Polihale Beach is a state park. It is a 7 mile-long beach and over 100 acres. You have to drive to the end of the road on the island, aka HWY 50, then get on a dirt road, and although four wheel drive is recommended, we got by on it, but then again we are use to going off the beaten path. The dirt road is around 5 miles distance to the beach, and also has very sandy spots, we about got stuck twice, and didn't have 4WD....make a note, some rental car companies have made it illegal to drive a rental car on the rutted road, and it floods, so at times you may not be lucky enough to get on the dirt road to it. By remote, we mean vast, no tourists, and so dang hot that you better keep your toes close to the water, but be careful even then, because the water is deep from the get go, and the current is for the brave and experienced (or maybe dumb, by your viewpoint, either way the water is known to be treacherous), even then it didn't feel right to just jump in. This is a sacred place in Kauai. If we hadn't known that, the energy was there, it was strong enough to feel, probably as much as the deep waves crashing at our feet, which by the time Jessica had walked barefoot a quarter mile across the sand from where we parked, her poor feet were red and blistered, so the (warm) turquoise water was soothing. *** Watch to the end, it's not easy learning hawaiian words. ;) This beach has gold sand, it is smooth and soft, if it wasn't so hot, you would want to just lay on it. The view is stunning and mystical. You feel like a spec on this beach, like a grain of sand, alone, small, and yet so embraced in the wild. This is the kinda beach that gets deep down in your soul, and doesn't leave. We can say it is lasting impression, but truly this is a place on the planet that if you want to do some soul searching, relax, connect, and be at the end of Earth, this is where you go. This is where you find wild inside of you, and the wild between sand, sun, and sea. This beach is majestic with ancient ties to Hawaiian history. It has sand dunes, some reaching 100ft. The water is clear, and crashes against the Na Pali cliffs. Kauai is paradise, but if you want more than paradise, get inspired to take the road to the end of not only Kauai, but what feels like the end of the planet. We are in love with Polihale. Aloha!
More from day5: Salt POnd Beach and Waimea Canyon To see more of our trip check out this category: http://www.allisonattitude.com/blog/category/boise-to-kauai
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Day 4: August 11, 2015. Our wedding day! We celebrated that evening by attending a luau. It was super fun! The Smith's Family Garden Luau has been around for four generations, and you certainly feel welcomed into their traditions and family, or ohana. As we entered the garden we were greeted with smiles, hula dancers, fire dancers, puka shell necklaces, and a photo of our family with a male and female dancer. Then, we board a tour train that took us around the gardens as the guide shared his knowledge of Hawaiian trees, flowers, and history. There are peacocks, and beauty everywhere. As the pig is raised from the earthen imu (a pit in the ground), men in hula skirts sound off with blowing through conch shells (Pu). These shells are considered a gift from life giving waters, and can make a sound across the land to begin a ceremony/event/ tradition. From there we went into a shaded area to sit and eat. There is plenty of food to go around for every guest, as well as Hawaiian juice for the kiddos, and mai tai's for the adults. On stage are ukelele players, singers, and hula dancers. They teach about the hula dance, and what the movements mean. We sat at a large table with other guests, sometimes it was awkward, but mostly everyone was smiling, talking about their vacation, and introducing themselves. The pork was incredible! Never have we tasted pork cooked so well. There was also mahi, which you can get all over Kauai, but their mahi, and chicken too was all very delicious. We tried the poi, but unless you grow up eating poi, it is definitely an acquired taste. Next it was off to the show. It began with an impressive and stunning event. A beautiful woman rising up out of a volcano, Pele, the goddess, and there was fire, a waterfall, and a story. The show covered dances and traditions from Hawaii, but also Tahiti, Samoan, New Zealand, China, and Japan. It truly was a feast for the eyes and ears. The music, colors, light effects, costumes, stories, it was all done so well. Most of the show was very captivating. The men were powerful and loud both on drums, dance, and chants. All of the women were enchanting and graceful. The energy during the show presenting ancient tradition, and between male and female dance and communication was astounding. You see in each segment the beauty of each culture, and the divine within each. All of this while sitting outside under the stars and palm trees. It feels magical. If you ever go to Kauai, the Smith's Family Garden Luau is an event you will want to book! Day 3 was August 10, 2015. We started the day out exploring Tunnels Beach, where we would be married the following day. Jessica spent time teaching William some pointers about photography, and we walked the beach for an hour. We drove back towards Hanalei and stopped at Blue Dolphin for some lunch. It was yummy, but a bit overpriced, we think, and the burgers didn't even come with fries or chips, but the ambiance was nice, and we got to sit on the patio in shade and listen to Hawaiian music while we ate. Jessica tried a Mai Tai for the first time.
