Kauai Babymoon

Cas qualified for the annual rewards trip with his company, and this year it was to Kauai.  Thankfully my pregnancy cooperated and I was able to join him.  On the Monday we flew back to Houston, I was 33 weeks pregnant and my doctors said no more plane rides.  My sweet husband let me upgrade my flight while he slummed it in coach!

We arrived two days early and got to explore the island on our own before we joined in the structured activities with his co-workers.  Here was our beautiful hotel -

On our first full day on the island, we started our morning with strawberry-macadamian nut pancakes and a crab omelet.  One of the best parts about going to Hawaii 7 months pregnant was not worrying about a big meal creating a stomach pooch!  Then we explored the North Shore beaches like this one:



Cas had a few work calls to manage and so I fielded work off my blackberry too.  The car rental place had stressed not leaving any valuables in cars, so we took all of our electronics to the beach with us.  And though we positioned ourselves far from where the waves were breaking, a rogue wave interrupted my nap and soaked my blackberry.  In jumping up to save our phones, running just a few steps on the beach, I threw my hips out of alignment and then limped for the next 3 days until the corrective moves I had learned in physical theraphy kicked in.  But it was hard for anyone to feel too sorry for me when I had to endure in such a beautiful setting!

 

The next day we visited Waimea valley, the Grand Canyon of Hawaii.  We opted out of hiking, but took photos from the overlooks -

Later that evening we went to the company opening reception at the hotel lagoon -  

Cas and I with some of his co-workers from Houston -

I enjoyed my virgin pina coladas and we were entertained by a hula and fire show -

One of the days, the company chartered catamarans to explore the coast.  I wasn't allowed to participate in my final trimester.  Ironically, Cas and I decided to visit a beach near our hotel on that day which involved a short drive on an unpaved road.  And I have a feeling our daughter was bounced around just as much on the drive as she would have been on the open seas.  The company catamarans were surrounded by whales, and they said they were so close they had to cut the engine and sit for over an hour, with everyone snapping hundreds of photos -

We got to see whales from the hotel breakfast terrace -

We spent the week relaxing.  I went to two water aerobic classes the hotel offered, but most of our hours were spent reading on the beach or pool, with a company-sponsored massage thrown into the mix.  The last night, they had a beautiful outdoor reception -

I posed with Cas' co-workers from New Orleans and Houston -

I'm so thankful we were able to take an incredible, kid-free vacation before we become a family of four!