Waimeia Canyon

We thought Waimeia Canyon was gorgeous. They say it's the Pacific Island's Grand Canyon. On such a small island I can't believe they have such a deep canyon. We were up at this observation deck and asked this young couple if they would take out picture. They agreed and the wife took the camera. While we were getting ready the husband told us that they would take the picture even with Steve's blue BYU hat on. We found out that they were from Utah and he had graduated from the University of Utah. Steve had his BYU shirt on and we stopped at a McDonalds and a cute little guy with no teeth said something about BYU's volleyball team. Wearing a college t-shirt is a great conversation starter.

At the end of the road you could see the Napali coastline. It was so pretty. They had a sign for a small mile hike. We weren't really dressed for hiking but thought that we could easily do a mile hike. We started out and it was fine. The ground was a little muddy, and when we were on our boat ride the captain had mentioned that the dirt up in these mountains turn into an ice-rink when it gets muddy. He was right on. I kept slipping and it was a bit scary taking a step because you didn't feel in control. It was hilly and thank goodness for all the folige because I had to keep grabbing it so I could stay upright.
This is what the trail looked like. By the time we got back to the car out feet where caked with mud. It was the worst hike I have ever been on. I never knew a two mile round trip hike could take that long. The sad thing is the view never got better so we could have saved us alot of time and stayed clean just staying at the top. After the canyon we stopped in Waimeia at a little shrimp shop and had one of the best meals. I had shrimp tacos and they were so good. I'm really missing the wonderful sea-food we had in Kauai.

Kauai

Sometime this winter Steve was looking on the internet and found a deal to fly us to Kauai and it would only cost us 40,000 miles. That is a great deal to go to Hawaii and since we have always wanted to visit Kauai I told him to book it. We figured May would be a great month to go. It is very nice not to plan our vacations around the school system. That is one plus to being empty nesters.

We got to Kauai and the only activity we really wanted to do was get on a zodiac boat and see the Napali coastline. This was our third day on Kauai and the sun was still hiding behind the clouds. I was starting to think that the sun doesn't shine in Kauai. We put on sun-screen before we took off but with the cloud cover didn't reaply and almost got burned. The tops of my legs were getting a bit red and Steve's chest was getting red.

Being on the zodiac was great because he was able to take us into the caves and under the waterfalls. I wasn't pleased when he took me right under the fertility waterfall. Hopefully that is an old Hawaiian legend.
The coastline was so beautiful. Steve had brought his scuba camera so we were able to keep it out the whole time. We got a seat right up front and the waves were coming over our head and soaking us. The water was pretty rough.
At one cave he floored it and we couldn't see anything but the dark. It was a bit scary but cool.

We stopped for lunch at a beach that has an ancient Hawaiian village. We got to take a tour of it and hear some of the history of how they lived. Our guide pointed out that back then the women's only chore was to take care of the children. The men cooked and gathered the food. I'm thinking that was a great life.
After lunch and the tour we spent some time snorkling. The corel in Kauai looks really dead and this was the only cool thing we saw. They call them convict fish, I guess because of their stripes. They had some cold springs running into the ocean and after about ten minutes of snorkeling I had to get out because of the cold. It was fun and what a great way to see the coastline.

Taylor leaving for Long Beach

Before Taylor left for the MTC Steve booked us a trip to Kauai. We were pleasantly surprised when a week before we left Taylor wrote us in his e-mail that he would be flying to Long Beach the same morning we were leaving for Kauai.

We knew his flight was at 8:30 so we got to the airport around 6:30. We checked in and went to the gate his flight was leaving from. He wasn't there so we asked some other missionaires that were waiting if there was multiple buses that went to the airport that day and they informed us yes. We grabbed breakfast and then went to wait by security so we wouldn't miss him.
Before we had left for the airport Steve asked if I was going to cry. That could have been one of the dumbest questions he had ever asked. Being married to me for 27 years, surely he knew that of course I would cry. We were sitting and waiting when Steve saw a bunch of missionaries coming through security and there was Taylor. Just seeing him immediately got the tear ducts going. I tried really hard to stop before he got through. Steve was busy snapping pictures when one of the airport policemen came up to him and asked if we had a missionary. When Steve said yes he told him to get closer to take the picture. It was funny because right before Steve said I bet security comes over and asks me what I'm doing taking pictures.

Taylor was flying out with 9 other missionaries that were also going to Long Beach. Because he had been put in the intermediate spanish classes he didn't know them. Luckily his companion just wanted to make a phone call so while he was calling we grabbed Taylor breakfast and were able to talk for about an hour.

Taylor's confidence has grown and right before he boarded the plane he stopped and talked to this lady. I don't know what their conversation was about but he seemed very comfortable talking.

Here he is leaving for a wonderful opportunity. I'm excited for him and that we also get to share through e-mails this experience. He will make a great missionary and the people of Long Beach are in for a treat. Good Luck Taylor.