road trip - visiting hawaii with lily love

As we say in Hawai'i, Aloha! It's me Che'Lyssa hopping over from Lily Love lending a hand to the beautiful Lindsay while she and her hubs take a road trip! I know they'll have fun, so while they do I wanted to share a little about where I'm from. Hawai'i is a beautiful place and a lot of people trade in their life savings to vacay here and I gotta say, thank you visitors, you truly keep the economy here flowing!

Now, without going into political things, I wanted to give you a little sneak peek of the island I live on, which is the island of Kaua'i (kow-wah-ee). It makes up 1/8 of the Hawaiian island chain and is the oldest island out of the 8. Our island was named The Garden Island because when God was creating it, he turned his white canvas green. Lush valleys, beautiful mountain tops, taro patches and ocean everywhere.
Speaking of oceans, here are a few of my favorite beaches...

I took this picture last September while flying back in from Honolulu. This beach is our little Waikiki. The Marriott sits right on the bay and the famous Duke's Canoe Club restaurant has ocean front seating and the best Hula pie dessert I've ever tasted. I also live on the left side (not pictured, lol) of this photo.

Ahh, Hanalei pier, the place where I spent most of my childhood. It's also the place I learned how to swim. True, but simple story: my dad threw me off and told me to kick and doggy paddle. Ever since that day twenty-something years ago, I can swim. HA! It's about a 45 min. drive north from the central part of Kauai, but everyone flocks to this place. This bay and the rest of the north shore is surfing nation here on Kaua'i. Big name surfers such as the late and great Andy Irons, his brother Bruce and Bethany Hamilton (Soul Surfer) are from this quiet town. And so is my mother, so it makes it that much more special. Lots of memories on the sands of this bay.

THIS is my favorite place. Every Sunday, for the past 10 months, our family has come here to relax, eat and enjoy our time together. Winter, spring, summer or fall (all you have to do is call) we come here. Winter is summer here in Hawai'i anyways...

If I'm not dunking myself in the warm salt water here are some things I'm usually doing on this beautiful island:

Thrift Shopping. I think everyone everywhere has a niche for thrifting. I try to go thrift shopping at least once a week!

Going to the Farmer's Market to buy homegrown veggies and fruits for dinner!

Eating sushi. I swear, I eat sushi and raw fish at least twice a week. It's my ultimate fave!

Taking a drive. Since our island is only about 550 square miles, we need to make the most out of how far we can drive. If we're heading all the way to west side (pictured below) we pretend we're tourist and make like we've never seen the canyon before. It helps because the beauty is breathtaking!

Spending hot sunny days with the girly cousins. We love taking walks to the park in my neighborhood. The view is WONDERFUL and the time with cousins are always priceless. Oh, and I wake up to that mountain every single morning. So wonderful! AND this picture was taken in the middle of winter!

Camping in a cabin and being in awe of such beauty of the valley. Koke'e (koh-kay-eh) State park is amazing! It's a 13-mile twisty-turnyish drive up a mountain and the views are stunning! Stay there for a few days and the drive back down will be the hardest thing to do. But you gotta do whatcha gotta do. This state park is HIGHLY recommended!

 And this is not me, it's my best friend Chasidy. I'm afraid of heights. :)

Taking trips to our neighbor islands. Mostly to visit my dad's family and to shop! The island of O'ahu (Honolulu, Hawaii 5-0) is where all the big name shops and high-rises are. My grandma and a bunch of my cousins live there, so we're always hopping a plane whenever we get the chance to so we can relax and kick back! And did I mention to shop?

Caption: Here is a short video by Devin Graham. He shot this amazing video of Kaua'i. Some of the places above are in the film. Enjoy it! It's breathtaking!

So, did y'all enjoy that tour? I wish I could take you on a tangible tour! Maybe if you're ever on Kaua'i vacationing and getting your tan on I can be your official tour guide! Thank you for letting me share a little part of my life. Have a great day. And Lindsay love, have fun on your road trip :)