Kauai, Hawaii

In March, Zeke and I spent our 'babymoon' if you will, in Hawaii and split our time between Kauai and O'ahu. Zeke lived in Hawaii years back on O'ahu and has been back numerous times since. For me, this was my first time to Hawaii, EVER. Shocking, I know. Every time I'd tell someone that I've never been to Hawaii they'd look at my like I was insane. Truth of the matter is, growing up in the south, our family never vacationed in Hawaii because it was too much travel time, so our go-to was always the coastline of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida (also since my grandparents lived there) and the Caribbean. Makes a little more sense, don't you think?

That being said, I'm such a southern coastal/floridan/caribbean girl. My mindset is always placed in the south and Caribbean, the way I decorate my home is very southern coastal with a lot of Caribbean flair. It's just in my DNA. I love the culture, lifestyle, and vibe.

Moving out west to Utah for school, all of my friends I made throughout the years were mostly from California, actually all of them were but just a few. Of course for them, they grew up vacationing in Hawaii and so all I hear are these amazing things about Hawaii and how I've just got to go one day. There is nothing like Hawaii. They raised the bar really high. And that's fine, because they grew up going there so Hawaii is in some ways a piece of them, like the Caribbean is a piece of me. So with that said, my expectations were extremely high.

First stop was Kauai, and yes it was beautiful and lush. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't ideal and for making a first impression, I tried really hard to not let my pregnancy hormones make me complain and become a brat. But it rained a ton, and the time we were able to be by the beach, it was very overcast and windy. So windy it was chilly enough to where Zeke and I were bundled up in our towels.

Luckily, we had one beautiful day of sunshine and we spent it touring waterfalls and the Na Pali Coast on a helicopter tour. That was pretty incredible. I couldn't even begin to comprehend it, nothing looked real to me, it was that beautiful. We ate a ton while in Kauai and just spent our time relaxing and reading our books and just lounging at the resort. Which I loved and Zeke needed. I was for sure having a great time, but deep down inside I was making a mental note that I just really loved the Caribbean and I couldn't help but compare the two. I knew that I needed to stop comparing but I'd find myself doing it constantly! How awful is that? I was in Hawaii for crying out loud! These thoughts were making me eager and excited to see what O'ahu would be like and maybe my mindset would change as well!