Day 1 -- Arriving in Lihu'e

Our journey to Kaua'i started out in the first class cabin.  Now that we know what happens on the other side of that little curtain,  flying coach will feel more like a cattle herd than ever.  I think we ate more on the flights than we did when we were actually on Kaua'i!

We hopped from Orange County to San Francisco and then on to the Garden Island, arriving at the airport in Lihu'e right about sunset at 7:30 p.m.  We picked up our red Jeep Wrangler and headed off to find our rental house.  This is when the one quasi-"Nate and Jen on The Amazing Race" moment occurred, as we tried to navigate in the dark without the benefit of a maplight.  Mike did a great job of not driving himself and Kristy into a ditch, and we eventually climbed the stairs to the studio to be greeted by our hostess and neighbor, Jude. 

The studio was the perfect getaway -- our own cozy place to retreat to after the adventures of the day...

Our "driveway":

Our lanai (open-air porch):

And our view east to the water...