Day 4

Okay now we are on to day 4. One more day to go after this post. As I get to the end of blogging about Hawaii, I get a bit sad. It makes the finality of the trip set in. I know we've been home for a few weeks now but blogging about it helped me cope with the sad fact that we are no longer there. Bummer. One day we will go back. I swear it.

So day four involved spotting dolphins and whales, a face full of sea spray and puking. That's right, a boat ride! Dale and I along with a bunch of friends from our group chartered a boat in the morning to take us up the Na Pali coastline. The scenery is famous and has been in many movies, namely Jurassic Park. Seeing it in person was pretty dang awesome.

Unfortunately, due to the choppy water (more like giant tidal waves, if you ask me) we couldn't make it all the way up the coast so we had to turn around at one point. But we did get to see a good portion of it.

It's a good thing we turned around though. There were seriously about 5 people puking off the side of the boat at one point while several others were on the verge. Poor Dale was one of those unlucky souls. He never threw up but felt green almost the whole time. The boat was a'tossin' and if you start throwing a big guy like that around, he's bound to get sick.

Before we turned around, we got to stand at the very front of the boat and watch the huge waves come at us. It felt like we were on a roller coaster. The best part was when the front of the boat dropped and for a moment we would be in the air before our feet touched the deck. Kinda like jumping in an elevator. It was great until Captain Ruin All The Fun made us go in the back of the boat. So it's his job to make sure we get back to shore safely, big deal.

And along the way, we did see spinner dolphins and whales. One giant sperm whale jumped halfway out of the water but of course, I didn't have my camera ready. They don't like the boats so it was really hard to see one.

Here's the happy couple:
Leaving the shore of Kauai:
The sun rising over the water:

By the time we got to where the Na Pali coastline started, the water was so choppy and my camera lens was covered in salty sea mist and fog. As soon as I would try to wipe it off, it would get fogged right up again so I'm very disappointed not to be able to have pics that truly show off how beautiful it was. One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, really. These pictures are hazy and blurry but hopefully you will be able to get a sense of the majestic scenery.



Here are some dolphins making an appearance. There were so many of them under the water right up by the boat. Unlike the whales, they like the attention and love to do tricks while we clap for them. So fun.
Right by the boat!
A whale and her calf off in the distance. We were all jealous of that boat getting to be so close. Jerks.

Even though this picture isn't funny it makes me laugh. This is the first time in almost our 9 year marriage that we have been on a boat together. When we first got married I quickly learned that Dale talks in his sleep. Over the years he has said some great things in the middle of the night but my most favorite thing ever was one night when he sat straight up and said "Alright, everybody on the boat is getting punched!" So epic. Now when I see this pic of Dale on a boat, I snicker because it makes me think of that. Luckily, there were no situations that occurred on the boat that required anybody to get punched.

Before we went back to shore, we got to snorkel. It was lots of fun and I saw some beautiful fish and coral but it was so COLD. I knew it was time to be done when I was shivering in the water.

After the boat trip, we went back to our hotel room where we took our one and only legitimate nap during the whole trip. Poor Dale, he was so tired. I kept saying how he was going to need a vacation from me after this trip because I wouldn't let him sit for a minute.

Later that night Dale's work hosted a private luau and award ceremony in the hotel gardens for us. Here is Dale getting his award. His plaque said "Mr. Midnight" on it due to how the trip came about for him.
Hey, nice plaque. Except HIS LAST NAME IS SPELLED WRONG ON IT!!! That's okay though. Dale said they can call him whatever they want as long as they send him to Hawaii.
The luau part of the night was so fun!
I forget what this guy was called but he was hilarious.
Fire feet:
That concludes day 4. Just need to post day 5 and then I will have to move on with my life!