We've been so busy this October and now it's almost November so I have to catch up :p Basically, all my vacation was scheduled for this month because of some mixup at work and I had two separate weeks off. We had already planned to go to Kauai for a conference for the first week of Oct but then we also decided to try to go to Washington DC in the later part of month to meet up with my younger brother, Chris and his family, who live in North Carolina. My older brother, Joe, and his family came too so it was a big Udom family reunion. For now, I'll focus on Kauai and catch up the rest of the month on subsequent posts.
You can never go wrong with Hawai'i and this was our first trip back to the islands after a three year hiatus due to COVID. It's also been over six years since our last visit to Kauai and Jad has never been. We were also lucky that our friends from church, Derek and Joyce along with their daughter Penelope was able to come along as well. The trip was for a conference but it was well setup and we all had lots of fun.
We got up very early at 5am and Kendra was kind enough to drive us to SJC. Luckily, the kids are used to getting up before dawn when we take trips..
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| On the plane and on the way! |
When we landed, I went immediately to the car rental place, but the line for pickup was very long. Amy and the kids were waiting for almost 45 mins while I stood in line.
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Jad being silly in front of the car rental.. he wasn't
really THAT sleepy (though he is tired) |
After we got the car, we drive immediately to Costco for food.. to find that their food court was closed for remodeling! Serious disappointment though we did score some super cheap gummy frogs. We stopped by at a plate lunch place nearby to eat and then headed to the hotel.
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| Tree tunnel on the way to Poipu |
The conference was at the Grand Hyatt so we got a discount rate, otherwise I don't think we could afford the place. It is one of my favorite hotels ever though (or maybe my favorite ever) because the grounds are so nice and pools are awesome. There's a lazy river, several hot tubs, a saltwater lagoon and the beach is just steps away. The fact that it's in Hawaii is also a huge plus for it.
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| Welcomed with real flower leis |
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The view out this open wall in the lobby is spectacular
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We immediately got changed and jumped in the lazy river. This
is how all plane rides should end |
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We went to the beach at sunset. Derek and I are doing
the back up challenge to see who gets their butt wet first |
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| The kids loved playing at the beach |
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| Much time was spent exploring tide pools |
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| Here's Kai catching a tiny fish |
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| Just lounging around on the sand |
The Hyatt also had nice kids activities like lei making and mini hula lessons.
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| Traditional Hawaiian stamping |
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Beginner lesson in Ukelele (means "jumping flea"
from the movement of the fingers per the instructor!) |
The south side has some nice beaches including snorkeling at Poipu Beach Park where we saw some turtles! (but didn't have our phones to grab a picture..) We did go to old Koloa Town nearby a couple of times to get food (cheaper off the resort) and wander about.
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Grabbing some shave ice
at Koloa Mill Coffee and Ice Cream |
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| Kenji's burgers for dinner (pretty tasty!) |
One of the days, we went to Weimea Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the US apparently, which seems weird on a small island. The kids didn't appreciate it quite as much but we enjoyed the change in scenery
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Jad's stuffy, Mojang, accompanied
us for the whole trip |
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Views at the top down to the Na Pali coast and cliffs were cool
but you had to wait for the fog to sweep around |
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| Family pic! |
On the way back, we stopped at Jojo's Shave Ice, which was better than I remembered. They give pretty large portions with a good amount of syrup. Better than uncle's for sure and probably the best we had on this trip (followed by Hee Fat's). Our favorite on previous trips was Hawaiian Blizzard, which was basically one guy who would come some afternoons to the parking lot of a BigSave in Kapa'a and set up a stand. Much of the appeal was that Aaron was a nice guy and would chat with you while you were eating. I saw that many of the syrups from the various stands we visited this time bore the "hawaiian blizzard" brand and one of the sellers told me that Aaron had stopped running his own stand and was now just doing distribution of supplies for shave ice shops, including syrups and servicing some of their machines. Good for you, dude, hope that's working out for you!
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| Goofin' at Jojo's |
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| So many colors :) |
There were thoughts of sneaking out at night and swimming in the pools or soaking in the hot tub but mostly we just all went to bed due to jetlag with the time change. We did get to hang out with Derek one evening on the lanai, sharing drinks and talking story. Good times
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| Drinks in the dark :p |
After 4 nights at the Hyatt, we moved over to a small VRBO in Kapa'a on the east side of the island. We had wanted to try to stay there because our friends (thanks, Kimballs!) recommended it. They stay there almost every year when they go and love it. It was a very nice complex. Unassuming with nice grounds, steps to the beach where there was a little protected keiki pool for any young kids, though we didn't really take advantage of it this time. We were also closer to other shops and such in town so had more variety of places to explore.
