Trip to Kauai

Aloha!  Just got back from a vacation to Kauai.  I figured I wouldn’t mention that I was going before I went- no sense in advertising that my house is empty, y’know?  LOL

I did visit Kapaia Stitchery, the local quilt store, plus I purchased 2 new books on Hawaiian Quilting.  I was inspired to design my own Hawaiian Quilt design:

We stayed in the same Kuhio Shores condo we did on our last visit.  I initially found this rental at Vacation Rental By Owner (vrbo.com) owned by Mike Galvin and we love staying in #415.  The room is on the 4th floor, overlooking the waves, sunrise, sunset,  surfers, and Hawaiian green sea turtles (honu).  Click below to see how close to the waves we were in this video by Mike. (Note: If you dislike Hawaiian music, be sure to mute your computer):

Speaking of honu, one of my trip highlights was snorkeling off the shores seen in the above video and running into a very large green sea turtle.  I am talking about a full adult turtle about 5 feet tall!  It swam right next to me, so I stayed still so I wouldn’t scare it off.   I also saw many slipper lobsters, sea cucumbers, octopus, moray eel, and so many colorful reef fish to name!

Joe was near this same area the day before and had to cut his snorkel time because a 6 foot Mako shark had been spotted by a spear fisherman.  Swimming with turtles- great!  Swimming with a Mako shark- that might ruin your day!

Of course, I visited Glass Beach at low tide, satisfying my need to hunt for sea glass.  Joe was patient while I climbed on the rocks, hunting in all the nooks and crannies.  I did find an unusual glass pipe section that looks very old and interesting.  I find I am a beach comber at heart.

Check out what the sand looks like close up:

Love vacations…. but it is great to be home again!  Hugs, Carla

Beachcombing and WIP

I promised Karen to share some of my beachcombing finds.  I find it to be very relaxing to walk along the beach and search out anything of interest.  Here are some groups I found during my recent trip to Kauai:

Beach Glass…. I organized them into light and dark beach glass:

and a close up:

and light beach glass:

close up:

I also found some lovely beach pottery that had been transformed by the ocean:

and a close up image:

Then, on a black sand beach on the south side of the island, I discovered these lovely kukui nuts just waiting to be picked up:

I love to also collect shells:

and yet another close up:

some sand from Glass Beach for my collection:

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WIP:  Been working on some jewelry for my metal arts class, quilting Lori’s quilt for her daughter Cara, and also working on yet another freeform crochet scarf for myself.  I bought most of the yarn in a little yarn shop in Hanalei, so I’m making it to remind me of the island:

More Snapshots from Kauai

Thank you for all your birthday greetings!  I appreciate them all!  Here is the balance of my favorite pictures from Kauai, so sit back and just scroll down:

Did I mention that the condo I rented was right ON the ocean??  Here’s proof:

The first morning we were there was spent in a helicopter:

to take these images:

Above is the Napali Coast and below is Tunnel’s Beach:

Of course, I had to show a waterfall… we saw hundreds of waterfalls on the heli-tour:

Spouting Horn, a spectacular blowhole!

poipu beach

Crocs on vacation…

This next one is for Gina, who LOVES coffee:

Last, but not least… I can’t show pictures of Kauai without showing a picture of a chicken:

I leave you with a image titled, “Chicken at sunrise:”

Kauai Snapshots

Here are some Kauai trip pictures for you to enjoy.  First stop- Glass Beach:

A Close up of the beach:

The view from the condo lanai we rented at Kuhio Shore at sunset.  We picked this place due to the closeness to the water:

We stumbled upon a rare monk seal during a morning walk on Ke’e Beach:

After this treat, we snorkeled at Tunnel’s Beach, then decided to check out surf conditions at Queen Emma’s Bath:

As you can see, the surf was too high this day to go into Queen’s Bath.  2 weeks ago in this exact location, 2 women were swept off the rocks to their death.

On the hike back up the cliffs, we stopped to snap this beautiful waterfall:

Another favorite snorkeling spot was in front of the Beach House, which was next to where we were staying:

We ate at a variety of places, including a delightful lunch at Scotty’s Beachside Barbeque on the Coconut Coast where we enjoyed their delightful mai-tais:

Check out our view during lunch:

Notice the hammock above??  It called to me, so here is a slightly different perspective of those coconut palms:

I leave you with a lovely sunset shot from the east shore of the island:

Hope you enjoyed some of my pictures from our trip.  I will share more, including some of the wonderful items brought home.   Aloha from Carla

Crystal Pendant

I made this pendant in yesterday’s class:

I enjoyed this process, and I could see myself making some other items using this technique… and putting a Carla spin on it all.

I also got some ideas for future projects while I was in the bead store…  those go into my journal for future reference.  I like to write things down while they are fresh in my mind, that way I will remember them later.  I know many of you also do this.

I’ve always admired Geninne’s blog site where she shows her journal calendar pages online.  I love her watercolor artwork!  In fact, every day I see her work, I have a poppy print hanging in my studio.

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Guess who went sea glass hunting recently?  Check out this post on the Oreneta Aground blog.  Oreneta is the name of her sailboat.  A few years ago, Oreneta was living in Totonto with her kids, they decided to seize the moment and sail down to the Bahamas for 3 years.  The Oreneta has been aground, the family moved to Spain, and life there is interesting.  Anyway, I admire any woman who is brave enough to follow her dream!

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We leave in a little over a week for Kauai!  I guess I had best finish making my reservations, and take DH to get our new snorkeling gear this weekend.  I am so ready for time spent beach glass hunting, snorkeling, touring and just relaxing!  If I have my way, I will come back with LOTS of beach glass to use in my jewelry art.  And, of course, some new sand to add to my collection.

Any more advice from you Kauai experts out there??  We are going for the helicopter ride, snorkel trip to Lehau Island, Na Pali Coast boat trip, Tubing through the tunnels, hiking, snorkeling, and lots of other sightseeing.  Any restaurant advice??  I’ve been reading like mad at TripAdvisor, but it is nice to get info from people you know.

Enjoy your day!!  Carla