Aloha blog, can you believe we are finally on Day 7 of our Kauai vacation? And there’s only ONE MORE DAY to be blogged?! What on earth am I going to blog about the rest of the year, hmmmm? I guess I had better start doing stuff. This was a not-particularly-spectacular little swap meet near our hotel in Kapa’a. I found a cute little purple turtle backpack there for myself, and a few gifts.

The Big Event that took place on Day 7 was the rental of the paddle boards, which we did at a place called “The Backdoor” in Hanalei.

After we rented the boards we stopped by “Puka Dog”, which had just opened about 20 minutes prior to our arrival. A giant Hawaiian hot dog with all the works at 10 in the morning? Eh, why not?

Josh has done plenty of surfing (and I um, sat on a surfboard once), but this was the first time we had ever paddle boarded. It was an activity that we both equally wanted to do on this vacation! We set out on the Hanalei River, a nice slow-moving current perfect for paddle boarding.

It was a lush, scenic view along the way.

I sat on the board for a long time, waiting for the wind to die down, but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun!

I didn’t fall off a single time. Josh fell off once, which he maintains he did “on purpose”. Uh huh.

A couple of hours of paddle boarding was enough for me and my wimpy upper body strength (my shoulders ached the next day), but of course it wasn’t enough for THIS dude.

We went next to the river to Hanalei Bay and Josh paddle boarded for another hour or two, while I laid on the beach and did a little swimming and stared at a beautiful toddler with curly blond hair playing in the sand with her mother (as we were leaving I told the mother that she had a beautiful child, which I think all moms appreciate hearing).

When Josh returned he said he a had a “miserable” time. The wind was intense, and apparently being a lifelong skier and decent skateboarder doesn’t necessarily mean you’re automatically a good surfer, which was really disappointing to him.

Oh well, onto another adventure, Joshy!

Out in the parking lot, some local fellas were offering coconuts for 5 bucks. They cut a hole in the top with a machete, gave you a straw to drink the milk, and after you were finished they chopped the coconut in half so you could eat the meat. They claimed to be saving cash for gas, which I believed. Gas in Hawaii is insanely expensive!

This was a memorable Kauai moment for me: gourmet Hawaiian grilled cheese sandwiches from Pinks, plus fresh coconut milk from the fellas in the parking lot. Total bliss. Best coconut milk I’ve ever tasted.

Later on we went to a restaurant near our hotel called “Wahooo!”, despite the negative Yelp reviews. MISTAKE! There was barely anyone eating in the restaurant for a good reason, turns out. The food was expensive and terrible. I actually felt sorry for the tiny soft-shelled crab we ate as an appetizer, and believe me, I’ve never felt sorry for the food I’ve eaten before. Well, except maybe that lamb years ago, which is why I don’t eat lamb any more. Baaaah!

That’s the end of Day 7! One more day to blog, and then it’s back to flowers and trees and dogs and probably a ton of orange-hued self-portraits, because it’s nearly summertime DAMMIT and that’s what I’m all about.