♥My Kauai Adventure♥

All I can say is WOW! My Kauai Adventure was absolutely amazing!

If you have ever traveled to Kauai, then you know it is not only a small island, but getting there can sometimes take a few flights depending upon where you are coming from. To say that I learned a few traveling trips during this adventure is an absolute understatement. So I thought I would share with you some of my learning experiences as well as the amazing things I enjoyed.

Stick with One Airline

Now I was traveling to Kauai from Fresno, CA If you have ever traveled to Fresno you know the options are limited. It just isn’t easy flying in or out of Fresno. It typically adds an additional day to your flying unless you are lucky enough to find something direct. But you will not find a direct flight from Fresno to Kauai for sure!

My flights to Kauai were Fresno to San Diego> San Diego to San Francisco> and then San Francisco to Kauai Not too bad although I will fly directly to LAX my next time around for sure; possibly even driving to Los Angeles.

This went relatively smooth, but the trip home, well that was an absolute nightmare. You see, our plane had mechanical issues…..and the island of Kauai is very small. No parts and no mechanics. So we all were sent to a room to stay overnight…..a few hours from when we were leaving, most had a shuttle, the remaining of us had to pay for a cab out of our pockets. We were told we would fly out by 9am; so I got to the airport early before the airline counter was even open. Only to find out the rep I had talked to the previous evening had cancelled all of my connecting flights so there was not record of them. Thankfully the gal at the counter helped me to get connecting flights from LAX to Fresno as my previous jaunt to San Diego and then Fresno was no longer an option. I thought this would work out just fine, but our flight just kept getting delayed further and further. We didn’t arrive to LAX until the next day at 11:45pm Now you would have thought that they would be ready for an entire plane of people to get to their next destination. In fact, many of us would need yet another hotel voucher because our flights would not be departing until the next day. One of the people in line in front of me was basically stranded. They were told they were only responsible for getting them to the destination within that airline. So they were flying home to Chile and they had to try to find a flight back home. Delta didn’t have a care in the world that their mechanical errors made them miss their flight the day before and now what would be 2 days. I stood in one line only to be told to stand in another line and then was told that was the wrong line. So needless to say I was DONE I left the area and tried to find my way to my morning flight. I was going to just stay at the boarding gate. Well, that didn’t work because TSB was not open in that area of the airport for me to enter until 3:30am. So now I was stuck….. I just rented me a car and drove home from Los Angeles to Fresno. I got home at 5am Extremely tired and was scheduled to be to work the previous day, so I had to try to get a couple of hours sleep so I could call my boss at 7am to tell her I needed more sleep. So you would think the lessons were done at this point, but no, I had another one coming. When I went to the Fresno Airport to pick up my bags which were maybe there….nobody could tell me for sure, only to find out the gal in Los Angeles sold me a rental car package going back to her location and not the Fresno Airport location. That cost me….but hey lesson learned. I was so over it at that point, I just needed to get to the baggage claim area and try to find my bags. The counter was closed, but fortunate for me I was able to track someone down who let me into the baggage claim room and YES….they were both there!! I was so incredibly happy♥

So what lessons did I learn?

Try to stay with the same airline so they are responsible for you to the end of your desitation otherwise it could cost you a chunk of money
Flying into Kauai direct is fine, but flying out you need to stop in Honolulu first because it opens up more options should there be any issues in Kauai.
When renting a car, always confirm where you will be dropping off your car….in writing!
When renting a car at your destination, never use a 3^rd party company online…..you may save a few bucks, but you lose some of the protections from the actual rental car company. However, check with your credit card company and your insurance company because you may be fully covered if there are any accidents, damages, etc.

Dining in Kauai

Many of you will be staying in a resort, and let me tell you most of them are quite expensive for good cuisine.

So when you rent your car, which is an absolute must in Kauai, take a trip to the local super market and get some snacks, morning items, alcohol, etc. Save your money for things you want to explore in Kauai, not the food. Also, when not on the resort, there are many food trucks, and local restaurants to choose from.

These are usually very casual in nature and offer a lot of different proteins. Make sure you pick up some vege’s at the market….you will miss them trust me!

My roommate for 7 days Miss Verna ♥

Exploring

There are a ton of booklets at the resorts, the airport, etc. I am sure you will do some research before you go as well to get a feel for what you want to actually do. I suggest you take a drive up and down the coast on your first day to see what is available. And if you get a suggestion from a local, it is very easy to google it and get directions to your destination. The island is absolutely beautiful, but it is warm and muggy unless the trade winds are blowing. I found when I was in the car with the a/c on and then exited the car my glasses would fog up. I was quite puzzled by it at first until I realized they were cold from the a/c hitting them.

Check out this video from the beach where “Giligan’s Island” was filmed 🙂

“Moloaa Beach” where “Gilligan’s Island was filmed 🙂

Planning

Many of the places you wish to go on the island close up early in the afternoon. Make sure to plan accordingly. There was a pineapple store I tried several times to go to and every time I went it was closed. It was quite comical, I just decided I didn’t really need to venture into that store for some reason.😊

My Transformations

Now that I have all of the tips and suggestions laid out for you, let me share some of the amazing beauty I witnessed while in Kauai. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, and what was very interesting to me right away was all of the wires…yes like electrical and phone wires. I kept taking photos of beautiful landscapes and they would have wires in them. It became a goal to find a path with no wires 😊 I actually did find an alternate path back from Poipu Beach on our way back to Lihue…..so beautiful I just had to stop the car and get out to take some “wireless” pics 😊

My last day was spent with a couple of friends who had been at the training with me the prior week, John and Wendy Roob, we had such a blast.

Some of the photos aren’t exactly flattering, but I love looking back at them and reflecting upon the crazy fun we had that day.

My last day and a half I was actually on the island alone.

I spent some quality quiet time with myself, and found myself to be quite emotional. I wasn’t quite sure what to think about that, but I apparently needed to slow down, get quiet long enough to let out some pain. You see, I buried my mom in December after a 5 month battle with cancer. I had spent her last 11 days of life with her 24/7. It still haunts me sometimes, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Mom wanted to be home, and she never actually admitted she was dying. She fought to the bitter end. And let me tell you, death is ugly. Mom didn’t merely close her eyes and stop breathing, it was a long ugly process. I will not go into any details, I only mention it because I was so surprised with it all. So in reflection, I believe my being emotional was just me releasing some of the pain I had endured and was holding on to. I actually photographed both the sunrise and the sunset on my last day. I hadn’t had time the entire time of my trip to do this and very much wanted to make sure I got it in. It was such a peaceful experience. One that is hard to explain, but such peace.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my Adventures in Kauai……and hopefully inspired you to take the leap to find your very own “Kauai”. Wherever that may be♥

Enjoy life, it is way to short not to!

If you would like to find out how and why I was in Kauai, let’s connect and I will share it with you♥