24 years of life!

It was my Birthday on June 3rd and I turned 24 years old! Looking back on the past 24 years of my life I feel like I have really lived to my fullest and have done so many incredible things. So cheers to the life I still have ahead of me. 

Gavin and I both had to work on my Birthday so we celebrated the day before! We drove up to Waimea Canyon to Sugi grove to find a waterfall with a 70ft cliff jump! Sugi grove might be one of my favorite places on Kauai. It's off a dirt road in Waimea canyon and can only be reached by 4-wheel drive. We blasted our country tunes the whole way up! 

We then hiked to this waterfall I'm not sure it has a name. We just are calling it Sugi falls! There was another group at the falls who were definitely some party people and pressed on with doing the most unusual things that I don't even want to write about it. It didn't seem to bother them at all that others were trying to enjoy the waterfall. They had a dog I heard them calling Basil who would run up the rocks and into the trees until one of them yelled Basil come back super loud. This happened over and over again. 

You can't swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls unless you jump off the mountain just because that's the only way to get down there. I was too chicken to jump that high but Gavin didn't even hesitate. He just jumped off the rock like it was nothing. I was freaking out while he was jumping because I thought he was going to hit a rock or something as he was falling. 

A guy from the other group was with Gavin at the bottom of Sugi falls. I heard him say "you only go to Sugi once a year" as he star fished off a rock into the water. He was loving life. The girls he was with sat on some rocks at the top the whole time taking a million pictures of each other. I heard one of them saying "OMG your butt looks so good in this one". They didn't seem to care about the falls or the beautiful trees around them. 

Once Gavin was done we headed back home so we could get ready for a dinner reservation at Rum Fire. The general manager of the hotel wanted to treat Gavin and me to a fine dining experience at the Sheraton. We got all dressed up beforehand! I wore a red dress Gavin bought me while were engaged. 

Our Rum Fire experience was wonderful. We had a booth with an ocean view where a wedding social was happening as the sun set on the horizon. I don't think I have ever been to a restaurant where the waiter describes the food on the menu and how it is prepared. I had to have Gavin translate it for me. We each got an appetizer. I got some fried Brussel sprouts and he got Poke Flatbread. I honestly could have gone for another serving of Brussel sprouts they were yummy! For our main dish, I got  Misoyaki Butterfish and the Hawaiian fresh fish of the day which was Ono. And Gavin got Filet Mignon. We were loving every bite. It was gone too fast. But the meal didn't stop there because after the hostess brought us a cheesecake and a flourless chocolate Tort with Lilikoi ice cream. It was all amazing. I don't like cheesecake so it worked out great that Gavin was so willing to eat the cheesecake for me. 

My actual birthday was the next morning and before both of us headed to work, we went on a run because that is my favorite thing to do. Then we made German pancakes and opened some gifts while I face timed my family for a little bit before I left. 

When I got back from work Gavin had the whole house decorated with balloons and streamers and he made a funfetti cake. I'm seriously obsessed with this cake. Gavin made it last year for my birthday and it was gobbled down so fast. I think it might be one of my favorite boxed cakes.

When Gavin got home later that night he sang Happy Birthday to me all by himself. I was laughing my head off because I have never had just one person sing to me. After we munched on the cake and watched a show. It was a wonderful birthday! Cheers to 24!  

Nii'hau

 Niihau is a forbidden Island southwest of Kauai. It's known as the forbidden Island because nobody is allowed to set foot on the Island unless you are invited. The Island is owned by a family known as the Robinsons. They don't really invite anyone even if you marry someone who lives on the island. The people who live on the island live a very interesting life. Once they are high school-aged I believe they are given a choice to leave the island and go to Kauai or stay on Niihau. I've heard most of them choose to leave and if they do they aren't really welcome back. I also have heard that there are between 70-150 people total there. I am sure they have a rich culture, and Niihau is believed to be the second oldest Island after Kauai. 

Well, my work decided to treat all the employees to a free trip to Niihau before the crazy summer of tours begins. I was super excited because I have heard that the water is incredible over there because it's so clean. I have also heard that it's almost guaranteed that you will see sharks there! I was super excited but a little sad that Gavin couldn't come with me. He loves boats, and the ocean and we want to see all the Islands together. But it just wasn't going to work out this time with our schedules. 

Since my company has a zodiac we got over there in a couple of hours. Along the way, we saw spinner dolphins! 

Right, when we got to Niiahu we saw something flop above the service of the water. We looked over and there were a couple of manta rays in the water! We quickly jumped in and followed these beautiful creatures in the water. They were so big and so elegant. I haven't ever seen anything like that before. One of the captains called them the dancing mantas. I was so busy looking at the Manta Rays I didn't even notice the grey shark that was at the bottom of the ocean. The first shark I've seen, I couldn't believe it! 

We went to two other spots to snorkel. One of them had tons of Hawaiian monk seals and sharks! One of the sharks got a little feisty while we were in the water. Pappa Logan dropped his snorkel and it started sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I yelled to Logan that his snorkel had fallen. Christina heard me and dove down to catch it. Right, when she dove down the shark swam up with its mouth open wide to bite the snorkel. I was watching thinking that Christina was getting awfully close to the hungry shark. When the shark saw Christina's hand and backed down. But not super low. After that, the shark kinda just swam around us for a while. It was a bit freaky but also super awesome to see a shark in action. 

There were some fun caves that people were diving through. I'm not super good at holding my breath or equalizing my ears so I couldn't do it but I had a fun time trying to look for shells with Megan. These pictures were taken by one of the Captains Tara. I had my go pro with me but unfortunately, it never saved my footage. 

Niihau was beautiful in every way. The island looked very dry and I could tell they don't get a log of rain over there. There is also a small island off of Niihau called Lehua. We zipped around it and saw what they call the keyhole. As you can see the water is so clear and so blue. 

When I got back home Gavin was such a good sport and was asking all about it. He was super bummed he wasn't able to go and so was I. 

But then at work the next week Rob one of the captains said he was going and invited Gavin and me to go with him! Gavin was able to get work with them My work wasn't so kind and didn't let me have the day off. But Gavin was able to go and hang out with Christian one of the boys I work with. They became besties really quick. My friend Megan took this photo of them on the boat. They kind look the same from the back. 

So I am going to do my best to write about what Gavin told me about his trips to Niihau. 

Rob wanted to leave really early because he wanted to fish the whole way out there. So at 2:10 am Gavin and Christian drove to the doc. They said the stars were incredible and they could see the Milky Way! I guess Gavin stayed up for a while talking with Rob and helping him fish. While the others passed out on the beds on the boat. 

Just as the sun came up they made it to Niihau! I got a text from Gavin saying "Mal I think I'm almost there" I looked at his location because I was surprised he had service and sure enough I saw he made it! 

Most of the people on the boat we're going to dive so Gavin and Christian just snorkeled up top. Gavin brought his speer gun and I guess he speared this huge Parrott fish but somehow it slipped off the line. And I guess because of all the things they were spearing there was some blood so the sharks were getting super close to them. At one point Christian had the speer pointed right at the shark in case he was going to attack. 

Gavin also said that everyone drank so much beer. Sean was so drunk Gavin said he almost went overboard. 

Gavin said that it was a party boat and he was glad that Christian was with him so he could hang out with a non-drunk person. Crossing our fingers we can go again in the future!