Na Pali Coast Sunset Cruise

Well, September 11th came and went without too much fuss. The day of my birth seemed less monumental and slightly overshadowed by the 5th year anniversary of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. The day itself, seemed actually very lonely. I wasn't feeling well and hadn't been for a few days and Ben had a day off from school and was well.. quite grumpy. Ed worked the entire day from 8 am to 10 pm, announcing when he came home that, "at least he was home before midnight!" I was in no mood for idle chitchat or humor and went to bed feeling sorry for myself. (Yes, even that can happen in Hawaii) The rest of the week proceeded without any excitement and I continued to feel homesick for all things familiar and longing for an Old Navy store to surface nearby. We don't have one here. Costco comes Oct. 17 and everyone here is in a tizzy for them to open. Me included.

Sunday...still feeling down in the mouth, Ed surprised me with a trip for 2 on the Na Pali Coast sunset/dinner cruise for my birthday. I have been wanting to see the incredible Na Pali coast for oh, about 2 months now!!! Okay, so I didn't really have to wait all that long and boy, was it spectacular!!! Well worth the wait. At 2:30pm we boarded the Blue Dolphin Charter and sailed along the west coast of the island in search of the famous coast. (By the way , they shot alot of Jurassic Park in the Na Pali Coast) Along the way, we saw leatherback sea turtles and a pod of 5 dolphins!! That was a dream come true for me, to see them wild in the water, and it still seems so surreal when I think back to the trip. It was so awesome! We also saw natural caves, waterfalls and glorious beaches relatively untouched by tourism. Meaning only the hardiest of hikers or those lucky enough to own a boat will ever grace the sugary sands of the Na Pali Coast beaches. It is uninhabitable and unaccessible to the average tourist. The tour was 4 hours of pure unadulterated fun and glorious beauty. It ended near Port Allen with a yummy dinner of Kalua pork, pineapple, teriyaki chicken rice, sticky rice, caesar salad and chocolate chip cookies. (For those of you with celiac disease (you know who you are) it was an awkward moment but I chose to live in it and bear the consequences. It wasn't too bad in the end and only hurt a few days later! )Those more adventurous dove into the company's free self-proclaimed famous Mai Tai's but alot of the passengers couldn't get excited about those and opted instead for beer or soda/juice.

The sun set as we ate dinner and got more spectacular as we docked, the light playing off the clouds in a palette of blues, pinks and yellows. With the boats in the background, the setting and the conclusion to the day was positively perfect! I would highly recommend this chartered tour. It's pricey but worth it.

Again, click on any photo to see an enlarged version. Enjoy!!

For additional photos of the Na Pali Coastline, click on www.napali.com/na_pali_coast/ and click on photo gallery.

*For Mom Dyck, you don't have to write the above down on paper just put your arrow (it will turn into a hand) on the underlined words and click. It will take you right there. Then on the right hand side there are the words "photo gallery" with an arrow pointing right. Click on the arrow and you'll see some more pictures.* Check it out!!