take me back, continued

Don't tell Alamo, but we let Ryan drive when we first got to Kaua'i.  That was pretty cool since when he left he was 9.  But driving got old fast and he lost interest. 

One funny thing about the trip...we first decided to go back because we were invited to a graduation party on June 9.  Since our anniversary is on June 10 and June 11 was a Monday holiday, we thought it would be a great opportunity to go on a family trip.  We asked Ryan if he wanted to come with and he was all for it.  Then...(from my Facebook post):

"Ryan on our upcoming Kauai trip: "sounds like fun...wait! that means I have to spend 3 days 24/7 with my parents!" (insert mom's evil laugh, "that was the plan!")"

 

 

Hahaha!  But it was nice to spend so much time with him.  Since he moved out last August, we hardly see him. As we headed towards Poipu, where we would be staying for the weekend, we continued the "Eat Kaua'i" tour by stopping at the Deli and Bread Connection at Kukui Grove Shopping Center.  This was one of our favorite places, for their yummy clam chowder and fresh baked bread.  We used to go there almost every weekend, with stops at Macy's (when it was Liberty House), Borders, and Walmart.  We also did a little shopping at Macy's, taking advantage of the cheaper general excise tax, 4.167% rather than 4.712% on Oahu (which includes 0.5% for rail).  Interesting that Kaua'i doesn't allow plastic bags at all; even Macy's packed our purchases in paper bags. 

As we went through the Tree Tunnel, it looked so much fuller than it did when we lived on Kaua'i, maybe because it was still recovering from Hurricane Iniki.  But hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago; the memories are still pretty vivid from living through the hurricane and its aftermath.

It was such a treat (thanks, Jan!) to be upgraded to an oceanfront room at Sheraton Kaua'i and to have this as our view.  We could just open our sliding door and step out to this.  Beautiful!  And everyone there is so nice too.  The hotel was recently renovated and so much nicer than I remember.  When we got to the hotel, we turned on the AC full blast and took naps...we were on vacation after all and had gotten up at 4:30 am to catch our flight.

Then it was time for the reason we had decided to come to Kaua'i in the first place...Kayley's graduation party in Koloa!  Her mom Yvette and Darrell used to work together at the Hyatt and we've kept in touch.  They all even came to Ryan's graduation party last year.  So nice to see old friends.  We had a perfect first day back on the Garden Island!