When Tristyn was first diagnosed with cancer, some good friends of her family approached her parents and said, “when Tristyn is finished with this whole cancer thing, we want you all to go stay in our vacation home in Hawaii.” This last week we were finally able to accept this generous gift and stay in their home in Kauai. The trip was absolutely incredible. We made memories that will last us a life time and experienced a sense of healing as we celebrated Tristyn’s remission as a family. We are so grateful to this family and their generosity and can not thank them enough.
Here is a break down of our trip!
The House
The home that was generously gifted to us for the week was located up in the hills of Kapaa. The views were amazing!
Scarlett loved being naked, playing in the rain, and eating the fresh fruit from the yard.
Kealia Beach
This was our favorite beach for playing in the waves! The waves were awesome and the scenery was beautiful! We spent a lot of our time here.
“Our Spot”
Unreal Sunsets
Shopping in Kapaa
Haena Hike to Hanakapiai Beach
This hike was NOT easy! But it was beautiful!
If you don’t want to do the insanely long and treacherous hike to Hanakapiai, then try this gorgeous beach just before the trail head!
Up the mountain…
THE BEACH! Hanakapiai was hands down the most unbelievable beach we have ever been to. The price you pay from the hike is absolutely worth it for the the paradise you arrive at in the end!
Cool Roadside Lookout in Princeville
Wailua Falls
Na Pali Coast
This catamaran ride along the Na Pali Coast was definitely one of our favorite highlights. These locations on the island are only accessible by boat and they are out of this world!
Waimea Canyon
They call this spot “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” It was very grand!
Hindu Monastery
Mango Festival
Poipu Beach
We don’t have a lot of pictures of this beach because we were snorkeling most of the time, but the snorkeling was amazing! (sorry we forgot the gopro)
This is the road to Poipu. Looks more like the road to Narnia.
Kahili Beach
Beautiful beach with a cool inlet and a rope swing!
Queens Bath
This spot was another one of our favorite places on the island. The clear blue water splashing up against the black rocks was like something out of a movie. In addition to the beautiful scenery, the place was loaded with sea turtles!
Short hike leading to the bath.
Bath #1 with waterfall.
Bath #2, aka “sea turtle bay”, aka “one of the coolest things we have ever experienced!”
Queens Bath & other amazing natural pools.
Opaeikaa Falls
Ruins
The island is covered with ancient abandoned ruins! Pretty cool!
Lydgate Beach
This beach was really cool and especially good for kids! They have a large section of the ocean closed off by a man made rock formation. This makes for an awesome little pool for the kids as well as some great snorkeling! We saw a barracuda!
Hawaii exceeded all of our expectations. We never would have thought that this trip would be so different from anything we had ever experienced. We are so grateful to the family that let us stay in their home. Thank you so so much! We will cherish these memories for the rest of our lives!
Tristyn's Story 