...the only difference was it was 80 degrees and rainy.As a surprise for my brother for his 25th birthday we went to Kauai. My mom hatched the plan, twisted our arms and made it all possible.
Of course, the garden isle is known for stupendous rainfall as well as red dirt. Put them together and you have red mud. Lots of red mud. Add the three of us and you have it tracked all over the island.
We tried not to let the weather mess our plans about too much. We hiked four or five times and at his request, for Blake's birthday proper, we went horseback riding.We had a marvelous time. Mai tai's flowed from the heavens, tropical fruit was abundant (we hit the farmers market twice while we were there) and the whole of the island was at our disposal (or so we thought). The incredibly rainy weather created an interesting turn of events for us. No snorkeling (which was lame),
a power outage at the resort (playing cards by flashlight), an unsuccessful viewing of Waimea Canyon (see the mist? that's the canyon), and a whole lot of shit talking to see who would slip in the mud and fall on their ass while hiking first (just glorious...) There was the usual abundance of chickens, but this time we chanced upon some wild pigs on our hikes...and those fuckers move fast.Out on the Wailua, Joe and Blake braved the waterfall, both swimming not only in the pool but into the falls itself. I hung out in mosquito bite hell to take pictures.
We actually had a few hours of sun for a couple of days...long enough to warrant sunscreen and some beach time and also to get pink noses while kayaking the Wailua River. The rain was rather welcome at times though, nightly, when sitting in the hot tub at the resort, and daily, when the sun shone through, however briefly, the rainbows were spectacular.
Joe and I packed our camping gear and stayed on a few days
extra to hike the famed Kalalau Trail, much to my relief(...after 7 stormy days) it was closed by the state parks for having parts of the trail washed out and dangerous river crossings; a friendly ranger met us at the trail head to give us the news. We did hear the next day from some more intrepid hikers that they defied authority, making it to the first 'stream' crossing (about a mile in), they said it was flowing fast and the water had risen to past their chests. So we instead popped onto a boat and saw our trail destination from another point of view. 
The benefit of the boat ride was to get out into open water and snorkel (not so much) the debris and mud from the rain flow off the island was so profound that it made the surrounding waters murky. We did however have the great joy of seeing some humpback whales, albeit briefly, but seeing the whales fluke was enough for me. We also spied dolphins, a turtle and the astoundingly beautiful Na Pali coastline. We caught a glimpse of the beach at the end of the Kalalua trail and shortly thereafter turned back.It was an interesting experience coming back three years later...but overall, a wonderful time. Unfortunately for us, time didn't stop while we were away and we came home to find the holiday season in full flush. Thankfully, our house and the kiddos were well looked after, and we even got the holiday cheer look from some christmas lights installed by Andy. :)
