I’ve travelled to Hawaii once when I was about eight years old and all I can remember was visiting Pearl Harbor and wearing this really cute blue hawaiian dress with yellow flowers the entire trip. So you could imagine my excitement when I found out one of my good friends was having a destination wedding in Kauai, Hawaii.




I learned a hawaiian word everyday by asking a local for a word of the day. I wanted each word to represent the day or feeling I was experiencing. Which went perfectly with highlighting my favorite moments in Kauai.

ka'ōpū - Stomach

Eat Healthy Kauai

We touched down in Kauai just in time for lunch so our first stop was (naturally) a vegan restaurant, Eat Healthy Kauai located in Kapaa. There are a plenty of outside seating among the wild roosters and chickens.




When I was doing research on places to eat, I came upon one review for Eat Healthy Kauai about spraying chickens. I was super confused and didn’t understand what the person meant. If you’ve never been to Kauai, there are wild chickens and roosters E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E! Apparently, back in 1992 Hurricane Iniki destroyed chicken coops releasing domesticated hens as well as roosters being bred for cockfighting. Therefore these beautiful feathered creatures now inhabit and roam freely on this tropical paradise called Kauai.




Now back to the food. Eat Healthy had a pretty large menu with a little something for everyone. There were smoothies, acai bowls, sandwiches, wraps, salads, pasta, and rice bowls. I decided to try the Tempeh ‘Bacon’ BLT Sandwich and Ben got the Tofu scramble breakfast burrito. And for dessert we shared the vegan and gluten free banana bread. Everything was delicious and I loved the company of the wild roosters so I didn’t use the spray. We loved it so much that we came back for breakfast on the way back to the airport. Check out my full post on Eat Healthy Kauai

e hele hewa - To Wander

Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour

They say when in Kauai...do the helicopter tour. I don’t know who said this but thank you because this experience was amazing! Our helicopter pilot, Marty, took us on a 45 minute tour of the whole island of Kauai. We got to see the famous Jurassic Park waterfall, the beautiful green mountains, and views of the ocean from above.




I highly recommend doing the helicopter tour to anyone who hasn’t done it before! I thought that I was going to get motion sickness from the ride but I didn’t feel sick at all. Ben is afraid of heights and he didn’t feel frightened at all during the tour. The helicopter tour is the best and only way to check out the whole island. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.

ʻoliʻoli - Joy

BeyondBasic gets married at the Botanical Garden

My dear friend Meghan of Beyond Basic Blog getting married is my entire reason of traveling to Kauai. If you know her, you know that her wedding was going to be spectacular and nothing less than amazing. Everything from her dress and the location was absolutely stunning. The location of the wedding was at Na Aina Kai Botanical Gardens in the middle of the forest, all you can see around you were lines and lines of trees and within the trees was a intimate spot where Meghan and Erick said their vows to each other.

Lomilomi - Hawaiian Massage

St Regis Spa

During our visit in Kauai we stayed at the St. Regis in Princeville. There were two things I loved about this hotel:




1. Champagne hour. Everyday at 5:45pm St. Regis sabers a bottle of champagne as a welcoming ritual for all the guests. Who doesn’t love sunsets and bubbles? This was a fun time to watch the sunset while sipping bubbles.

2. The spa. (Are you even surprised?) I decided on getting a Lomi Lomi massage. In the Hawaiian language, the word lomi means "to knead, to rub, or soothe; to work in and out, as the paws of a contented cat". The massage was so soothing and the perfect way to relax indoors while waiting for the rain to pass.




After the massage I relaxed in the spa lounge for hours. I sipped on their delicious tea and read harry potter on my kindle while lounging on their big comfy chairs. I enjoyed the spa so much that I spent another day after the wedding lounging in the spa and sitting in the steam room.

Ama

In mandarin the word "Ama" means grandma, but in the polynesian language it means the "outrigger" part of the canoe that provides stability. We stumbled upon Ama restaurant during our exploration around Kauai.

Ama Restaurant is located in the cute little town of Hanalei and has the most beautiful mountain views of Kauai. Ama is a Japanese noodle house with a lot of vegan options! My favorite was their Bao buns with mushrooms and the curry ramen noodle soup. Ama is the perfect place for a romantic meal in Kauai. It was by far the nicest restaurant on the island. Check out my full post on Vegan in Hawaii: AMA

Anuenue - Rainbow

Golf

What do people do in Hawaii? The locals surf and the tourists golf! I don’t golf but I’m a decent caddy. (I’d like to think so but Ben begs to differ) Since Ben is a golfer we reserved a day for him to play golf at Makai Golf Course in Princeville.




During a few of the holes it started to pour rain but eventually let up and the sun came shining and we saw beautiful rainbows over the ocean. The Makai golf course has amazing views and shots over the ocean. Oh and their bloody mary’s aren’t bad either.




Kauai was an unforgettable trip. I’m so lucky to have been part of Meghan and Erick’s special day especially because I got to experience Kauai! I loved the small island feels and how everyone was super friendly and happy! Seeing the roosters and chickens running freely on the island was definitely the cherry on top of a great trip to Kauai!

Let me know if you've ever been to Kauai and what your favorite moments were!