We then went to drive around Lihue for a bit, which took a while. We hunted down a Radio Shack for Jessica to replace the cell phone she dropped and broke the night before. Even at Radio Shack the people working there had a laid back and friendly attitude, and aloha spirit. It turned out to be a nice surprise, the camera is better on her new phone, which makes her photographer's heart happy for snapshots, and she chose a white pearl/pink hibiscus cover to protect it. A few days later, we found a cute hula girl to place on the back of her phone. After that we drove to Shipwreck Beach and Poipu. We watched the surfers for a while at Shipwreck, while William played in the huge waves that crashed on shore. He got knocked down just about every time. Shipwreck was a hoppin beach, lots of surfers, photographers, and dogs. Speaking of dogs, one of them killed a chicken, which there are chickens all over Kauai. Have we mentioned that? Chickens everywhere! Well, sadly, the rooster that was with the rest of the chickens was crying out over and over for about a half hour or so, it was pretty heartbreaking to see actually. We aren't vegetarians by any means, but respect that animals also feel, and it was quite a sad affair for the handful of people that witnessed it. Last stop was Poipu beach. We all got in the water there. It was just about dark by the time we got there, so the three of us sat on the sand, and let the warm waves swish us around, often strong enough to actually suck us out, then push as back up on shore, just sitting there. Strong current for sure at night, but many people were doing the same thing, because why not? It was fun, warm, and a perfect view of the sun going down. At the end of the night we capped it off with a peanut butter sandwich, dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts, guava juice for William, and an Allison special Mai Tai, made with coconut and dark rum made on Kauai at the Koloa estate, mixed with pineapple, guava, and passion fruit juice made right in HI with real cane sugar. So yummy! Then we walked down to the hot tub to soak, talk about our day, and what we would do the next day..... GET MARRIED! ;) Day 2 (Sunday, August 9th), in Kauai was filled with exploration, adventure, and silliness. We started out with Princeville Ranch Adventures ( North Shore, Kauai), then headed off to Anini Beach for a swim, then back to the hotel for a bit to get some pineapple, then off again to explore Hanalei Beach at sunset (see pics below). The colors that changed from gold, grey, turquoise, pinks, at sunset on Hanalei were stunning. We ended the day totally exhausted, but exhausted in a super good way, and hit the whirlpool to soak our bodies, and gaze at the stars. In Kauai, it feels like you can reach up and touch the stars at night, and there are so many of them! We didn't carve out enough time to linger for starry night time shots, considering most days we were up by 4:30 to 5:30 am, and wanted to hit the hot tub by 9/10pm, then get ready for bed. but we sure enjoyed looking at all the bright stars. Shaved Ice ParadiseWe had some shaved ice and macadamia milkshakes in Hanalei at Shaved Ice Paradise. After ordering we took a stroll behind the building to find this amazing view! Hanalei Beach, North Shore at SunsetTime at the Hotel: Day 2Princeville Ranch Adventures tour was a blast! 5 hours of scenic ATV riding and getting muddy, hiking, crossing streams, riding two ziplines, and jumping into a swimming hole with a double waterfall. Day 2 started at 4:30am, and went into the night. From the adventurous time with awesome tour guides Matt and Seth of Princeville Ranch Adventures, we then headed off to Anini Beach ( click the link to see those pics).
