Ke'e Beach on Kauai

On our last day in Hawaii, we drove along the northern coast of Kauai. We cruised to the end of the road and stopped at the beautiful Ke'e Beach. This beach is said to be one of the most visited beaches on Kauai and is known for amazing snorkeling when the water is calm.

We decided to give one last toast to Hawaii, so as they say - Cheers!
Enjoy this short video of our trip to Ke'e Beach...

Waimea Canyon Hike

Located on the west side of Kauai, the Waimea Canyon is known as the largest canyon in the Pacific. It is often called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". It spans 10 miles long, 1 mile wide and over 3,000 feet deep.

Now knowing these stats, you'll understand why if you are a little afraid of heights, the thought of hiking in a place like this might make someone a little nervous. Lucky for me, I didn't know these stats *before* our hike and I managed to make it through our 5 mile hike along the Canyon Trail.

I used the word managed because it was quite challenging for me. The hike is 2.5 miles, all down hill to end up mid way down the canyon to see some of the most beautiful waterfalls and valley views of this amazing landmark. After you make the trek down and observe the wonder of the canyon, you turn around and hike the same 2.5 miles up to make it back out of the canyon. There were several points along the hike up that I wasn't sure if I could make it. I definitely stopped several times along the way and my face turned a rosy shade of red from being exhausted and super hot. But in the end, I finally finished the hike and felt a huge accomplishment.






Check out this video that JJ captured along our hike on the Canyon Trail. I made sure to stay as far away from the edge of the trail as I could and of course, JJ has no fear and practically stands at the very edge of the cliff as he recorded this clip!

Jo Jo's Shave Ice

One of my favorite stops while we were in Kauai was Jo Jo's Shave Ice in Waimea. This place came highly recommended from my "Hawaii travel bible", also know as a book called Kauai Revealed. Now, my love for shaved ice runs deep, so I was really excited to check this place out - and it did not disappoint, it was da 'bomb!

I made it one of my missions while on vacation to test several shaved ice stands and none of them even came close to Jo Jo's. What gave it the edge for me was how tightly packed they got that ice. Must have been the old school shaving machine Jo Jo's uses to shave the huge chunk of ice. They also have to sharpen that blade several times a day to keep up with all the people who stand in line for this fun treat. Enjoy the "tour" of this Kauai gem!
There's nothing special about the building, in fact, it looks kinds scary from the outside, but don't let that stop you if you're ever in the area. This place has a crazy amount of syrup flavors, over 60 to be exact and they've also created some specialty combinations. Some of the flavors that caught my eye were: butterscotch, cinnamon, coffee, mai thi, papaya, and root beer.
In the end, JJ and I ended up going with some simple flavors considering all that they offered. I ordered Strawberry and Passion Orange, and JJ decided on Cherry and Grape, a combo Jo Jo's calls, the plain and simple!
The aftermath....That's right, I even drank the syrup once the ice was gone, that's how good this shaved ice was from Jo Jo's! I tried to convince JJ to drive back to Jo Jo's for one more time before we flew out, but it was a little out of the way, so I guess I'll have to wait until we go back to Kauai, and believe me, we're going back, for sure!