Kauai, I Think I Love you

Kauai, for those of you who haven’t made it here yet, is a jewel. I have always loved Hawaii and would stay on any of the islands, but Kauai holds a special place in my heart.

I first came here when I was 10yrs old. My family had just finished a huge trip around the world for a year and Hawaii was our last stop(except for Disneyland). We stayed here for a month. My dad’s mum, known affectionately as Nanny, arrived shortly after we did, and we all stayed in a beautiful little house right on the ocean for a month. During those weeks, we played in the waves, visited remote beaches, stumbled onto a movie set, snorkelled, and generally relaxed. Believe it or not, we actually needed to relax after 12 months of packing and repacking, cramming ourselves into tiny accommodations, running for flights, being delayed, eating strange and wonderful food, and seeing the sights of the bigger world

So when it finally came time to leave, I was actually sad to go. I vowed to come back but it was almost 30yrs before I made it. Three years ago, Kent and I and the kids along with my Dad and my Uncle Pete, stayed here on the island for 10 days just before Christmas. My dad and I had a great time re-visiting all the places we had seen 30yrs before. And while there had been a couple of huge hurricanes in the intervening time that had managed to do some serious damage, things were much as we remembered them. In fact, I think some things were exactly the same, including the rusty bolt on the bathroom cubicle door, in the bathroom block at Poipu Beach, that I had been unable to open as a child. More on that later. And also the smell in Brenneke’s Beach Broiler. Yep that was definitely the same. Time to change the filter in the fan! Oh and also that Monk seal that spends all day in exactly the same spot on the beach – I’m pretty sure that is the same one that was there 30yrs ago too. But the tropical fish were the same vibrant colours and the sky the same brilliant blue and the green folds of the mountains were just as I remembered them.

We had a great trip and once again I was sad to leave.

And so I am unbelievably happy to be here, three years later, sitting in the most amazing house, 5 minutes from Poipu Beach listening to the trade winds blow through the palm trees outside my window.

And that Monk Seal was still there.

Up next: You won’t believe this house.