Day 4

Day 4 is Thursday, Valentines Day, and our last full day in Kauai. The ';plan'; was to snorkle at Lydgate in the morning and just lounge by the pool all afternoon, then head south again to Tidepools for dinner.

After much reading and brain-picking on this board, I finally decided that Valentines Day would be sunset cocktails at Beach House and Dinner at Tidepools. How romantic is that? I made my reservation at Tidepools weeks and weeks before we even left. This was to be my perfect ending Valentines Day in Kauai.

So, off we went in the morning to get our snorkle gear at Boss Frog%26#39;s in Kapaa. (look for the coupon!).

On the way to Lydgate, we decided to stop off and look at the falls by the Waimea River. My husband decided it would be the most awesome thing to swim at the bottom of a waterfall.

So, you go up the road a little and turn left down a narrow road that takes you into some kind of Hawaiian village place where they rent kayaks. So we ask the guy, can we go somewhere to swim under a waterfall? He says sure, easy. Take the kayak to a little island, take a little hike in, and there you%26#39;ll be! So we were off!

The kayak trip was super easy, even for us only halfway decent shaped 50ish people. Once we got to the island and saw where all the other kayaks were parked, we knew we were at the right place. That is where our real adventure began. let me tell you, if you decide to do this, be prepared to walk in mud and through thigh deep mucky river water and climb tree roots up mountain sides and in some places to dare not slip or else! You do not want to get hurt on this trail because nobody will be able to get you out of there.

Also, they tell you the trail is well marked - NOT! We made it pretty good until one spot where we seemed to not be able to go any further and after some trial and error ran into a group of hikers that were with a guide. So we sort of hung back and trailed along after that group.

I only had flip-flops on. Please don%26#39;t do that! Get yourself a pair of cheap tennis shoes that you can toss afterwards, unless you have reef shoes or something. we saw many ';lost soles'; along the way, and my flip-flops pretty much came apart. The mud su*cks your feet in and you can%26#39;t lift those shoes out. Anyway, I noticed the guide of that group was barefoot, so that%26#39;s how I went too, and it was actually much easier to trek that way.

so there we were, trekking through a jungle barefoot in mud and after about an hour came upon this incredible sight, a waterfall about 130 feet spilling into a pool of cool water. Getting into the pool of water was a feat in itself. You have to sort of shimmy over the large slippery rocks. I made it halfway in, but couldn%26#39;t take the coldness of the water. But my husband had the time of his life swimming out to the falls and even going behind it. He said the force of the water was overwhelming, but exhilarating. That was another moment that will stay with us forever. Didn%26#39;t take any pictures, but it%26#39;s permanently embedded.

The trek back out (following the guide group of course) is much quicker and easier. (still no walk in the park though)

My advice to anyone considering doing this is to go with a guided group, or at least follow others. And bring something to eat and drink. This is one of those once in a lifetime things, but definitely not for everybody.

After the kayak trip back, we drove to Lydgate to snorkle and unmuck ourselves. When we first looked at the pool of water there, it didn%26#39;t seem like there could possibly be any good snorkling in there. We were most pleasantly surprised once we made our way in though and saw many, many interesting fish and found the water to be very clear.

By this time we were getting very chilly and needed to get back to get ready for Tidepools. We got back to the Islander, walked right by the hot tub to get to our room, looked at each other, turned around, and got right in the hot tub. After the day we had, that was what we really needed to do. Well, it was happy hour at the poolside bar, so we got a couple of Lava Flows - a perfect hot tub accompaniment!

Well, I knew there was no way we were going to make our much anticipated reservation at Tidepools, but we couldn%26#39;t make ourselves get out of the hot tub. So, I not so reluctantly called and canceled.

When we were finally showered and were ready to go out, we made our way to Kapaa and found a little pizza place called Pizzetta. We had an absolutely delicious pizza and a couple of locally brewed beers. I also saw other people eating other Italian dishes, and everything looked quite good! I would definitely recommend Pizzetta in Kapaa.

After pizza, we walked through the Coconut Marketplace and got some creamy wonderful ice cream at Lapperts. Too tired to make it to Trees Lounge, so we called it a night.

The Best Valentine%26#39;s Day ever!!!!!!

Day 4

Oh my gosh...only 22 sleeps until I%26#39;m there!!! Reading your trip report is making it even more exciting!!! Thanks for the details!

Day 4

Thanks for your trip report. An excellent description of what to expect kayaking to and then hiking thru tropical forest to ';Secret Falls;'; a difficult but rewarding adventure! Sounds like a dream vacation and Valentines Day, that just sort of happened as you ';went with the island flow.';

My wife %26amp; I fell in love with Lapperts Ice Cream our first visit to Kauai five years ago. We are returning in late April and are looking forward to enjoying one (or two) of their super rich tropical flavored ice cream cones then. Mahalo.

Atta girl, Suzy !!.....What a great sport you are to slog through the mud to fulfill your hubbie%26#39;s wish to swim under a waterfall.....That is the true spirit of Valentine%26#39;s Day !!....Thanx for the tip also to do the hike barefooted, will try this when we go next week....