Aloha! Day 1- after last nights dark drive and long day of travel- we had the view and ocean sounds to wake up to- I couldn’t wait to see what was out our back balcony door. Teagan posted the view which began our Day 1!  

We decided not to make any plans, we wanted to take the jeep and drive to explore in daylight what was around and how to navigate the island. Teagan and I do best on the fly! We are both laid back enough to see where life takes us and then sporadic enough to grab on to opportunities that present themselves. We’ve never been steered wrong. Teags and I love breakfast. Our resort/condo informed us of a little close by diner that takes a discount if we show our room key. Ono Family Restaurant and Shaved Ice. I opted for the fresh avacado,egg, lettuce, tomato on fresh sourdough and a slice of papaya. Good choice!  Teagan opted for the Local Boy-which was egg omelet with kimche and Portuguese  sausage, an even better delicious selection! The Kona Coffee that was served was better than any diner coffee I’ve ever had! It was delicious and I usually need cream and sugar- I only used a bit of cream;) 

We started North up the east coast.
A mile or so stopping to grab a few pics- Kapaa Hawaii

As we made our way up the coast- we pulled off and stumbled upon a few shops. Maybe cause it was Monday, not much was open yet-it was 9:30am. However we did stumble across Kauai Juice Co. If I opted to own my own business I would seriously consider this one! 

Nuff said. Just look it up! 

So my mind is a bit scatter brained right now so I’ll let Teagan continue with the day!

TidBit…

Everyone we came across really do say Aloha and Mahalo (thank you) http://hawaiian-words.com/ 

Before we got here we had heard that this place was often referred to as a “Sleepy Island”. We found out why almost immediatly…

After giving up our seats on an over booked flight in Atlanta in exchange for Delta future flight vouchers, we were feeling pretty good about how things were playing out. We arrived at the Lihue Airport around 8:00pm. The flight from LAX was not bad. In fact, it was better than any flight from Atlanta straight into Honalulu- that would have been terribly long.
I had my hopes set high that there would be a way that we could sweet talk the Hertz rental car lady into upgrading our reservation to a Jeep Wrangler. It took a little bit of extra money but we did roll out around 8:30pm in a sweet brand new white Jeep Wrangler with a rag top. Tip: Sign up for Hertz Gold Rewards – their no cost loyalty program and use you AAA membership for extra discounts. With my AAA card I prepaid gas for the week saving roughly and extra $0.53 per gallon. I later found out this is waaaay cheaper than any other fuel on the island.

Sarah showing off our sweet ride for the week.

Next we headed to check into Pono Kai Resort, our home for the next 6 nights. It is located in Kapaa on the east coast. The sun sets on this side of the island around 7:30pm this time of year, so our drive from the airport was dark and it was hard to get a grasp on our surroundings. It seemed that there was a few little towns with some shops and restaurants along the way.
The staff at Pono Kai graciously checked us in and we headed straight to our room to put our stuff away and hopefully grab a quick bite to eat before hitting the hay.

The room is very spacious. Bedroom, kitchen, dining area, living room area, full bath, and a balcony…again hard to tell what our surroundings are though because it was very dark.

So now it is like 9:30 roughly. We were tired, both a getting a little irritable and just needed something quick to eat. Haha good luck!! Sleepy Island has almost nothing for late night eats…or drinks for that matter, no night life at all actually. We learned everything closes at 9pm if not earlier. After searching for a little while we found a Chinese food joint that was about to close but we squeezed an order of Kung Pao Chicken before they shut the doors. I had read about the convienent ABC stores prior to coming here and I was happy to see that there was one located right near our resort. We popped in and grabbed a few Maui brewing 6 packs to enjoy with our Chinese food. 

I can’t say it was the best Chinese we have ever had, but it was food. Hawaiian’s like to throw a scoop of Mac Salad in along with the white rice…random but coming from Rochester, NY where we are used to the Garbage Plate – mac salad and home fries under a heap of burgers and meat sauce, I found myself feeling an odd appreciation for this weird addition in my Chinese takeout container.

And sleep. Finally. 

I woke up early around 6am. I am going to let Sarah write about Day 1. But I will leave you with this picture:

This is the view that I woke up to from our balcony.

My first trip and first blog entry since Teagan got this website started.  I’m hesitant to partake in this blog but also easily convinced because we have a lot of unique adventures to share.  Teagan and I live a life full of adventures, animals, “toys” and of course friends and family! I see this blog as an opportunity to share these experiences and quite honestly, to help my aging brain remember! 

We are on route to Hawaii! Never thought this would be a place I would be able to “chalk up.”  This is a case of hardwork and if I live how I know how to live, happenstance will take place! Choices we make help lay the opportunities we gain.  

Point in case-we are on our first layover. Teagan and I went up to the desk because we had heard the flight was full and possibly over booked.  Just by asking we may be eligible to earn $600/each if we change our itinerary and give up our seats on the oversold flight- so we’re sitting here, hopeful that everyone shows up for the flight as we speak.  While waiting we got talking to an older gentleman and his wife. He ultimately asked me for my business card which was flattering and could potentially become a game changer for my business! Haha. It’s these experiences that we live by!   Hardwork has paid off in ways that earned this trip but it also has kept me out of trouble! 

The real Teagan & Sarah.

We have spent the last 9 years building a life together. It has been full of hard work and happenstance – seemed like the best way to desribe how we got into our current situation.

Sarah is a Account Manager for a paper and janitorial company. She loves her job and literally never stops working. 

Teagan is a Group Tour Coordinator at a travel company and musician. She loves both of her jobs and is lucky if she has an hour to breathe in between the two.

BUT….we do get to travel:)

This year has brought us a lot of good fortune and opportunity to see the world, so we decided that we should write about it and share our experiences. We hope you enjoy reading and visit often.