Jack was fretting for at least a month prior to heading out on this adventure. He was nervous to ride the ziplines. It took some encouragement, but he conquered his fear. Although I still couldn't get him talked into to King Kong zipline! Maybe next time ;) William was fearless. He was the first to raise his hand and jump up and down to go first, when everyone else was hesitant to go first, he didn't waste a second to take the plunge first. It's William, he is the same way with auditions. I love his ability to just do it, and go for it. I was so excited for my turn. I had an opportunity to zipline when I was back in jr. high, 13, I think, and I got halfway up climbing a tall pine tree, and got scared, and bullied by the other kids, so I climbed back down the tree, and never went. The only kid not to do it. I regretted it for so many years, so this was my chance to make up for that. Boy did it! It was so fun! Now we all want to do the zip lines in Idaho. It was also the first time William and I had ever ridden in an ATV. We loved the bumpy, muddy ride. The first mud puddle Jack hit, he really gave it some gas. We were covered. At that moment I was so thankful I had my Olympus Tough and a rented Gopro for this adventure. I would have been devastated to soak my good Nikon gear in mud and water. Whew! The scenic drive was incredible, and just so gorgeous. Truly, there aren't any photos that can do justice to any of Kauai. Kauai needs to be experienced, and this whole vacation, we did just that, as much as we could, wringing out every drop of every day and night. Aloha! Anini beach is considered to be one of the safer beaches on Kauai’s North Shore. It has the longest and widest fringing reef in the Hawaiian Islands. It was the first beach we checked out while visiting Kauai, on day 2 of the trip after our adventure at Princeville Ranch. It was our first snorkel experience outside of the training at Dive Magic pool in Boise. Quite the difference..lol. We didn't see any fish, and it rained on us while we swam, but it was fun. Typically the water is calm from what we heard from other snorkelers, but the water was bit rougher than normal from some storms, however still warm, with soft sand under our toes. We enjoyed it a lot.
Aloha! P.S. See our wedding on Tunnels Beach! We did it! Married on Tunnels Beach in Kauai August 11, 2015. On an island known as the heart of the planet, barefoot, in love, making a promise with Aloha in our hearts to share the great adventure of life! The Hawaiian blessing is E Ho'omau Maua Ke aloha.
The video includes a few shenanigans with William, and then the wedding. It rained us out pretty good in the morning, so our original plan to marry at 11am on the 11th, didn't work out, so we waited it out until about 1pm. Kauai Island weddings put the ceremony together. We really enjoyed the experience with them. We went to the Smith's Family Luau after the ceremony, which was a nice way to end the day. We absolutely adore the meaning and symbolism of Aloha. The ceremony included a lei exchange. The word "Aloha" has many meanings, but it's used most often as a greeting, and to describe the love that exists between two people. The "alo" in Aloha means to be "present with" or "in front of" and to share. The "ha" in the word Aloha means "the breath of life," and is considered to be the greatest gift one person can give another, by all Polynesians from Tahiti to New Zealand. So we each breathed our "ha" three times into the lei we gave one another. The Hawaiian blessing is Hoi Hou Ke Aloha, "Let us fall in love all over again." We then held our rings for one another to our hearts. Filling the ring with all of our dreams, for a wonderful life, wishes of good health, and all our wishes. The circular nature of the rings will always hold this love and energy, wrapped around each of our fingers. No Keia La, No Keia Po - A Mau Loa, "From this day, this night, Forever more together." Thank you for watching, and for those of you thinking about us as we were married, thank you for your spirit being with us. We got a kick out of William's suggestion that you don't have to watch, as were almost ready to kiss. Silly kid. :) Photos to follow soon, and be sure to follow us on our new instagram account @allisonattitude and youtube account Allison Attitude. Aloha! P.S. This link will give you more insight on the meaning of Aloha too. A lot of things are going on in the sky lately. We experienced the Bethlehem Star on June 30, Venus is in retrograde, July 25 through September 6. July 31st there was a Blue Moon rising in Aquarius. The Lion’s Gate opens on August 8th. The 2015 Perseid meteor shower will peak around August 11. There is a New Moon on August 14, and while all this is taking place in the skies over our heads and homes, Jack and I have been planning our wedding and trip to Hawaii. How could I not look at the symbolism and draw some conclusions? Venus in retrograde means it looks like the planet is going backwards in