Lloyd and I have a goal of visiting all the Hawaiian islands over our
2.5 years here, and decided on a whim to get to it over the weekend. We booked a last minute cheap flight to Kauai, “the garden island,” arriving Saturday morning
and returning Sunday night. While lazy
weekends definitely have their place, it’s amazing
how much living you can pack in to 43 hours if you try. We started off Saturday with a few hours at
beautiful Poipu Beach…

Then took a death-defying airplane ride…

And finally relaxed over dinner, which included an appetizer
of Ahi nachos.

Wouldn’t seafood on baked chips – canned tuna, shrimp,
salmon – with a little melted cheese be a great afterschool snack for kids? This is a bit of a tangent from my trip recap,
but since we cook at home so much these days, we haven’t been in many family restaurants
lately. And I couldn’t get over the
lackluster offerings I saw on so many kiddos’ plates. A trip to Kauai
at age nine is an awesome adventure, but a big plate of white noodles is not! There’s a movement among dietitians and others
to “just say no” to the children’s menu, but I hear a lot of “just you wait”s
from parents when I bring it up. So I’m
always keeping my eye out for nutrient-rich, kid-friendly fare.

Back to our mini-vacation, Sunday we went on a wild
four-wheeler tour…

And then wrapped up the day with a hike along the
breathtaking Napali
Coast before hurrying (in
a fairly filthy state) to our flight.