Hullo, hullo! Ready for a vacation themed version of Thinking Out Loud? Aaaand go…
1. Before we get into the recapping, I wanted to mention one meal that I didn’t include in yesterday’s WIAW post because I didn’t technically eat it in Hawaii. Behold the wonder that is running-between-gates-at-the-airport oatmeal…
I caught a red eye flight out of Kauai on Monday night, and had a 1.5 hour layover in Vancouver on Tuesday morning… I threw some instant oats, a banana, and AB into my carry-on, thinking that I’d have some time to make breakfast at the airport before catching my flight to Edmonton. HA!
Between having to pick up my luggage, clearing customs, and getting to the next gate, I just barely managed to make my flight on time. The breakfast gods were smiling on me, though, because there was a Starbucks literally 10 feet from my gate. The line was short, so I grabbed a small coffee and asked for an extra cup filled with water. 2 minutes later, and I was boarding the plane with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cup of oats in the other. Winning.
2. So, Kauai… it definitely wasn’t what I expected. First of all, we have to talk about the chickens and roosters. You wouldn’t think to associate those kind of birds with a tropical island, but they.were.EVERYwhere…
Apparently, a hurricane that hit in 1992 destroyed a lot of coops and scattered domesticated chickens and roosters bred for cockfighting all over the island… Since they have no natural predators, they began to multiply like crazy. I believe it — there wasn’t a single place we visited that didn’t have multiple flocks of wild chickens running around. They were on the beaches, at the resorts, in the forests, by the side of the road — literally everywhere. I’ve never seen so many chickens or roosters in my life.
3. Also unexpected? The weather! I thought it would be nothing but sunshine and blue skies, but it ended up raining every.single.day we were there…
It was a funny kind of rain, though… There were definitely a few times where it poured for a couple of hours straight, but more often than not, it would rain for 15 minutes and then stop for 20; rain for 15, stop for 20. Rinse. Repeat. It also depended a lot on which part of the island we were on… Sometimes all it took was a 10 minute drive to trade showers for sunshine.
4. That being said, I didn’t get much of a chance to develop much of a tan… I arrived with a Casper-esque complexion and left a lovely shade of off-white. On the plus side, at least I managed to avoid getting burnt to a crisp 😯
5. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to avoid getting a heat rash. As much as I enjoyed my trip, I have to admit that I’m not much of a sunshine and beaches kind of girl — at least not for extended periods of time. I get super moody/tired in the sun, my skin breaks out in heat rashes, and the humidity makes it almost impossible for me to do anything with my hair. I do a lot better in cooler, drier climates, and prefer mountains and forests to oceans and beaches. That being said, I did love waking up to the sound of waves hitting the shore, and I’ll definitely miss starting the day with a walk on the beach…
6. I’ll also miss seeing things like this…
7. But I definitely won’t miss seeing things like this…
I had a basement room when I was living at home with my parents so I got a lot more comfortable with all manner of things that creep and crawl. Spiders that big, though? Heck.NO.
8. Aaaaand I think I’m going to end it there for today. Actually, what the heck am I talking about — I can’t end it with a picture of a nasty spider… Here’s a gorgeous sunset instead…
9. Alright, now I’m done. I’ll be posting one final recap of my favourite part of the trip tomorrow, but that deserves a post of its own. Oh, and one last thing… Make sure you head on over to wish Amy a happy birthday! Girl is all sorts of fabulous. Byeee! 😀
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Those pictures are all AMAZING!! It looks like you had a great time!! I’ve loved all your posts about Hawaii because it makes me happy to see some sunshine!!
Chickens!! So weird. We are definitely used to only seeing them at farms!
Sorry the weather wasn’t great for you. :/ I also posses a casper-like complexion so I’m with you on the fact that I can’t stay out in the sun too long. I mean it sounds great and usually feels great at the time, but I would end up looking more like a lobster the next day.
I also lived in the basement as a kid! I volunteered to move down there to get away from my siblings haha but yeah…lots of creepy things down there! Got pretty good at finding the nearest shoe and squashing spiders for fear they would bite me in the middle of the night if I didn’t. Bleh.
And to end on a happy note….Happy Thursday! 🙂
One of my dreams is to go to Hawaii! Did you plan your own trip or did you have an advisor plan your destinations and get a rental car? Sorry it rained everyday.
We planned our own trip. It’s a pretty small and quiet island, so it wasn’t all that complicated.
Oh a heat rash doesn’t sound fun, I’m sorry you had to deal with the heat rash, food poisoning, and rain. I went to Hawaii in high school and don’t remember there being chickens everywhere. I am so scared of birds, I would not like them running free near me.
