We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2020. That didn’t happen.

We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2021. That didn’t happen.

We decided on somewhere “nearby” that we’d probably not visit after we left Seattle in the next few years. That did happen.

Dom had never been to Hawai’i and we’d never been to Kauaʻi, so we made it happen with a direct flight on Alaska Airlines. We used a $100 companion fare for Dom and Melissa flew on miles, so we got to the island for much cheaper than is typical. I think it came to like $250 per person. For reference, weekend flights are usually in the $500-600 range. The island is fairly spaced out and remote (thankfully), so we rented a car (with miles!) and a two bedroom VRBO condo in the Princeville area, on the north side of the island. We booked this trip as soon as Alaska switched to no change fees and before vaccines were available; figuring we could cancel/move it if COVID prevented us from traveling. Good news is the trip went off without a hitch.

This trip was an odd intersection of life. Dom was not vaccinated, Hawai’i was on the backside of its travel crunch, and I’d just gotten another team reporting to me at work the week prior. Our plan was to keep mostly to ourselves, which we did for the most part. I didn’t take my computer, but I was coming off of a crazy summer at work, and I did stay connected to via work email on my phone. That’s against my better judgment, however I was in the final days of hiring two folks for a severely understaffed team. Keeping watch was going to make my fall that much easier. I know… it’s work and I’m making excuses. Trust me when I say I am well aware I made this decision after having a heart attack on the last vacation. I will be making healthier choices in 2022 and beyond.

We didn’t make a ton of plans going into this trip. Melissa marked things on the island, and I did a little research on activities, but it was mostly a play by ear kinda thing. We did the normal grocery shopping and cooking at “home” thing, with several carry out, and maybe 2-3 outdoor meals. It’s kinda a blur, to be honest. We went to the condo community pool a couple days, we drove to some remote beaches a few days, and we traveled to the south of the island for tourist stuff one day. The pace of life on Kauaʻi is a wee bit different than, say, Honolulu, and lends itself to waking up each morning without a set plan.

The beaches on the island are different than most other places we’ve been, as you end up driving down some work out dirt road to a beautiful beach with calm waters and very few people. We always loaded up and went in the morning, as it’s easier to get Dom out of the house and the beaches were nigh barren when we got there. I think it was the first time either Melissa or Dom had really swam in an ocean. I was too exhausted to do much swimming, but I grew up swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and am glad they had that experience. PNW waters are anything but forgiving.

Total non-sequitur… we also grabbed lots of fruits at a local farmer’s market.

Other fun things included lots of drone flights (I brought mine), an adults-only walking food tour in Hanalei, and a family outing in a Polaris 1000 cc 4 Seater UTV. That last activity was Dom’s first real outing of that type and certainly the first time doing off-road stuff. He had a lot of fun getting dirty, but the helmet did end up hurting him by the end. No surprise there – he’ll need to be fitted if ever really gets into motorsports. I ate so much dirt and dust, even with a mask on, but there were enough “oh crap” moments to keep you on your toes and heart rate elevated. Especially when you’re driving an almost-five-year-old in a three point belt. The minimum age was five – he was only eight days shy! Nothing bad happened.

I think Kauaʻi if my favorite island of the four Melissa and I have been to. We’re not really beach people or big on hot weather, but I can see the appeal.