Sunset at Polihale State Park

Seeing a sunset at Polihale was described by travel books and friends as a "must see" and it did not disappoint! Follow link here for a set of photos

A moment during baby's nap to list some highlights thus far:

*Hawaiian Monk Seals- peacefully lounging, occasional scratching

*Hanalei- both town and bay

*Sunset at St Regis complete with ginger margaritas

*Ana Lucia's two adorable teeth and new vocalizations

*Staying in a citrus grove and enjoying fresh squeezed orange, grapefruit, and lime juice- I get a few moments to myself in the morning while Mike and Ana Lucia say hello to the goats and gather fruit

*Moon rise over Kiluea- huge, full moon and bright orange!

*Kiluea lighthouse and bird nesting site- very peaceful to watch the frigates, boobies, and albatross fly above

*Whale sightings 

*Soaking in the hot tub with the surf in the background

*Killer coffee at Java Kai

*Running into Melia (Mike's friend) and her sister, Amy, at the beach and subsequently hanging out with them and having Christmas breakfast together.  Turns out that they are friends with my freshman dorm RA at Whitman- and she is the reason they were in Kauai!

*We make friends wherever we go because of Ana Lucia's interest in other people and her big smiles.  Sometimes it means we do not get our questions answered because the clerks ignore us completely and focus on her.

*Listening to the gorgeous music of Makana

Happy New Year from Kaua'i

Ana Lucia in Kaua'i

Grabbing is a favorite pastime now! 

Settling in at our Islander on the Beach rental

With Melia and her sister Amy- Melia is a good friend from Seattle  that we ran into on the beach! 

Avocado from the farmer's market! ..yes it really was as big as her head!

First intro to ocean water at Lydgate state park

Eating Carol's lei

Napping while on a beach walk in the Mobi wrap

Napping while in the ergo- Keelia Beach

Making friends...as she did everywhere!

Sporting the baby banz! 

hanging out at the St. Regis Princeville waiting for sunset

Strange Fruit

rambutan

We got some rambutan at the Hanalei farmer's market and not only is it pretty it's tasty. Heres some more info on this strange (to us) fruit

Why did the ne'ne cross the road?

More info on the Ne'ne here

Green Acres Cottages- fresh fruit

We are staying right now at Green Acres Cottages in the 'Nautical Dreams' cottage. The theme of our room warrants another blog post. One lovely highlight of this place is right outside our door are lemon, lime, grapefruit, and orange trees that we have been picking fresh every morning for breakfast.  Ana Lucia and I give Carol a little time to herself while we pick fruit.  There are also Macadamia nuts here too that we get to crack out on our lanai with the nutcracker they provided. As you probably know macadamia nuts are super expensive. So that's been a treat.