Our Last Day in Paradise

Our last day in Kauai was also my birthday.

We woke up to rain. This was the day we planned on snorkeling. I already told you how it all turned out in my last post. Now for some snorkeling pics. Not too many, sorry. It's hard to take pictures when in the water. We did buy a cheap waterproof film camera and will post those pics once we get the film developed.

The best place for kids and beginner snorkeling is Lydgate Beach Park in Wailua. It was perfect. This day was VERY WINDY, but we still saw lots of fish. We all loved it. I learned this was C's first time snorkeling too.

CK wanted to try out O's Lookie Board. She did snorkel and did great! I just don't have any pictures of that. Hopefully with the film water camera.

O on her Lookie Board. She had so much fun! Next trip she'll be snorkeling with her sister.

For my birthday dinner we went to a wonderful restaurant in Hanalei....Bar Acuda.

Bar Acuda is a tapas restaurant. (ta-pas [täpǝs] (n.) origin-Spanish. A variety of small savory dishes typically shared communally amongst friends.)

It was fabulous! Here are just a few of the dishes we had.

Honeycomb from the North Shore with Humbolt fog blue cheese, Mizuna greens and Fuji apple.

Banderillas - grilled flank steak skewers with honey and chipotlé chili oil

Grilled Mahi-Mahi with salsa verde

We also had:
Whole roasted tomato bruschetta with leeks, balsamic and grilled bread
Roast chicken breast salad with croutons, bacon lardons, and soft egg
House smoked trout salad with grapefruit, avocado, fresh horseradish and arugula
Roasted pork shoulder with potatoes

The view from our table.

Another view of Hanalei in the evening. (C took this image. Very nice.)

Singing Happy Birthday to Mommy back at the condo. Thank you for my wonderful birthday cake, Tiramisu Cake.

I had told C that the trip was my birthday gift. I didn't want him to buy anything else. This fabulous vacation with my family was all I needed (plus I bought myself enough things on the trip). The girls didn't understand this. O was very upset when they sat me down to sing Happy Birthday and she hadn't made me a card. I quickly got her a piece of paper and a pen. She made me a nice little card. I love it. Such a sweetheart.

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the beach on the other side.

I promised to tell you about the chickens and roosters on Kauai. Here is the story.

Chickens and roosters were brought to Kauai as domestic pets and also for cock fighting. In 1992, hurricane Iniki came through the islands. It was not supposed to hit Kaua'i, but at the last minute turned. The people on Kaua'i did not have time to pack up everything before the hurricane hit the island. The chickens and roosters then roamed free and multiplied. They have no natural predators on the island.

The chickens are the only ones who will eat the centipedes, so the locals love them. The chickens and roosters are everywhere. In yards, on the side of the road, at the beach, on the golf course....everywhere. We saw many hens with their chicks. The rooster was always close behind.

The roosters also don't seem to know they should only crow at daybreak. You will hear them all day long. It didn't bother us at all. We didn't hear them until we opened a window, so they never woke us.