Aloha Readers!

What more beautiful place to have a picnic than the beach? Food tastes better there!

My family always gets hungry after spending a few hours playing in the surf. We'v enjoyed plenty of meals and snacks on the beach in Kauai. Sometimes it's simple, other times I pack a full lunch. 

Here's what I packed for us this past weekend.  It started with a loaf of french bread from Safeway. I sliced it down the center then added sharp white cheddar and ham. You can put whatever you'd like on it. All veggie with cucumber and cream cheese is yummy! I then cut the sandwich to fit my container.  Along with the sandwich I packed mango, grapes and pineapple. Fruit is great for the beach. Try freezing it for an hour or so before you leave (it'll keep everything cool).

For a simple snack, I often pack nuts, fruit, tortilla roll-up sandwiches, chips, edamame, cut vegetables...pretty much anything goes! You're on Kauai and everything tastes better at the beach!

Thanks for reading my diary!

Here's an old photo of a photo of my son sitting on our suit case. We've had a lot of fun trips with our yellow Samsonite! It NEVER gets lost or mistakenly taken. And nearly ALWAYS gets inspected by the TSA! Perfect.

We traveled as a family of four with just one suit case. My husband was trying his best to close it! This was our second trip to Kauai and I think we may have bought too many souvenirs :)

The TSA  baggage inspection notices we collect....

We still use our big yellow Samsonite suitcase but, have added another smaller one as our family has grown.  So, we travel light ...

I found a "Hawaii Packing List" recently and thought you might be able to use it. The list is perfect except i would add 2 more bathing suits, a t-shirt and one pair of slippahs. 

Wishing you a fabulous vacation on Kauai!

Planning and packing is part of the fun!

My husband did get that suitcase closed. He's awesome!

Aloha!

JUAloha Readers!

I have some great news for you! This week it was announced that the old Coco Palms Resort is in escrow and is scheduled to be rebuilt. The best part of this news is that they plan to rebuild the historic hotel as it once was! Wouldn't that be cool?

The old resort was destroyed back in 1992 when hurricane Iniki hit Kauai. The Coco Palms has become more of an eye sore as the years have gone by. It's literally rotting away and falling down. But, it was once a beauty! Have you seen the Elvis movie, Blue Hawaii? Many of the  Blue Hawaii footage was filmed at the hotel, including the famous wedding scene; where Elvis sang the beautiful, "Hawaiian Wedding Day" song to his beloved while floating down a picturesque water way .

The Garden Island, Kauai's local newspaper writes:

WAILUA — The iconic Coco Palms Resort in Wailua received a new breath of life. An Oahu-based group of investors announced Thursday the property is in escrow, and they have already secured demolition permits.

“This is so exciting,” singer-songwriter Larry Rivera screamed as he walked onto the property, both hands in the air throwing shakas. He started his career at Coco Palms in 1951, and worked there until the hotel shut down following Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

“If everything goes well, we’ll start construction in the first or second quarter of next year,” said Chad Waters, one of the members of the newly-formed Coco Palms Hui LLC.

Waters and Tyler Green represent a group of local investors who want to rebuild the property as a “2014 version of the original Coco Palms.”

Léo Azambuja - The Garden Island

I have my fingers crossed that all of this goes through as planned. I think it would be wonderful for Kauai to have the resort back. I'm not trying to encourage my guests to stay somewhere else! Just excited that a historical Kauai hotel may be revived! With room rates likely to be over $200 per night, it attracts a different traveler. But, I think the Coco Palms will be a great place to enjoy a special dinner or drinks!

Aloha All!