Those pictures are unbelievable. We’ve been talking about taking a trip soon, and now I can’t get Hawaii out of my head! Seriously – you’ve got me obsessed!
Believe me, I understand the lack of tan. I managed to spend 3+ weeks in 30 degree weather and came home exactly the same colour as I left. 😉
Hawaii is a place that I think everyone needs to see at least once, so I definitely recommend making it down there if you have the chance!
your pics are amazing!!!! omg, spiders are my worst worst worst fear!
I’ve never been to Hawaii but it looks so so sooo gorgeous! I will definitely visit one day
Everything looks so dang gorgeous!! Is it weird that I love Hawaii BECAUSE it rains all the time? Like seriously, it’s 80 degrees and humid, but its still raining. Who cares if I sweat a ton, because no one can tell due to all the rain. That’s what Im talking about 😉
I was in Texas and expecting immense heat, but it was pretty much 50 degrees the entire trip, so I was stoked about that! Me and hot hot weather do NOT mix!
Girlfriend, if you don’t like the humidity of HAWAII, we must make sure that our future meeting (because it will happen one day!) is not when I’m home sweet home in Louisiana. I don’t think you’d make it there! Your trip looks beautiful, and your first picture makes me wish that I liked oatmeal a little bit better because I normally skip breakfast when I travel because there’s nothing I want! (Or I want until 10:30 and get a burger). Haha, oh well!
I’d love it if I could wake up and walk on the beach every morning. That sounds so relaxing. 😀
You have taken some beautiful shots here! I would die if I got the chance to go to Hawaii! I would probably get a good laugh out of seeing the chickens/roosters running around. I’m glad to hear that you had an amazing trip. I can’t wait for the recap! <3
It’s too bad it rained so much, but I guess if you’re not a huge sun/beach fan then maybe it worked out nicely? Regardless, the pictures are gorgeous.
I may have forgot to mention the rain when we chatted about Kauai… I’ve heard that during the rainy season, a lot of the smaller north shore beaches are inaccessible. All in all, did you like the island? Pretty quiet, hey? Would you go back?
Yeah a lot of the north shore was in rough shape when we went. I did like it, but it was a little TOO quiet for me. Better than Oahu, but I think I’ll visit Maui next time since I hear it’s in the middle of the two.
OHMYGOD THAT SPIDER. I cannot handle that. Terrifying. But as for the chickens and the roosters…I guess Hawaii won’t be having an egg shortage anytime soon?
And I’m sorry that you guys got so much rain there…but it’s better than snow, right? And that sunset picture just confirmed Hawaii on my travel bucket list. That is gorgeous.
i get the worst heat rashes too! it is bad. i don’t even have to be in the sun but that drastic temperature change makes me skin go rampant. plus I get the stomach issues with that sun sensitivity as well….
Ditto on not having to be in the sun! I used to think it was crazy, but I can get them if I get too warm while I sleep at night. I guess it’s a good thing I live in Canada 😆
Oh I get the same thing!!! Heat rashes are no fun!!! I actually started to get one a couple weeks ago because it was too warm in the house. It makes me wonder how it’s going to be this summer hahaha. Geez that’s place is just gorgeous, rain or sunshine. Ugh I want to go there again!!!
So sorry you get heat rashes.. I used to break out in the sun and it was the worst. Luckily they discovered it was from a medicine I was taking and now I’m ok. I hate spiders but not to the part that I can’t handle seeing them- my friend literally freaks out haha I did hear Hawaii has weather like that after my aunt went for her honeymoon, but never heard about the chickens! That’s too funny!
I’m really convinced I need to go to Hawaii now, even if it means it’s going to rain sometimes. Also, I just saw on GMA that America’s Most Wanted criminal is apparently hiding out in Hawaii so I’m glad you didn’t confront him and only had a run in with that spider. I think those chickens are beautiful, weirdly. I don’t usually think chickens are pretty but those colors are vibrant. In North Carolina on the Outer Banks, there are wild horses. That was pretty cool for me to see. So glad you’re back!!
So..the roosters may have been annoying, but the photos are wonderful and make them look so majestic!! Also, it totally sucks that it was rainy a lot, but I was told, and also have noticed from my own experience that the gray backdrop of the sky makes for better nature shots like this..and well..I would say that’s true for you too!! Gorgeous photos!
Hahaha ok that chicken thing is crazy! I’ve never heard of that, so that would have taken me completely by surprise! Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I don’t have the greatest desire to go to Hawaii (don’t get me wrong…I hope we make it there someday, but I know there are a lot more places we want to go first), but you’ve definitely given me more of a yearning to see it just for those views (minus the spider…no thank you…I’d be on the first plane back to the mainland with that one 😉 ).