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Our home for three nights.. small one bedroom condo
but the kids had no problems sleeping in the living room |
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| like so.. |
The first night there, we went to Smith's Family Luau which was pretty fun. It was part of the conference and I was hoping they would just roll the prices all into the total cost and work would pay for it but they didn't :p It's pricey but we thought it would be fun for the kids to see a luau. They enjoyed it, including the unearthing of the roast pig and the fire dancing.. mainly, it was the fire dancing. This also happens to be the same luau where Amy and I went for our honeymoon (14 years ago!) so that was cool too.
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| After the luau |
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| showcase of various island dances |
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| This fire dancing guy was pretty good |
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| Unlimited drinks! |
Amy was so good. She got up to run for most of the mornings while we were there. I would stay with the kids and try to get them breakfast if they woke up and prepare to start the day. Very inspirational! I gotta get back on the exercise plan myself now that it's too cold to bike to work in the mornings :p
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| View from the Sleeping Giant, a big mountain over looking Kapa'a town |
We got some sample some good (but not healthy) Hawaiian food on our trip. Some highlights:
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Cream filled malasadas from Passion Bakery.
Tasty but expensive |
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No frills lunch at Bobbie's in Hanapepe
(the town that inspired Lilo and Stitch's home) |
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| Acai bowls at Kukuiula Market |
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Poke and shrimp lunch at Kilauea Fish Market
on the way to north shore |
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And another Acai bowl from Kalalea Juice Hale
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Shave Ice at Hee Fat's general store, which is
much nicer than I remembered from before |
Our last full day there, we headed up to the north shore of Kauai to checkout Hanalei bay. The north shores of the islands usually have rougher surf but it was a beautiful day overall. Derek and Joyce were able to join us after the conference ended so we had a great time going up together.
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| southern end of Kapa'a beach |
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After stops for lunch and snacks (above), a quick stop at the
Hanalei Valley Lookout. This is the only picture of both families together :) |
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The surf was medium at Hanalei Bay so the
kids just stayed on the beach to play |
Joyce and Derek were tired by the late afternoon so they headed back to their hotel but, since it was our last day, we pressed on to the end of the road to Ke'e beach. They have implemented some sort of limit to the visitors there so you are supposed to have reserved a pass (which we did not do) and also have a shuttle now that runs that way. We just drove there and were going to plead ignorance if we got stopped but we arrived at the gate at about 6:20p which was past pau hana (end of workday) time so no one was at the guard gate anyway so we just went in. Score!
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They had this cool education/restoration
project to rehabilitate the lands |
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| We made it to the beach, just in time to catch the sunset |
Amy and I went there 14 years ago on our honeymoon as well so it was nice to go back with the kids now. Maybe they'll bring their kids there some day :)
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| Still the best sunset ever! |
Our last morning, we had a quick walk to the beach as well as breakfast from the local bakery.
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| See you on the other side, Pacific ocean |
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| One more island meal at Passion Bakery |
The kids always enjoy the plane ride because they essentially get unlimited screen time. Alaska's plane was pretty old so did not have individual screens but the kids kept busy with the tablet and switch.
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| Jad alseep.. so cute |
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| A shot of the sunset as we cross from day to night over the Pacific |
That's it for our Kauai trip. Amy actually took a lot more pictures but I think I covered most of the trip. It was hard at times, the kid fought a lot and I got really mad at Kai and Sora on the day we were leaving, but we got through it. Being a parent is hard but we'll keep trying to get better at it and keep remembering how lucky we are to have three good kids.
Just a bit about my work before I finish this post. To make a long story short, I've recently been wanting to stop working in the ER. For many reasons, it has become very difficult and stressful so I started looking into alternatives. I considered joining PAMF urgent care in Fremont (they were very nice there and the docs seemed happy. more upfront pay, medium acuity work, less hours) but after talking to my chief, decided to stay at Kaiser where they allowed me to work mainly in the clinic and urgent care (easier work, lower acuity, better schedule, taking a pay cut though). I'm not sure if it's the best decision in the long term but for now it's the best choice, especially with Amy having lots her job recently as well and not wanting any more instability in our lives. So, that's it for now, a slight stepping down of the schedule and hopefully more time at home with Amy and the kids. I had a difficult case recently that will always stay with me and it was just a reminder that our time is limited so we better focus on what's really important.
Til next time!
