Vacation, Day 6

This morning we went to Hanapepe, called "The Biggest Little Town" on Kauai.  We went through some of the shops there and then walked across the swinging foot bridge (pictured here).  After that, we went to Salt Pond Beach (also pictured here), where we enjoyed the nice water for about 45 minutes.  We returned to our condo, swam in the pool, and then met my parents at the airport (they flew in today to spend 8 days with us).

More Pics

Driving to the east side of Kauai tonight to have dinner with a family in the church, we stopped to take a few pictures.  One of them is of Opeakaa Falls.  The other is of Wailua River.

Vacation, Day 5

Today we got an early start as the weather was (and is still) gorgeous and my wife wanted to get some picture-taking done.  We spent some time walking on the beach in front of the Grand Hyatt, followed by walking around the grounds of the Grand Hyatt, which are extremely beautiful.  Then we got to the beach by 10 a.m. for some more boogie-boarding.  While boogie-boarding we saw a couple of sea turtles in the water (less than 10 feet from us).  The waves were a little rougher today, but we still had a great time.  Then it was back to the pool here at the condo.  Tonight, we'll be having dinner with one of the families in the Kauai Reformation Church.  Pictured here: The area in front of the Poipu Bay Golf Club, the beach in front of the Grand Hyatt, and the grounds of the Grand Hyatt.

Newsweek and Osteen

Interesting article here on Joel Osteen and his wife.  Osteen is one of the great examples in our day of what Michael Horton calls "Christless Christianity."

Vacation, Day 4

We woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning (Kauai is filled with wild chickens and they are quite noisy in the morning). After breakfast, we headed to Lihue, where we went to Wal-Mart, Payless Shoes, did some window shopping, and then had lunch at the Market Street Cafe. Then, in the afternoon, we went to Poipu Beach for some boogie boarding and then back to the pool.  We then had our first shave ice of the trip.  If you ever have the opportunity, have your shave ice with ice cream (it sounds strange, but it's excellent). Pictured here:  Some photos of the condo complex where we are staying and a shot of my wife and daughters' shave ice.

Vacation, Day 3

We began our day by worshiping at the Kauai Reformation Church, where I preached on Psalm 67 (often known as "The great missionary psalm") in the first service and article 10 of the Belgic Confession of Faith ("Who is Jesus Christ?") in the second service.  It was good to see and visit with the people that we had met last year on our visit here.  After church, we came back to our condo and enjoyed a very good lunch consisting of Japanese style Ebi-fried shrimp (from Costco), fresh pineapple, and Hawaiian sweet rolls.  We also snacked on some Maui potato chips.  I also chatted on the phone with a few different members of our church.  I heard that the visiting minister this morning was well-received, which is always good to hear.  It's also comforting to know that I have great elders who give wonderful care and shepherding to our congregation.  Then we headed back to the pool, where we spent about an hour and a half.  Tonight, we will be going to the home of the family that we stayed with on our trip last year and enjoying dinner with them.

Vacation, Day 2

Today was really a microcosm of what I hope this whole vacation to be:  A time of great relaxation.  We slept in, ate Eggo waffles, and then spent 2 hours in the pool.  After that, we went to Puka Dog, a well-known hot dog stand here on Kauai.  The menu is very limited by intent:  You have a choice of either a polish sausage dog or a veggie dog.  Other than that, all the menu has are a bag of chips and fresh-squeezed lemonade.  Although I love spicy food (and never seem to have much problem with spicy stuff), for some reason I've always had problems with polish sausage.  Because of that, I ordered a veggie dog.  Then you have a choice of condiments (Hawaiian mustard, various kinds of relish such as pineapple, mango, coconut, etc.).  I had pineapple relish on mine, along with a sweet Hawaiian mustard.  Everything was great...except for the veggie dog.  Not only was it rather tasteless, but it was also tough.  Oh well, at least we experienced it.  From now on, Puka Dog is known as "Puke-a Dog" in our house.  In fact, it was so bad after the first bite that I almost thought that I'd "accidentally" drop mine on the ground so that I wouldn't have to eat it.  But since the rest of my family didn't care for it either, I just yanked my veggie dog out of the bun and tossed it in the trash.  By the way, this reminds me our wedding rehearsal dinner over 17 years ago.  The pastor of our church and his wife insisted on providing the meal for our rehearsal dinner.  She made what will forever be known as "goosebump" chicken.  It was this incredibly nasty chicken dish that still had bumps on it (you know the type of bumps on chicken skin that I'm talking about).  Well, after somehow managing to get one piece down during the rehearsal dinner, the pastor's wife insisted that I have more.  And so I placed another piece on my plate, but...oops, somehow it managed to fall on the floor and I had to toss it in the trash.  I don't know how I managed to avoid having to take another piece, but I hope never to have "goosebump" chicken again.  Now if polish sausage doesn't bother your stomach, if you ever go to Kauai you should try Puka Dog.  The relish was quite tasty, as was the Hawaiian sweet mustard that they also put on it.  Anyway, after that, we went down to Poipu Beach, where we'll be boogie-boarding once we buy our boogie boards next week.  Then it was back to the pool...followed by dinner at our condo...and we ended the day with ice cream at Lapperts in Koloa.  Pictured here:  The pool at our condo complex, Poipu Beach, and my wife trying to fish out some dropped goggles at the bottom of the pool.