the sky for a time, although this is an optical illusion. To ponder more deeply on what this means down here in the dirt and commotion of human life is to look at life as opposite of the norm taking place. Basically check yourself, check your reality, and what you know is probably going to have the tables turned. If things have been going well over the last year and half to two years, be ready for some upheaval and change. If things have been confusing, tough, difficult to sort out or commit to, then that is about to change, and be ready to gain some clarity, direction, and evolve in your relationships. By the end of a Venus retrograde, most people feel differently about who they are, what they want, and about their relationships. For us, we will have become husband and wife, and I think that there is no doubt we will feel differently and more deeply connected to one another. For Jack and I, our relationship has gone through a couple Venus retrogrades, and I can recall the first Blue Moon we spent together, kissing him in a parking lot the bright moon shining overhead between the branches of a pine tree. There have been times we have experienced upheavals, times when we felt we were moving forward, and others times where we felt like we went stale, and times we thought we wouldn't last another minute together, and times we have felt like we could spend the rest of our lives together. This Venus retrograde however, is certainly playing a role in our newest decisions and flow of our relationship. Venus retrogrades can cause some people to be under a lot of stress. In a relationship tension is all over and letting go of fears and wrongdoings from the past is probably smacking you in the face right about now, but for others it can bring them closer together and the energy urges the relationship towards a more intimate bond. Hhmmm…Venus feels a bit like a chick flick right now. Fall in love, have a falling out, then makeup again. Sounds like I need some wine and popcorn. I can’t say everything that has come up this year between Jack and I is due to Venus being retrograde, but we have certainly been faced with some soul searching questions both personally and as a couple. Let’s get more specific though, over the last couple weeks we have had some close calls, or maybe more like texts to call the wedding off, caps and exclamation points to make the message loud and clear. Take two people who have been through life’s ups and downs for just shy of a decade finally deciding to get married, the planet of love going retrograde, and you have a recipe for boundaries being tested, connection being tested, and asking the why’s, how’s, and what’s. Everything we know about one another, for worse and for better, in health and sickness, we have been there, done that, and now we are upping the game of love by deciding to get married. Everything we know about our relationship is about to get changed up, some things will take on a whole new meaning; some things will stay the same. Ultimately, getting married is so much more than a name change, and signing a piece of paper. Through the cold feet, the excitement of planning a dream destination wedding, growing closer together as a couple, planning for the future, is showing both of us that our nine years has been a blink of an eye, and we are about to jump in together to a lifelong deal, and when we get down to it, it’s what we both want. Venus retrograde has shown us our past, our fears, and our hopes, and we are only a couple weeks into Venus’ table turning, optical illusion. To boot, there will also be a solar eclipse after the retrograde is over, representing new cycles in life, and I would have to say so far, sounds like the stars and planets are leading us right where we need to be at this time in our life together. Let’s move on to the recent Blue Moon rising in Aquarius that took place on July 31st. This relates to movement and change. When faced with changes, or evolving there is always the element of facing deep rooted struggles as well, but during this blue moon I find that both Jack and I have been reminded to stay open and to look at wiping the slate clean, to clear the way for an even more meaningful and committed bond to one another. This represents a time for us to let go, which is not always easy, but important to both of us that we start this new chapter with clear minds and hearts. Airing our truths and old wounds to one another, defining our hopes and goals, and moving forward strong, united, and accepting of one another. As this blue moon represents things like balance, we have been looking at how we want to be an interdependent team. Our future now feels illuminated like it never has before in all the time we have been together. This year we have had breakthroughs, and the light at the end of the tunnel is now beaming all around us, and if you want to put that literally, it can’t get much better than marrying your best friend and life partner under the morning sun, toes