Day 7 - June 7th
It's always sunny in Poipu....
When I crawled out of bed this morning I realized it was 8am, must of needed that extra sleep. It's tiring doing nothing :-) . Today we decided we are hanging out in Poipu. Of course DH is up and has already had breakfast. I played around on the computer while DH left to explore beach options. After finishing up on the computer I decided to get breakfast and sit outside in the sun. I haven't just sat in the sun since we have been here, and I would like to have some color before going back home. Bathing suit on and cereal bowl in hand I head out to the back yard. I just finish my cereal when DH gets back and says the gardener is here and will be in the back yard for about 45 min. Seriously!!! So DH & I decide to walk over to the rocks so he can snorkel. By now the girls are up and getting breakfast, I warn them about the strange man in the backyard and we left.
I found a flat spot for my chair and DH goes off into the water in search of some marine life. He was only out 15 or 20 mins and he was back. So we headed back to the house to get ready for the beach. Surprisingly the girls were ready and we loaded up the car and headed out. Our 1st stop was back to the Spouting Horn. The girls had seen a purse they liked and we haven't seen it anywhere else so we bought that and a few other treasures and headed off to Poipu beach. I haven't really figured out the whole naming of beaches thing, but we were in between a mega resort and what looks like a kiddie pool/beach. We lugged our stuff down and found our perfect spot and set up. After a while the girls took the boogie boards and went in, mostly just floating around. Shortly after they left I overheard a lady ask a little boy if he wanted to see the seal & a turtle. After a quick scan I spotted the seal on a stretch of sand between the ocean and the kiddie pool. Off I went with my camera and DH went to get the girls. Luckily the seal was roped off. The turtle was on the other side just enjoying the sun. We took our pictures and went back. I was getting hot so DH grabbed his snorkel gear and I grabbed the boogie board and we headed out. The water felt good, but was not as warm as it was when we went to the Big Island. Soon DH was out of sight so I floated around for a while and went back. We enjoyed our afternoon hanging out and relaxing, but we were done.
Aloha!!!
Day 8 - June 8th
Our only scheduled activity today is our luau at Smith's Tropical Paradise
I drag myself out of bed around 7:30. With nothing planned it is nice to just lounge around in my PJ's. After getting my coffee, DH & I discuss Stand Up Paddle surfing. Our youngest daughter really wants to try this. The only places that we can find are mostly on the North shore. DH doesn't really want to drive all the way up there and we don't really have time to squeeze it in anywhere. If it were closer to where we are it would be easier to do it today since our luau doesn't start until 5pm. Tomorrow we are going horseback riding at 2pm and there's no way for us to accomplish anything before that. The girls are up and having breakfast and the youngest isn't to happy that we can't do Stand up paddle surfing. I try to appease her by telling that it is something that we can do at home, which it is. No use...but I tried.
DH & I decide that we want to snorkel just down the street at Lawai beach. The girls aren't to eager to go but we convince them anyway. We could walk from the house but with all the stuff we decide it's easier to load up the car. We find a parking spot right away and stake out our spot on this tiny little stretch of beach. We set up the umbrella so the girls can have some shade, but the winds think better of our idea. We put the umbrellas down and the girls go sit in the shade up on the grass at the Beach House. I like snorkeling but haven't done it very often and it's been a while. My main problem is thinking I'm not getting enough air, even though I am. I just have relax and realize I'm not going to hyperventilate. Anyhow I decide for this little adventure I am just going to use just the mask and no snorkel. Our oldest bought a mask on one of our trips to Walmart, so I figure someone should use it. I have water shoes on because I don't want to deal with fins. The area is rocky and the waves can be strong, DH gets his fins on and we head out. I quickly find out that there is no easy way to get a mask on your face without either smashing your nose or pulling out your hair. I get the mask on and the first time I put my head under I can feel water come in on one side. Salt water and contacts don't mix well, but after a couple of adjustments were good. I can soon tell that not having a snorkel isn't going to work, so DH gives me his. I'm also trying to maneuver the underwater camera, which I quickly pass over to DH. The less obstacles I have the better. There are a lot fish swimming around and the water is somewhat clear. I did pretty good for a while, but I am getting tired and the water is coming in on one side of my mask again. Time to hit the beach, I switched goggles with DH and head in. He's not out to much longer before he comes in and we decide to head to the house for lunch. On the way back DH notices some really young girls carrying surfboards. He is amazed because they are so young.
DH hits the shower and the girls and I start heating up the leftovers we have. When DH gets out of the shower I tell him he should look to see if he can see the little kids surfing. Just to the right of our Lanai seems to be a pretty popular surfing spot, there are always a handful of surfers out there. I gave him some binoculars, that we just found in the house. Pretty soon he comes in and says he thinks he sees Bethany Hamilton out surfing. We watched her (I am assuming it was her) for a while, it was pretty cool.
The girls and I get cleaned up and we all head to Smith's Family luau. We have only been to one other luau and that was on the Big Island and I don't have any idea what hotel it was at, but we really enjoyed it. I had read varying reviews of Smith's, so I wasn't sure what to expect. First of all the ground are absolutely beautiful. We had fun taking pictures of all of the peacocks, who seemed to proudly pose for pictures. We watched the Imu ceremony and then found a table. I stopped by the drink table and picked up 2 Mai Tai's for myself & DH. When DH came to the table he had picked up 2 as well. It didn't take long to go through them as they were very watered down. We met a couple at our table that were there on their honeymoon, from Missouri. He was 21 and she was 18, holy cow!!! They were very cute, but gosh so young. There are a lot of people at this event, couldn't even begin to tell you how many people, but a very large crowd. The whole process is very well organized. They finally called our table & we made our way through the food line. The food was ok, nothing very exciting. DH was looking forward to having Poki, which he was introduced to at the luau on the Big Island. As long as the girls can find something to eat, it's a success. After dinner we were ushered over to the theater for the show. It didn't look very big and I was surprised that everybody fit. We did stop by the photo table and bought our family picture that they took as you walk in. I enjoyed the show although some of it was a little corny. It thought it was a little too long and the seats started getting very uncomfortable. Overall it was ok, definitely not as good as the one on the Big Island. We headed back home and again the stars were out in full force. The girls headed upstairs and DH & I read our books for a little while. Time for Bed!!
Aloha!!!