The Baglady’s Honeymoon — My Favorite Free Things on Kauai

I am back from an absolutely awesome trip to Kauai. The hubby and I totally splurged on food and massages on this trip and I felt that it was well worth it. The highlights of the trip for me are still some of the “free” things. Here they are:

1. The Wildlife - We saw quite a few Hawaiian monk seals! One day we saw four different ones. They are so cute and they were just sleeping on the public beaches. They are supposed to be the one of the most endangered species in the world since there are only about 1400 or 1500 of them left. It is a felony in Hawaii to approach these seals and they can bite even though they’re so cuddly looking, but we were only about 10 to 20 feet away since they couldn’t close down the entire beach. Here are some pictures of these lovable creatures:

Another endangered species we saw was the Hawaiian green sea turtle. It wasn’t as cute as the monk seals, but it was still pretty interesting and just lying on the beach.

And finally, another wild animal that runs rampant on Kauai is the chicken. The story is that during hurricane Iniki in 1992 all the chicken coops on Kauai got blown open, and now after 15 years there are flocks of these birds all over the island. The roosters crow at all hours of the day and sometimes they fight:

2. Free Attractions – Most attractions on Kauai are admission free if you are willing to drive there yourself. Very close to our hotel are two attractions — The Spouting Horn, and the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. The Spouting Horn is a natural lava tube that spurts out columns of sea water as the waves push through it. It also makes a very loud moaning noise as the water comes up so the Hawaiian legend states that there is a giant lizard stuck in the tube yelling for help.

The Botanical Gardens is basically across the street from the Spouting Horn Park, and it has ten acres of flora and plant collections that visitors can walk through daily for free. The hubby took some gorgeous photos here, but was savagely attacked by bugs and now has bites all over his legs. I was also bitten multiple times. Here are some photos the hubby suffered for:

Other awesome free attractions include Waimea Canyon, Hanapepe the home of Lilo and Stitch, the Hanalei Valley, and ofcourse the miles and miles of white sand beaches on the island. We spent the entire first day there just driving along the main highway on the island and visited all the little towns along the way and that was pretty fun.

3. The Hotel Toiletries and Complimentary Teabags — These aren’t exactly free since we paid to stay at the hotel. However, I learned from my mother how to get the most out of the complimentary items. Basically, she would take all of the shampoo,soaps, and lotions that are free and put it in the suitcase. The next day the hotel staff would replace it. So often my mom would end up with a whole bag full of just hotel toiletries. Then she would give them as gifts to family and friends in China, who really love American branded things. So amidst the ridicule of the hubby, I took the shampoos and teabags and put them in my suitcase. I regret that I didn’t do this everyday since I forgot to gather up everything a couple days when we left quite early for our adventures. The hotel had some really nice eucalyptus scented shampoo.

One thing we did to save some money on the island is to go to the local Kmart and buy drinks and snacks. The six packs of Hawaiian Suns we bought at the Kmart lasted us for the entire trip and cost a little less than 2 bottles of water at the hotel. There was also a coupon in a tourist pamphlet for a free box of chocolate covered Macadamia nuts at the Kmart so we got that. So betwixt all that splurging, a little bit of frugality shined through.

So now I’m back in San Mateo, and the colors seem a little more muted, but this is home I suppose, and I am so glad that all wedding related expenses are done with.

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