Day 4 - South Shore - May 30, 2008

We enjoyed the beaches up north but now it was time to head south! We drove down south and headed down the tree tunnel. As you drive down the freeway you are literally driving through a tunnel of trees. We took pictures from the car (you should have seen Sunny holding the camera out the sun roof! We're glad she didn't drop the camera) but, once again, you can't envision how it is in person. We went to Kiahuna Beach which is right in front of a Marriott hotel. It was BEAUTIFUL! Completely different setting than up north but the waves were a little bigger so it was nice float around and enjoy a few waves. We had our first encounter with a sea turtle today as well. While swimming around, a HUGE turtle swam right by Sunny. It was a little scary at first but once realizing it was only a turtle and not the lockness monster things were ok. We met some really nice people today including a Cal football player who we were able to give a hard time to since ASU beat them this year!!!

For lunch, we headed to this hot dog stand in Poipu. Normally, you probably wouldn't be raving about spending $6.50 on a hot dog... but... OH MY GOSH!!! The best hot dogs we have ever had. Hard to explain but we'll try: The bun is a full loaf of bread that is wrapped around the entire hot dog. We tried the spicy dog with Hawaiian mustard and pineapple. That's right. We said PINEAPPLE. It was SOOOOO good!!!! We tried to see if they would be willing to franchise here in Arizona. If we are lucky, one day we'll have a Puka Dog nearby.

After lunch, we headed to the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We were able to swim in their pools, walk around the resort, take some pictures and attend the torch lighting ceremony. What an amazing resort!

Another interesting thing about Kauai is that the speed limits on roads are slow. The fastest you can go is 50 mph and most roads are 25 mph. Their highways are not what you think of when you hear the word "highway." Most of them are one-way roads. Despite the slower travel times, it was actually nice to slow down and take in the views and avoid traffic jams.

Swimming and hot dogs... Day 4 was quite the success!