Kauai Part II

The travel log continues. Sunday we went and snorkeled at Poipu state beach and then came back to relax around the pool. Notice the new sunglasses that were nowhere to be found the next night as we packed up. They weren't my favorite but they were comfortable and expensive enough to still make me sick.

Sunday night was the gala. Everyone dresses up for this open bar. The executives address the crowd and the qualifiers get their picture with the VPs. The dinner was nice but the food was overrated. At least the company was good. We forgot our camera in true Emmett form but some friends were nice enough to take one for us. You can tell from the raccoon eyes that Beth liked her sunglasses.

Monday was one of those beautiful days that you never forget. Perfect day for a helicopter tour of the island. This was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I couldn't stop taking photos so if you ever want to see 100 photos of Kauai from the air just let me know. I've included a few to give the idea. The photos above and below are of the Na Pali coast. The sensation of flying over a mountain and then looking straight down to the ocean was wild. The couple on our helicopter from Denmark got a little nauseous at that point.

Flying through Waimea Canyon, the "grand canyon" of Hawaii.
You could see a lot of whales breaching of all shores at all times. I was never quick enough with the camera but did get this blow hole.

This is the top of Mt. Waileawaileamkahmehalehainahonlupka (sp?). It's the second highest point on Kauai and the wettest spot on earth. Over 450 inches of rain a year. Our pilot and just about anyone else we talked to from the island will tell you that you can only see the top less than 30 days a year. Mostly a cloud just sits on top of it.

After the helicopter tour we returned back to the beach. There was this rock out in front that I would watch someone jump off every once in a while. I went up to check it out but couldn't tell how deep it was. Then the jr. high let out and a dozen kids showed up and started jumping with no hesitation. At least I knew it was safe but all of the sudden I didn't feel so special. Beth did grab a video for me. It was plenty deep and you could actually see a turtle in the water that you had to jump over.