We had done a lot of running around to see the Island of Kaua’i, but I’m a beach bum at heart.  I was here to put my toes in the sand and put my bum in the water.  

The apartment turned out to be perfect.  We had a view of the ocean from our patio as well as a couple of hundred yards of grass in between us and the ocean, which meant lots of room to run!  You cannot beat being within walking distance to the beach. This is about as good as it gets. 

Every day was a beach day.  We would have our adventures in the morning, but then we would come back to the apartment for lunch and a little rest before heading to the beach.  Thankfully the apartment was fully stocked. It had buckets and boogie boards, and I brought balls and shovels. All the materials you need for beach fun.

Boogie Time

I really wanted to take a surfing lesson, but I haven’t mastered swimming just yet so that is going to have to wait until another trip.  Thankfully, there was a boogie board, so I had a new mission: boogie on the board across the waves.

On our first afternoon at the beach, we observed how big the waves were.  They were pretty big. So we decided to just go out for a swim that day. This allowed us to get a feel for the waves and, of course, have some fun.

That next day I was ready to boogie.  After our morning adventure and a quick rest, we were ready to go.  I grabbed the board and headed down to the water. The waves were big, but not crazy big.  So, Pa and I headed out to where the waves were breaking. I hopped on and held on tight. It was go time!

Thankfully I had my floaties on!  The first dozen times I tried I crashed.  A few flips. A few false starts. A few waves crashed directly on me (thanks, Pa). Finally, I caught a huge wave.  I held on tight. I whizzed past Ma, who was waiting for me, and made it all the way to the shore. I tumbled through the sand, but then I popped up with a giant smile on my face.  It was incredible. Sadly though, this turned out to be my only successful run of the trip. It was awesome though!

Monk Seal

One afternoon we encountered a unique sunbather.  He was very large and sprawled out, just lying on the sand.  Someone had even put signs around him to dissuade people from getting too close.  I could not believe it. How could someone have part of the beach all to themself?  I guess if you are an endangered animal you get special treatment. I can respect that and be jealous all at the same time, right?  It was a Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Sandcastles

My other beach passion is sandcastles.  Battling the waves can be exhausting, so every day, we would take a break from the water and build sandcastles.  We built some simple castles that were tall, some that were big, and some that were more like a sand fortress than a sandcastle.  Each day they got bigger and better. We would add new features as we got better at building. One day we added a moat to catch the water before it crashed into the castle.  Another day we added a tunnel to let the water in a create a little pool area. In all of my beach trips, this was by far our best sandcastle performance.

Then our final night was upon us.  We enjoyed a great dinner on the patio of the apartment and took a stroll along the beach to enjoy our last sunset.  There is something quite peaceful about watching the sunset set over the vast ocean. It makes my little heart happy.