Cooking, Travel and just Other Stuff

You have to understand. I come from a line of very crafty people. My sister paints, one niece can knit anything out of a ball of yarn...oh and she paints and wood carves and makes jewelery. The other niece designs things and then sews them and then my great niece...well we will just call her insanely crafty. They all have blogs where they show all of their wonderful things they do. So, that brings me here. I decided I wanted a blog too, but what to write about. I'm not insanely crafty, can't paint, don't wood carve, tried knitting-didn't work....hummm, what do I do? Well, I like to cook and travel and eat, so I thought maybe we can start there. My blog will be about recipes I've made, places I go and restaurants I eat at with a few other things thrown in along the way. I've also heard that writing is good for you brain, so I figure-as I'm getting older now-this could be a good thing. So anyway, if you find my rantings worth commenting over, I'd love to hear from you. If I post a recipe you like, please let me know, other wise you can keep your opinions to yourself. This, after all, is my blog to make myself feel better, to try and compete with my family, because I don't do anything crafty.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Adventures in Paradise....Day 4

So I really was going to have all of our trip blogged by now but life has gotten in the way of blogging. So here I am on day 4 with one more day to go. Today was another amazing day full of some of the most breathtaking sights we had both ever seen. Even the Money Man said the cost was worth it, so you know it was really good.

Today we went with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters on an incredible one hour trip around the island. I had never been on a helicopter before. It was so much fun! I loved it. Would do that again in a heartbeat. But then you throw in the scenery we saw, it was awesome. Literally. To see the beauty and majesty of the creation of God. At times I found myself holding my breath. Usually, it rains on Kauai and sometimes the ride and where you go is affected by the weather. Today was amazingly clear. The highlight of the trip, besides seeing the beauty of the Na Pali Coast was getting to go inside Mt. Wai' ali' ali Crater. It was so clear we could see for forever. The pictures can only do a small justice of the beauty we saw.
This was our helicopter.

This is Jurassic Park waterfall













 The picture below was such a stunning sight. I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but it is four waterfalls. I didn't even realize the picture I had of it until I put it on my computer.













This is Waimea Canyon. You see such great detail when you see it by air.







                              
                              The beautiful Na Pali Coast.








Inside the crater




Besides seeing the Na Pali Coast, this is the other reason for the helicopter ride. Getting to go inside Mt. Wai' ali' ali Crater.
This was at the back of the crater looking out.

One of the many waterfalls that just drop forever.


You find yourself just saying wow the whole entire time your flying.Going to Kaua'i without doing the helicopter ride would be like having Oreo's with no milk. Gotta do it!





After the helicopter ride we went to a shop called the Hawaiian Trading Post. It is one of the best places to get an authentic Ni'ihau shell necklace or lei. The making of the Ni'ihau shell necklaces and lei's are only made on the island of Ni'ihau by women who have been doing it since before Captain Cook landed in 1778. The intricate art of shell lei making is passed down from generation to generation.  The shells range in size from two-tenths to a half inch long and a shell lei can take several years to make. The shell lei's can sell for thousands of dollars but the Hawaiian Trading Post carries some of the beautiful necklaces that are considerably less. I found a beautiful necklace that I bought for myself as a remembrance of our trip. I do not like to bring things home that have "Made in China" stamped on the bottom, so I am always looking for something "Made in Hawaii". If you want a beautiful piece of Hawaiian history stop by the Trading Post and check it out. On our way back to the condo we stopped by Hilo Hattie's. You can not go to Hawaii without going to Hilo Hattie's. The place to get Hawaiian clothing. It was a spectacular day.


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