Although it was 11 hours of flying, it really didn't feel like that. We got lucky and when I had booked our frequent flyer tickets for this trip, first class was barely anything additional. It was a no brainer. I think the extra space and free food made it much more of an enjoyable day. I spent the first flight planning and second one watching movies.
Arrival and pickup of the car was super easy. Josh's only request for the trip had been a Jeep. I obliged as I knew I was eyeing a few hikes that required off roading. Also the SUV rentals are substantially cheaper than cars right now. We had rented a cheaper 2 door but they were out so we ended up with a 4 door hard top. He was quite happy. No pictures yet which is shocking.
We had landed a bit early and weren't supposed to arrive at our house until 4 so we took our time. It's pretty much one road around the perimeter of the island. We wandered slowly and stopped at JC's Flowers to get ourselves leis. ($10) We saw some places along the road that you could get them too. JC's seemed to be well before Kapa'a so we had to backtrack. It's a little convenience store with flowers in a stand up cooler. We saw the guy hand stringing them right there so they were fresh. Couldn't pass it up on our first trip to Hawaii!
Once we had our three essentials (guidebook, camera and lei) we started for the North Shore. It was really cool to see everything for the first time, the climate of the different sides of the island can be felt clearly. After passing the one lane Hanalei bridge we were quickly in the heart of Hanalei. As we went over the bridge Josh explained that their is a 7 car courtesy rule. You take turns seven cars at a time. This is a good time to mention that I have no clue which facts Josh is telling me are true. While I was planning our hikes and dinners, he was reading about the island. With that being said, he had also been reading the Hunger Games and admittedly is now getting the two mixed up. As we drive through the island he tried to tell me about mockingjays in Hawaii... Take our "facts" with a grain of salt.
We easily found our Coco Cottage. This might be one of the best finds I've made thus far in travel planning. Hawaii isn't cheap... Our cottage is cute as can be. A block walk to the beach (Hanalei Bay - the houses right where they filmed Descendants) and half a block walk to the restaurants and shops. The cottage is cute as can be and has everything we need. Did I mention it was super cheap?
We got unpacked and although it was only a but after 4 I was getting delirious. Our bodies thought it was 10 and we had been up since 5. We headed to the grocery store for a few things. I was shocked by sticker prices and it was starting to rain so we just grabbed essentials and decided to do dinner out.
Tahiti Nui was right at the end of our street and the number one place I had wanted to try in Hanalei. I thought it was too early to go out at 5 but we grabbed one of the last tables. Live music apparently starts at 5. It was pricey but they had the yummiest passion fruit margaritas. Our bill for a ginormous Greek salad (enough for 3) a large meat pizza and three pretty strong yummy margaritas was around $65 I think.
Included in that is the entertainment though. The first guy was the nephew if the owner who played the ukulele and sang. He had a great voice. (T and R at 5) After him he was joined by his uncle and another fellow. Their trio had performed and recorded the Cowboy song for the movie the Descendants. They happened to have a small film crew there that night to film the performance for their upcoming DVD. It was a fun time. The only downside was when the lady of the house came over and asked us to give up our table within a minute if signing our bill. There was a girl doing a Hulu demonstration in front if our table so we had been been waiting for her to finish so as not to be rude.
It was 7:30 when we headed back to the cottage. Josh says I was asleep by 7:45...
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