We bought a couple of woven bowls made out of coconut leaves from this guy and he really got a kick out of the kids so he made Reid this hat. Reid calls it his cowboy hat! He also made the kids a couple fishing poles out of the leaves with fish on the ends....his wife gave me a bunch of sea shells...they were just really nice people!

Kauai has a lot to offer besides beaches, although we mostly spent time on the beach because we had been there before and explored much of the island then. But here are some shots of Waimea canyon, Wialua waterfall and the taro fields near Hanalei Bay....beautiful lush country where almost anything can grow.

A light house and a few family photos....

These are just a few of the friends Amelia and Reid made while on the island. There were many families camping and playing on the beach.....These kids in the tree come from a family of 5 kids from North Carolina that have been living on the island of Venuatu....if you are not a native of there you must leave for at least 4 months of the year. they have come to Kauai so their mom can have a baby and then they will go back to Venuatu. they knew a lot about living off the land and the teenage daughter was impressive with a coconut and a machete...... The other kids are native Hawaiins.

Reid sporting his "jacket babensuit" that he adores.....we scored this surf board that had been broken in half by a bum wave. The surfer had left it by the trashcan in a park and when Lance and his dad saw it their wheels starting turning....we took it home and Lance worked his magic with a leatherman and duck tape to make this the best score of the week!!!

Not all beaches were kid friendly....need I say more????

Feverishly collecting tiny sea shells. We discovered these tiny shells that are used to make very expensive jewelry on the island..... a simple necklace made from the shells can start at $300 and the least expensive earrings are $60. I met a native Hawaiin that was living in the campground and she made me a pair of these shell earrings. Needless to say, my mind started spinning and Amelia and I collected enough to hopefully make ourselves a necklace and bracelet......If only Amelia would pick blueberries with as much intent as she did these shells!!!!

A sweet silouette and some huge grapefruit!

We met up with some Denali friends, Matt, Paula, Cooper and Quinn and the kids enjoyed a day at the beach. The highlight was being buried in the sand. AMelia was a mermaid and the boys were all three race cars! It sure beat getting buried in a snow suit!

Our trips to the local Farmer's markets were amazing....you could find one on the island just about every day of the week. The biggest scores were a bunch of "apple bananas" for $1.

$1 avacados and papayas for $2.50. and everything was so tasteful! Our favorite local fruit is pictured above and called a Rambutan. I just wish our little local Denali market was half as popular and plentiful as these markets!!!

Fatherly bonding on the beach and subsistence living Kauai style!!! we thought it would be a good idea to have a machete in the tent for protection....after all, we don't camp in Alaska without a gun.....but this weapon also provided fresh coconut for us!

Eating breakfast on the picnic table with the view of the ocean and cooking dinner in the vestibule on a windy night. The two camp grounds we stayed in were very nice. tables, pavilions, toilets and VERY COLD showers. Even for us Alaskans...sometimes we would have to wait until the heat of the day to shower or just grin and "bare" it!

Love the cheap plastic water toys....the flippers were too funny! Reid was NOT afraid of the water, regardless of the fact that he can't swim. I am determined to get both of the kids some swimming lessons this summer so on our next beach vacation I can relax a bit more! Reid had no fear and would wade up to his neck in the ocean with waves bobbing him up and down.....he went under several times and it didn't phase him.....

Wild chickens, sea turtles and monk seals were among the wildlife in kauai. The only problem, so to speak, with camping was the wild Chickens that would wake us up starting anywhere between 1am and 5am every morning......The only thing that compensated for that was being lulled back to sleep by the ocean waves.....but then quickly re-awakened by the rooster! I will still take that over an electrical alarm clock any day!

We had been needing a new "family size" tent and this one worked perfect! We had a king size air mattress and we all slept like one cozy family! This was our campsite at the first beach. the ocean is just off to the right of the palm tree!!!