We left Bam Bam’s lovey (his blankie) at Savage Shrimp yesterday, so we made the journey out to Poipu again today.

When we realized last night at bedtime that lovey was missing, we were in a state of panic.  Luckily, only briefly, as Mountain Man remembered seeing lovey at Savage Shrimp on the table during lunch.  We called the restaurant minutes before closing, and sure enough lovey was there!

We could not get to the restaurant in time last night, so we decided after our morning boogie boarding in Hanalei to head back out to Poipu.

The kids were thrilled because this meant another visit at the sand dunes at the Russian Fort beach.  This has definitely been one of their favorite outings for this vacation.  They were completely enraptured by this unique beach.

Who wouldn’t love climbing up sand dune and then sliding down them??

So relieved Lovey has been recovered.  So happy more fun was had at the dunes. 🙂

 

We decided that we needed to see the Waimea Canyon on this trip to Kauai, so we made the drive from Hanalei to Waimea this morning.

It is about 50 miles, but takes over two hours.

The last half hour of the drive is full of twists and turns as you wind around the mountain to finally arrive at the Waimea Canyon Lookout Area.

If you have any problems with carsickness, this might not be the best outing for you.  By the time we were about 5 minutes into the ascent up the mountain roads, both Broadway and Imagineer were oozy.  Oozy and complainy (my made up word for the day).

Once you arrive at the top, the view is absolutely stunning.  Mountain Man and I enjoyed the view, but the kids were not fully impressed.  I think the drive took it out of them.

As you can see below, the view will knock your socks off.  The red clay dirt in Kauai is such a unique color (editors note: this dirt will stain your shoes).  The contrast of the green with the red is just beautiful.

As we were driving back, we checked out the Russian Fort in Waimea.

The kids loved the sand dunes at this beach.  They walked up and down them, slid down with boogieboards, and pretended they were king of the mountain.

If you have kids that love climbing, they will love this beach.  It was a great surprise find.  We just pulled over to see the fort and discovered these dunes as a bonus.

The kids could slide down the dunes, while standing no problem.  They also slid down on a boogie board.

Before we headed to Waimea, I have to mention the restaurant we enjoyed lunch at called Savage Shrimp.

Savage Shrimp is located in the KuKui ula shopping center near Poipu.  It used to be a shrimp truck, but moved into a restaurant space here within in the last year or so, from what I gathered.

The shrimp were amazing, and I recommend checking out this place if you’re in the area.

The discovery of the dunes at the Russian Fort was the highlight of the day.  The kids absolutely relished every moment of sliding down the soft sand dunes and falling into the warm water.

 

We went Boogie Boarding and Surfing at Pine Tree Beach in Hanalei Bay this morning.  The waves were a bit on the rough side, but not enough to stop our group from grabbing plenty of wavy rides into the beach on our boards.

At one point, a person on the beach said to me sarcastically “wow, its a shame they’re not having more fun.”  🙂  The kids were smiling and laughing the whole time.  It really was a joy to watch.

 

Hula Dancing Show in Kapaa at Coconut Marketplace

Bam Bam was so funny for the first few days we were here in Kauai, as he kept saying “I want to see the dancing girl show”.  He would keep reminding us to take him to the dancing girl show.

Of course, what he was referring to was one of the Hula Dancing shows being advertised on the island.  But to anyone overhearing our conversation, it probably sounded somewhat odd to hear a four year old asking to see dancing girls in a show. We all got a big kick out this one.  Bam Bam is just full of questions where you just want to say “Whhhaaat?” 🙂  Four year olds say the funniest things, and they’re so darn cute when they do.

We decided to take him to the 5pm Hula Dancing show at the Coconut Marketplace in Kapaa on Wednesday night.  The show is produced by a local hula dancing school.  If you purchase leis, your $5 goes to supporting the school.

Unfortunately, we were caught in traffic for a few miles on our way from Hanalei to Kapaa, so we only made the last 10 minutes of the show, but at least it was something.

On our way back, we were starved, so naturally yelped best fish tacos nearby, and were directed to Tiki Tacos in Kapaa.

Love this place!

I love finding out of the way places to eat at during our various adventures.  When you see a constant stream of locals entering the restaurant, you know you’ve hit the jackpot.

Tiki Tacos is a jackpot.

 

We took surfing lessons today!!

Mountain Man and I decided to sign myself, Imagineer, and Broadway up for an hour and half surfing lesson.  We signed up for lessons through Titus Kinimaka, a local surf shop here in Hanalei.

During our lesson time, we were all able to catch some waves while standing in surfing position on our boards.  We were very impressed with our instructor and would highly recommend this group if you’re in the market for surfing lessons in Hanalei.

I learned how to position myself on the board, jump my feet into the proper position, bend my knees and hold my arms in the lightning bolt position.

You know when you have “caught” a wave.  The nose of the board is tilted downward slightly, and its holding steady on the wave.  You feel stable enough to position your feet and ride the wave into shore.  Very cool feeling.

No, I’m not a serious surfer yet.  But, catching even small waves is quite amazing.  Its like you’re gliding through the air.  Then you get to flop in the ocean water.  So fun. 🙂

We surfed more after our lessons, then headed home for some down time, then back to the beach in the afternoon for boogie board time.  The waves were perfect.

Aloha.