Our ride for todayHerb was getting antsy for a trip, so we figured we would escape the winter, which in Sonoma County is not really a winter at all, and take a trip to Hawaii.

We decided on a 10-day trip to Kauai, splitting our time 6 days on the south shore and 4 on the north.

To research our trip and develop some sort of itinerary, we purchased an extremely detailed and thorough book, recommended by practically everyone: Kauai in the Hawaii Revealed series. We supplemented that with watching YouTube videos on various areas of interest.

Waipo'o Falls from the airWe were most focused on the Waimea Canyon, dubbed “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific” and the Na Pali Coast - both extremely wild and remote places that were difficult to explore. Waimea Canyon did have a road going through it with several lookouts and hikes, but the Na Pali Coast is really only accessible via a boat ride along the coastline or a helicopter ride over it.

Since the seas are very rough in the winter, the boat trip was not a good idea, so we decided to book a helicopter ride - just us 2 and the pilots with the doors off for unobstructed views. I was a bit terrified, but didn’t want to miss it.

Colorful Napali cliffsUnfortunately, Waimea Canyon gets a lot of clouds and rain, so we had to be really patient to get photographs during the brief moments the sun shone through. That ample rain also made the hiking trails so muddy and slippery that we were unable to do the hikes we had planned. Still, between the lookouts over the canyon and the helicopter ride, we got lots of opportunities to enjoy the amazing scenery of this beautiful area.

Plus we squeezed in some beach time as well as a luau and some great food.