Great Day at the Beach

It seems like every time we explore a new beach, I am like, "Wow...this is awesome, THIS is the best beach we've seen!" But really each beach is so different and has different things to offer.It has been fun seeking out new beaches and spending the day enjoying them. Yesterday was all about snorkeling. We actually went back to the first beach we went to at the beginning of our trip (The last beach at the end of the road where hikers start the Napali Coast trail). Only the first experience wasn't very good because I was all stressed out because we forgot the baby formula and it was time for the boys to eat. I just nursed them and it turned out okay, but I was worried they would still be hungry because they have been eating way more milk than I can produce so we were possibly in for lots of screaming for the hour drive back to our condo.

Anyway, I didn't even get in the water the first time, so yesterday when I put on the snorkel gear and headed out to the coral reef - I was so excited about all the fish and beautiful coral. One draw back of the kiddos being so small is having to take turns doing non-kid friendly activities, instead of experiencing them together. So when I found this super beautiful red fingery coral thingy, I couldn't help myself from tapping on the shoulder of a random person to show them what I found.

Then I headed back to shore so David could have a turn. Before handing over the"googles" (The term that Piper has coined for goggles), I took Piper out to find some fish. She loved it and even more than the fish, she loved going under water and looking at each other and diving down deep to grab a handful of sand. Back on shore the boys were having a blast too. Splashing in the waves, eating more sand, and loving up all the attention from the other people hanging out on the beach.

Today we headed out with a vague idea of a beach that a local told us about. We had spotty directions and thought the beach name started with an "M". As we were driving and looking for something to grab for lunch along the way, I mentioned to Dave that one thing I love about traveling is just going along and coming across a great thing. For example, lunch spot or park or what ever. Unfortunately lunch wasn't the gem we had hoped for...Costco chicken bakes and pizza, but you can't win them all. =-) Fortunately though the beach we found today was just the kind of place I was talking about. At the end of this long dirt road we came to a parking area with a trail through some thick vegetation. The charriot wasn't going to work for this place so instead of piling all our "necessities" that we usually bring to set up camp on the beach - umbrella, grass weave mats, toys, diapers, bottles, towels, googles, diving squids, food, drink...yadda, yadda - Yes we do not travel as light as we used to!

We just put the babies in Ergos and decided to do a walk on the beach instead of hanging out in one area. This was the perfect beach for a hike. It was beautiful, the sand was so soft and fine, surfers were out and there was a curve down the way that just beckoned us to find out what was around the corner. So we walked and played in the waves. Piper got her skirt soaked and loved every minute of it. We went along one corner, then another, then we came to a trail that went along the ocean with awesome overhanging cliffs from the years of waves crashing on the old lava rocks. We even found a hole in the ground that spouted air so strong it blew David's hat off. The snorting of the air from the waves crashing and pushing the air up from underground was super loud. We told Piper that it must be a dragon sleeping and snoring down in that cave. She was nervous about that, but I could just see her imagination running. I love this age!

By the way, though we didn't find a great lunch spot today, we did come across a great local fish market that we hit on the way home. This place had super fresh Poke and we also got ahi tuna that we seared just a smidge tonight for dinner. This is becoming one of David's specialties. Soooo good and a great night to put the exhausted kids to bed early and eat a nice dinner together on the lanai.

Tomorrow is our big splurge of a tour...sailing the Napali Coast!