in the sand, in as close as you can get to Eden, in Kauai. We have had the tables turned while in Venus retrograde and our goals for the future illuminated by the Blue Moon. Our hearts ripped open, and the stars aligning to bring us right where we want and need to be. We have communicated more with another about terms of our relationship, needs, wants, hopes, and hurts, more than we probably ever have in all the years we have been together. It’s been crazy, amazing, beautiful, frustrating, tearful, loving, open, and encouraging. So what else is in store for us under the stars as we embark on this new journey together, this life change together? How about a Lion’s Gate? A Lion’s gate is a star portal. It is opening up on August 8th, which numerologically is one of the most high frequency days this year will have, representing positive changes across the globe and personally. Pretty incredible to think about as we will be flying over the Pacific Ocean on the 8th. The number 8 is associated with harmony, integration, balance, union, and abundance; it is also representative of the infinity symbol. We will be pumped up with excitement, flying over the ocean, landing on a stunning gorgeous island, with all this positive energy flowing through the Earth, how much more amazing could it get for two people about to tie the knot?!! To dive a bit more into the meaning of the Lion’s Gate opening, many people believe the energy will support the next cycle of evolution for the planet, and among the spiritual circles, many have been talking about shifts physically and energetically with the planet. I won’t go much more detailed into it than that, but it is fascinating to learn about, and if you don’t believe in all this star stuff, well it may make for some fun reading on a lazy morning with a cup of coffee. What can I say, for us, we have certainly shifted and our path may not be the Las Vegas strip, but it is being lit up! So we have covered a planet appearing to be moving backwards, a solar eclipse, a Blue Moon, and a star portal, but still there is more taking place during this celebrated time in our relationship. Let’s throw in a meteor shower and a new moon! On the night of August 11th, it is estimated to see up to 90 meteors an hour fly across the skies. It’s the 2015 Perseid meteor shower, and it will be at its most active just before the new moon on August 14th. Ever hear of Perseus? He was the Greek hero that beheaded Medusa, and if you don’t know of Medusa, then you probably didn’t grow up as a child of this planet or possibly solar system. The Perseids meteor showers seem to come from Perseus’ constellation. Yeah, I would say if you could defeat a pissed off woman that can turn you into stone, you might be able to get your own constellation too. Looking more into the mythology, shooting stars were considered gifts from the gods to illuminate your path and bring a change or solutions for more happiness and enlightenment. I would say going through the upheaval of Venus in retrograde, a solar eclipse, a Blue Moon, a star portal opening, a new moon, and a meteor shower that Jack and I are being tested and supported by the Universe as we commit to taking on the rest of our lives as one, giving ourselves to one another, and moving forward, heck even the gods are showering us with shooting stars as gifts. How many can say they received all this as a wedding present? ;) Photos from google searches. 6 days to go! We leave at the crack of dawn on August 8th, and we cannot wait for that first step into the Boise airport. The excitement for Hawaii is building in our home. Daydreaming about ocean breezes, toes in the sand, smell of flowers, fresh fruit picked right from the trails we will be on, and fresh fish to eat, the adventurous activities we have planned, and of course getting married! We have our activities booked. We will be seeing the Smith's Family Luau the night of our wedding. We are going on a north shore adventure that includes offroading through mud and trails of a canyon in an ATV, hiking to waterfalls, and finishing off with two ziplines. We will take an exhilarating ride in a fast moving raft through caves along the Napali Coast from Hanalei. You know the gorgeous coastline featured in Jurassic Park? Yeah, that coastline, gorgeous! William and Jessica are tossing around the idea of taking a surfing lesson, but first we have to shake off the idea of being shark bait. We will all snorkel in the waters of Anini Beach. Which we prepared a little for with a lesson from Dive Magic in Boise. William is talking constantly of how cool it will be to swim with sea turtles, and Jessica is filled with anticipation to see and photograph Dolphins. Have you ever explored and vacationed in Hawaii? Have any fun stories or tips you would like to share with us? We would love to hear from you in the comments. Have a fantastic day! Thanks for staying tuned in and reading our blog. :)
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