That stinks it was so rainy but your pictures are all so gorgeous!! Well, other than the spider – slightly traumatizing. And so weird about the chickens?! I wonder if the weather had to do with the time of year? Or maybe the island? I’ve only been to Hawaii once (loved it) and we went to O’ahu and Maui in the summer and it was all blue skies… but because of that our pasty selves were absolutely burnt to a crisp!
We had gorgeous weather when we visited Oahu in March last year, but I’ve heard that Kauai is just a little wetter in general.
Beautiful photos!!! I can help but think that I can live in Hawaii too, it looks soooo much like Puerto Rico!!
You sure did get some beautiful shots! Even the chickens look pretty. 😉 A food blogger….. always prepared with coffee and oatmeal. I like the way you think!
So maybe it wasn’t the perfect trip after all, although the pictures are stunning…well, except that spider. *shudder.
The chickens and roosters are super cute though. Hopefully, they didn’t form clubs and try to attack the tourists.
I am a sit on the beach and do nothing type girl. I’ll happily grab a book, a six pack of sun screen (you and I could have Casper contests), some H2O, a cocktail, some tunes and be good for hours. Growing up, my family went to the beach every summer so it’s a happy place for me.
I had a great TOT post, written in my mind for today. Alas, work was really crappy yesterday so I chose to unwind instead. Maybe tomorrow, or perhaps next week. Either way, I’ve got some TOT posts so I’ll be back and linking soon. Welcome home.
Gorgeous pictures!! I’m sorry about the rain, but as my hubby says, a bad or rainy day on vacation is still better than a day at work. 😉
Definitely a good way to look at it 😀
Oh my goodness that waterfall!! Can I just snap my fingers and go there right now? It just dropped 40 degrees here in NY today. 😐
I do not do well in heat either. Overheated Alison=cranky,whiny, and slightly dangerous.
Despite the rain, it looks like you had a wonderful time there! So happy to hear it 🙂
Also, God knew you needed oatmeal at the airport. He just knew.
Remind me to tell you the story later of Rudy the chicken who I encountered in a Baskin Robbins years back when my son was not even two….No, we don’t normally have chickens walking around ice cream parlors in New York.
I know what you mean about the rain….last year I went to Puerto Rico in March and it rained every day–sometimes all day, sometimes 10 minutes, and usually only on part of the island. Apparently that’s normal for islands like that but I wasn’t prepared for it! Also that’s funny about the roosters! Who would think?
I’m sorry it rained for the majority of the time there. That definitely stinks. Though it still looks like you had a great time and made the best of the situation. Those photos are absolutely gorgeous! UGH and I hate spiders…and wild running birds LOL.
It’s honestly hard to say which was worse… especially since the damn roosters would crow ALL day — not just when the sun rose.
Looks like Hawaii had its challenges but that you managed to see the beauty there as well : )
Oh wow! I am stunned. I considered going to Hawaii for our honeymoon but as I was told that there’s so much rain I settled for California instead 🙂 I would never have connected Hawaii and chicken either! Looks so out of place! Great that you had such a good trip (despite the weather). The nature is really stunning! have a great Thursday 🙂
Aaahh that scenery <3! Worth those heat rashes I'm sure…for a little while at least. Ohmygosh, figures you would wind up with free running chickens – crazy!
For the love of breakfast/oatmeal…what lengths we will go hey 😉
Oh no! I’m so sorry about the rain/weather issues and the heat rash 🙁 Now I feel like an idiot for my comment on your previous post.
Hope your Thursday goes well!
Some really great pictures – and awesome job with the quickly oats … I doubt I would ever manage to pull that off! It is interesting all the stories between weather and conditions out there – and how you deal with them. One benefit being a guy – don’t have to worry as much about the ‘hair impact’ (but my wife definitely does!)
I can definitely say that I was super jealous over my man’s no-fuss hair… especially when he didn’t have to worry about it flying all over the place when it got windy 😡
You have some exceptional photos! Sorry about all the rain on your trip and the heat rash. That waterfall must have been breath taking in person!
Hawaii is simply breathtaking!WOW! The waterfalls and rivers are AMAZING! It reminds me so much of Sri Lanka! except, we didn’t have spiders that big or roosters running around – we had snakes all over the place!
Eeeeep! Even though I’m more or less okay with spiders, snakes are a big no-no for me. I blame that on the fact that we don’t really have any here in Alberta — too cold for them!
Those pictures are amazing and even though the weather wasn’t bueno- you took advantage of all the goodness it had to offer.
Can we mention that epic pool? Because it’s damn epic. Chickens on an island? That is so bizarre. But maybe they are there in case you get stranded on an island because many people would want a chicken with them. Eggs.