A Peek into the Honeymoon: Kauai Food Edition

Last year when we went to Maui I had intended on writing a blog about all the places we went and the accessibility of each place. Well of course life got in my way and I completely forgot so I am writing one about our honeymoon! I found it very hard to research accessibility on the internet so hopefully this post will help ease the mind of some others planning a trip to Oahu or Kauai. This post is the first in a series because there is too much to put in one post! This is the FOOD post! Oh yeah, we ate really well on this vacation. And probably gained about 20 lbs each.

We will begin in beautiful Kauai! Since we had a huge traveling hiccup we arrived to Kauai a whole day late. Meaning we were checking in the next day at our hotel and we lost our room since they conveniently double booked the wheelchair accessible room with a roll in shower. But thank God I had my confirmation email that said roll in shower, so they put us in a room with a tub and shower bench but refunded us a night, free valet parking, and took our resort fees off. Saving us some serious cash and the room we used worked well enough.

Once we were settled in our room it was getting dark and we were starving so we walked to a shopping center the valet guys told us about. That was yet another adventure trying to find accessible paths in the complete darkness, haha. We found Poipu Shopping Village it was a very cute little place with all kinds of shops and restaurants. We settled on Poipu Tropical Burgers, oh man was it good! Especially after a whole day of airport food. I had the Bacon Guacamole Burger which was amazing. Delicious, I'm drooling just thinking about it. After stuffing our faces we went straight to bed so we could see all the sights of the island the next day.

We got up and ready bright and early for Waimea Canyon. Along the way we stopped for breakfast at Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company. I had cinnamon french toast and a latte, I can only imagine the calories but it was worth each sweet bite. I believe Jared ate some form of breakfast burrito that he licked the plate clean. I even tried it, even though it had one of my food enemies in it (eggs, yuk) Stuffed our faces again and hit the road.

Made our way up the canyon, it was breath taking. Totally lived up to the hype we read about. The canyon is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. There was even an accessible bathroom at one of the look out points, which was nice since the latte had worked it's way through me. We made our way down the canyon and stopped at a road side fruit stand. Those really are the best part of Hawaii (all the islands), nothing compares to fresh pineapple. Went back to the hotel applied the sunscreen we forgot in the morning, big mistake.

Don't let the looks deceive you, it is great!

LUNCH TIME! Since our last suggestion from the valet guy was such a hit we headed to the Koloa Fish Market for lunch. Koloa is a cute little town near our hotel, we walked in and it was a raw fish market.... ew. We are NOT sushi people. We ran as fast as we could. In our sprint away from the raw fish we stubbled upon a Mexican food truck, we love Mexican food. Chalupas Food Truck (behind Old Koloa Town building). YUM YUM YUMMMMMM! I got the chicken burrito and Jared got the shrimp burrito. This was my favorite meal of the whole island! You must hit this place up if you are ever in Kauai.

We shopped around Koloa some more, picked up presents for family members. Made our way to the other side of the island found some more cute towns. Not sure where we ended up but our restaurant for dinner was terrible and I couldn't even tell you the name of it. Called it a night early because of the time difference late nights weren't an option. Plus we had to get up very early once again Grinds Cafe. It was okay, breakfast foods probably would have been a better choice than lunch but I wanted lunch.
to explore before we left for Oahu at 2pm. Our final meal was at

Our time in Kauai was very short and part of me wishes we had a couple more days to see more than just one side of the island but such is life. Now on Oahu is where we did some REALLY good eating! Look for my next post of Food of Oahu.

Don't forget A reason for the season

I know family time can feel like this sometimes  :)

Christmas such a magical beautiful time. All about Jesus, presents, cookies, Santa, the lights, trees, and FAMILY. It is a time of year that makes my heart feel so full and excited for the possibilities of making new family memories. Growing up I always looked forward to the time spent with my families and giving the most perfect gift to everyone I love. But this time of year is a time when feeling the loss of my loved ones is refreshed. I haven't experienced too much loss in my life, although the ones I have lost have been some of the hardest to lose. The most obvious is my Charlie. The pain I feel around this time of year is more for his family knowing they would give anything to have him there even for just a moment. When so many take their loved ones for granted, not knowing what true loss feels like. Another one would be my Papa. I actually lost him on December 23rd almost 7 years ago. He and I were very close and I was just getting to the age where I was learning how cherish my time with him. I know everyone loses their grandparents at some point but he was just a few months shy of his 70th birthday and it was too sudden. After losing both of these guys I have trained myself to enjoy the moments with my loved ones focusing on memories. I also never forget to let my loved ones know how much I care about them. Ask any of my friends I am constantly telling them how much I love them, they may get tired of hearing it but at least I know they will never wonder what my true feelings are. So I guess I am just reminding everyone to take a moment from the hustle and bustle of the commercialization of Christmas and remind those who you love just how much they really meant to you. Because there will be a time when you will give just about anything for one more hug or one more chance to tell them you love them. I can't tell you how many times I have begged God for just a moment to give my Papa a hug or to hear that encouragement he gave to me so well. And I know right now one of my friends is wishing he had his mom back after losing her to complications of a surgery one year ago today. So you never know when that moment of tragedy will strike and nothing will ever be the same. Thank Jesus for those you have and the moments you have with them.

Miss you all the time Papa

This post is dedicated to Aunt Risa. She was an amazing mother, as well as a kind soul.You were taken too soon but God's timing is hardly ever our timing. Hope you are enjoying heaven, know we are missing you down here.