Hawaii - Kauai Adventure!

Carved from a truncated palm tree still in the ground

You know you're in Hawaii when you see a tiki totem in the ground! I am still reeling from my wonderful trip to the island of Kauai, Hawaii! It was beautiful, warm, wet, sunny, friendly, and full of amazing toasts from Nature to Us! I don't even know where to start, really! There was just so much to love and enjoy in this beautiful landscape so verdant and alive!

Swans in one of the ponds on the grounds

Gorgeous flora in the gardens

The amazing pool at the Marriott

The twilight view from our lanai

The beach in front of the Marriott

So I'm starting with the resort we stayed at... the Marriott Resort and Beach Club. It was beautiful! The food was delicious, the views were lovely, the people were very friendly and open, and the rooms were wonderful with comfy beds. I loved how quiet our rooms were! I also loved checking out the view at different parts of the day & night. It was so pretty!

View down the resort's beach

 We saw several interesting animals here, too! Geckos, sea turtles, a family of feral cats that reminded me of mine at home, and lots of tropical birds... as well as wild chickens and roosters!

A frog in the walkway

Koi after feeding time

One of the many roosters walking around

Koi asleep at night

Green gecko by the pool

 I'd like to point out that the roosters were EVERYWHERE on the island. My respect for them has grown as I noted that they somehow managed to survive so well. I saw maybe one that had been hit by a car, and if you knew how many there were running around, you'd really be surprised by this. I saw them avoid traffic, up in trees, scratching out food and finding fresh water to drink. They're a bit smarter than we give them credit for! 

We visited another resort, as well: The Hyatt in Po'ipu. That's where I got some photos of other creatures that I liked...

Black swan and koi

Hyacinth Macaw at the Hyatt

The black swans (there were four, two pairs on each side of a bridge) were very sweet and had interesting vocalizations. The females had a standard call, but the males had a deeper, booming call. And they were very sweet-natured... I was in love with their curly tails and gentle approach. The Hyacinth Macaw was the sweetest! She loved having her picture taken and cooed and preened for us. Some of the other macaws would chatter and do acrobatics when we took their picture! The Hyacinth (I think her name was Neru) was just the sweetest of them all.

I have more photos to blog about tomorrow... hope you enjoy this first installment of my trip to Kauai!! I totally recommend a trip to the islands. The Big Island of Hawaii and Kauai are my absolute favorites!