coconut grove

Two temples: Poliahu Heiau and Holoholoku Heiau.

Opaekaa Falls

Kamokila Village was very interesting to spend time in, I didn't know about it until we arrived.

Saw Christ Memorial Episcopal Church 1935

Waioli Huiia and Mission House

Manini, the dry cave

Waikapalae, the wet cave

Ke ahu a laka Heiau, the Hula Temple

Kee Beach

Sleeping Giant

Wailua Falls

Anara Spa:

This being a special occasion, I was going to treat myself to an afternoon of Hawaiian pampering. I was happy to learn that Anara had been opened again a few weeks ago, and I didn't have to have my treatments in a hotel room due to construction of installing solar panels on the roof. DIL, got to join me too, as a thank you for giving me a beautiful granddaughter and being very good to me! We have such fun together.

Started off with the Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage, this was in one of the indoor/outdoor treatment spaces with the French Doors that open up to a little garden.

Following was an Anara Balance facial. After days out in the sun, this was wonderful. We met as planned, after our treatments in the outdoor courtyard, where women's jacuzzi, dry and wet sauna's were, for a little extra time and relaxation there. At the end of the day, we headed to the individual, open air, lava rock rain shower garden. All the Coconut-mango products the spa is famous for, are available to use. It was just heaven. The locker room had every amenity needed.

Biggest Disappointment:

We had booked the Capt. Andy's 4 hour Sunset Sail for a Friday night weeks in advance. I picked that night of the week, so that we could go to the Art Open House in Hanapepe when we returned from the sail. The whole family was looking forward to it that afternoon.

On the way to Port Allen we stopped to see the Soto Zen Buddhist Temple and the Swinging bridge and shops in Hanapepe.

We arrived at the dock, saw our catamaran, put our flip flops in the shoe locker and got on board. They passed out drinks, while bringing on the catered dinner. The evening was beautiful, the anticipation energetic. The catamaran was full, but not crowded, people were moving around while tied up at the dock. We saw sea turtles swimming by as the staff made ready for sail. I had a bad feeling when I saw that when the Capt. tried to start the motor, nothing happened. No worries they said, they had an new battery in the store house. So off they scamper to bring in a huge new one, and they worked on installing it and trying things for about a half hour, but the craft was dead as a doornail. Capt. Rick finally said that it must be the Starter, and there was no time to repair it and make it to Na Pali coast and back. Sorry, these things happen, that's life, go back up to the ticket counter and get your money back. Try to book again, but of course, in Aug. there is nothing available for 6 people anytime soon.

We were in shock, and I had to think of something fast. I suggested we drive up to Waimea and get a JoJo's Anuenue Shave ice. I knew we did not want to return to Poipu right then.

On the way we made a quick stop at the Russian Fort Elizabeth. While enjoying our refreshments outside JoJo's we decided to drive to Waimea Canyon State Park. Was this a crazy idea at 3:45 in the afternoon? Everyone was ready for an adventure, so off we went. One thing we didn't have to worry about was traffic, as most visitors had come and gone for the day.

We stopped at the look outs along the way, Kokee State Park, but the Museum was closed by the time we got there. We continued to Kalalau Lookout. The clouds did lift for us to see the ocean for a minute. The views were just spectacular.

We returned down the curvy mountain road at a faster pace then going up, as we had stopped from time to time to get out in the fresh air on the way up and check the view.

I had bought my Ginger Altoids beforehand in case anyone in our party might get seasick on the cruise. However, we go boating in the ocean at home, so I was not expecting a problem. Just before returning to Waimea town from the drive down from the canyon, my dil yelled out to her husband who was driving, to pull over NOW. She was in the middle seat, and opened the sliding door of that mini van so fast. She was car sick, poor thing. She was fine once we were driving on flat land a few minutes later. Never had a warning to give her the ginger.

It was starting to rain then, (which meant more rainbows in the distance) and we headed back to Hanapepe to see about getting some dinner and listening to the musicians. As I mentioned earlier, we were in shorts and flip flops and none of us felt like walking around getting soaked, you never know how long it will last. It looked like it would be a nice event on a dry evening. That's when we headed back to Kolola Town and Tomcats Grille for dinner.

Saturday Aloha:

My oldest planned to go hiking in the upper part of the Wailua River. He called it the Jungle Hike, but the trail probably has a proper name. After the hike, he was getting in the van and saw a couple women waiting around for their hiking group to return. Guess they asked if they could have a ride back to town or a gas station. They were local hikers, and got to talking. DS told them of our disappointment the night before with Capt. Andy. One of the women was a lawyer and said she knows Capt. Rick well, and would phone him to see if we could get on the Sunday sail, after she heard we were celebrating our 40th. They exchanged phone numbers, and she said she would call the Hyatt that evening .

Talk about Aloha, she did phone, and they would make room for 5 more on the 2 hour sunset sail on Sunday, even though they were filled. We talked about it for a few minutes, and DH, both sons and dil said they would stay back so that 5 of us could go. I felt the same way, I wanted them to go and would stay at the hotel, so in the end, we declined the offer. Just gives us reason to return for our 45th with the family so we can go on the catamaran!

Sights DS saw when he took the van in the afternoons, were the: Menehune Pond, Kauai Museum and two ancient Hawaiian temples at Lydgate State Park. In Lawai, was the International center with 88 Shinto Shrines.

Other DS loves to surf, since we live at a CA beach, he's been surfing almost 30 years. He got to enjoy boogie boarding or surfing a couple times.

Lagoon Days:

We loved heading to the salt water lagoon most mornings. Our GD loved swimming in the tame water, near the edge or playing in the sand. She was just tall enough to go down the water slide alone, with her daddy going down first to catch her in the pool. Usually we ordered Smoothies around the lagoon to tide us over until dinner. We had a mat and some sand toys we used for our stay, which we passed on to another family the day we left.

The beach in front of the Hyatt is not for swimming, but is fine for getting your feet wet. We saw a beached Monk Seal while we were walking along the path one morning. The flag were up already.

Here are some photos of our trip. The family asked not to have their faces posted on the Internet, unless it was a side view or they had on shades. LOL Missed posting a lot of good photos that way!

…google.com/COASTALTRVLR/40thAnniversaryKauai

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Mahalo