Friday, October 31, 2014

Snorkeling Kauai

Snorkeling Kauai


Probably my favorite thing to do on vacation is snorkel---or is it photography?!  I guess it would have to be underwater photography!  As of 2015, we've made 13 trips to Kauai, all during the winter.  I read a lot of comments saying that snorkeling on Kauai isn't very good.  I'm here to offer a different opinion.  I love snorkeling Kauai----and Maui, and the Big Island, and St. Thomas, Grand Cayman, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitt's and lots of other places.  But since we always get drawn back to Kauai, I decided to make a blog of our snorkeling on Kauai.  I figure I'll start at the westernmost area we snorkeled: Saltpond;  and travel to the south side: Lawai; Poipu; and Maha'ulepu Beach--- then to the East side:  Lydgate and Moloaa; Anahola--- and last but certainly not least, to the North shore:   Anini; Tunnels and Kee.   They each have their own unique character to them.

On the South side:


Saltpond:

 Lawai:

Poipu Beach:

Maha'ulepu Beach:


On to the East side:


Lydgate Park:

Moloa'a:

Anahola:



On the North side:


Anini:

Hanalei:

Tunnels:

Kee:


So whether it's raining on the north shore, or windy in Poipu, or beach closed due to shark sighting at Tunnels, or whatever, there are plenty of other great places to find to snorkel at around Kauai.  Check the surf reports and go where the surfers don't. 

Monday, October 6, 2014

2014 Oregon Sept. (continuation from Utah), Crater Lake, Clear Lake, waterfalls, Coast

After our busy, but wonderful week in Utah, we were off to Oregon for another 2 weeks.  This was a trip to show some friends as much of Oregon as we could in the 10 days they were with us.  Although day 1 for them was a travel day to Las Vegas where they met up with us.  Having lived in Oregon as a kid and vacationed there for over 40 years as an adult, I put together a pretty intensive itinerary for them: Kennedy School Restaurant; Voodoo doughnuts; Columbia River Gorge; Mt. Hood; Cascade Lakes byway; Crater Lake; row boating on Clear Lake; Silver Falls; Oregon Gardens; Frank Loyd Wright's Gordon House; Ugo's in Dallas (my nephew's pizza place); 2 days on the coast (lots of whales!); Garibaldi scenic train ride; Tillamook Cheese Factory; Rogue Brewery; Portland Rose Garden; Portland Japanese Garden---then our company went home and we spent 5 more nights on the coast in Lincoln City.


Aug. 30, 2014 --- to Portland:

Aug. 31, 2014 --- Columbia River Gorge; Mt. Hood; Bend:

Sept. 1, 2014 (Labor Day) --- lava tube; Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway:

Sept. 2, 2014 --- Crater Lake:

Sept. 3, 2014 -- Dee Wright Observatory; Clear Lake:

Sept. 4, 2014 --- Silver Falls; Oregon Gardens; Gordon House; Depoe Bay Worldmark:

Sept. 5, 2014 --- heading south along the coast:

Sept. 6, 2014 --- heading north to Tillamook and Garibaldi train ride:

Sept. 7, 2014 --- Portland Rose Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, good bye to our friends:

Sept. 8, 2014 --- north to Seaside for the night:

Sept. 9, 2014  --- Seaside to Dallas:

Sept. 10, 2014 --- South along the beach to Newport:

Sept. 11, 2014 --- South from Newport Bay:

Sept. 12, 2014 --- Dallas and Portland:

When asked if I was ready to go home, I had to admit---not really! 
Link to my UTAH BLOG: