Day 14, Aug. 20 - Tuesday

Sadly, today was the last full day of our Lovely Hawaii Adventure and we tried to make the most of it. We started with the Fern Grotto. Apparently, a grotto is a very shallow cave, so it's actually shaped like a half-dome. This grotto has lots of ferns hanging from it, thus the name, Fern Grotto. So, we took a riverboat up the Wailua River to a spot about two miles up. The only way to get to the grotto is by the river. Along the way, we learned from the boat captain about the area and a few buildings on the shore. The Grotto itself was gorgeous! There were lots of lovely drooping romantic ferns and plants growing all around. We got some lovely shots. On the way back, though, was my favorite part. About four people played guitars and sang Hawaiian songs and one girl hula-danced. I just love watching the hula dancers. They are so graceful and sweet. I would love to learn more than the goofy dances they teach tourists, like the Hukilai that they taught us on this riverboat.

After the grotto, we drove up to see Wailua Falls. If we could have navigated the river we were just on, we would have made it to the bottom of the falls. But the river gets too shallow. So, we drove up the road to see them from above. They are the falls that were used in "Fantasy Island." We considered hiking down a trail we heard about but after looking at it and figuring how steep and slippery it is, we decided against it. We figured we didn't need to since we'd had a full vacation already without risking broken bones. Maybe next time if we have better shoes and feel more adventurous.

Next, we headed to Lihue to shoot a couple of pictures and a quick lunch. We felt a bit guilty about being in Hawaii and choosing Pizza Hut but when we saw they had the lunch buffet, our guilt left us. We were always suckers for the Pizza Hut buffet. It was great, too. We spent the afternoon shopping, relaxing at the hotel and, sadly, packing. Vienna really wanted a hibiscus charm for her bracelet, so we searched for one for her. Surprisingly, it was kind of hard to find, but we finally did get a really pretty silver one that Vienna really likes. For dinner, we went all out and went to Duke's again. This time, we made sure to get a table by the ocean for a great view. We had a great dinner and a trio of Hawaiian musicians came by to serenade us. I love that. Tonight, we sat out on the beach behind our hotel one last time to watch the waves and celebrate our stay in paradise. Tomorrow, we're getting up early so we can see the sunrise. We really want to enjoy every last moment.

 

 

Writing by Jenny Wood ~ Web Design by Andy Wood