lana'i

i've been dying to go to lana'i for years now. it's the last of the six accessible hawaiian islands that i stepped foot on. so you better believe when todd called me on his way home from work last friday & suggested the idea of island hoping for the weekend i jumped all over the opportunity. i packed up our gear & we were out the door two hours later. we rushed to lahaina, todd unloaded our bags & the kids, i bought the tickets & parked the car, & we literally ran on to the ferry just in the nic-of-time. i was so nervous that we forgot something in all the haste (ok, so maybe we forgot to pack one day's lunch & replacement batteries for our dying headlamps, but it all worked out just fine in the end)  the second the ferry departed & we were out on the open ocean my nerves were quickly comforted & our beautiful journey took a peaceful start. the boys love boats so right away they were excited to ride along the waters. we spent the whole ride standing at the rail admiring the water & searching for marine life. i was surprised by lana'i from the get-go. it really wasn't at all what i suspected. it was so much more. from eight miles away on maui you really can't get a good perspective on all lana'i has to offer.

lana'i was gorgeous. every color seemed more vibrant on lana'i & everything was so pristine. maybe it's because there are so many fewer people & buildings to distract from the view. 

we opted to camp (yea, i know, our third camping trip in a month. what else is summer for?) the boys love snuggling together on our air mattresses & i love the freedom that comes with living in a tent, on a beach. the lana'i campgrounds were the best kept i've ever seen, i mean, the bathroom had automatic soap & paper towel dispensers, most campgrounds don't even offer such bare amenities! 

my favorite place on island was most definitely the tide pools next to hulopo'e beach. they were unlike any other. the water was crystal clear, the waves were gentle, the rocks were easy to maunuvere, & there was a giant pool that was perfect some swimming. it was shallow enough in most parts that the littles could stand & deep enough that we could all enjoy a good swim. i love salt water pools (in fact, most of my favorite places in hawaii nei are salt water pools-the natural lava pools on big island, olivine pools on maui, make horse pools on moloka'i) but this one takes the cake. i guess you could say the best was saved for last. i was also a huge fan of the fisherman trail. so many rad archeological sites.

the boys loved swimming on hulopo'e beach. the waves were incredible. they reminded me a lot of napili bay. they were perfect for our favorite water activity, what we call body skimming. it's a cross between body boarding & skim boarding & it requires the perfect combination of waves & beach, & hulopo'e was that perfect combo. tj, coop, & i bodied skimmed for hours & only stopped due to sheer exhaustion. hulopo'e was perfect for crab hunting. we found some gnarly monsters every night. between those beasts & the giant frogs my heebie-jeebies were at an all time high. todd loved snorkeling around the beach. he passed some giant lobsters, would have made a great dinner had he have brought a spear.

coop & i are beach combers by nature. we love strolling the sand in search of treasures. blue beach glass, & solid shells are like gold in our family. shark's bay was perfect for scavengers like us. i have never seen so many unbroken & unoccupied shells. it was unreal. we came home with handfuls of such gems (free souvenirs!). the littles loved playing in the caves & catching hermit crabs in the little tide pools. mylo has a major fascination with crabs. todd loved snorkeling in the bay he said the waters were clear & the fish vivid. 

lana'i was exactly the vacation we needed. so chill. so beautiful. so peaceful. so perfect.