Oh, to be a kid again! This is one of the best playgrounds I have ever been to. It's even fun for adults! It's a huge multi-level maze-like bridge structure...with two slides.  Kids love to play hide and seek here. Adults can get plenty of exercise climbing the gazillion stairs or relax and gaze out at the ocean. An endearing feature is the adorable handmade Hawaiian creatures and flora depicted in concrete.  Walk through the maze to discover them all!

The Kamalani Bridge Playground is on the south end of Lydgate Beach Park in Wailua. There is an additional playground on the north end of the park nearly as fun. You gotta check out both! Lydgate Beach Park is about 2 miles south of the condo.

Just a few minutes walk from the condo is a great Farmers Market. It's held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 12 pm at the Coconut Marketplace. I love Farmers' Markets! They offer a wonderful variety of fresh island produce.  Plus, they can save you a lot of money over grocery store prices. At this particular farmer's market you can also buy fresh flowers , baked goods, honey, beautiful leis and coffee.  We purchased mangoes, papayas, a pineapple, green beans, lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, star fruit, basil, green onions, avocados, and bananas. You have to try Kauai bananas! They're fresh and have a creamy sweet flavor.  They are so much better than the bananas that have flown from 3,000 miles away to get to the grocery stores back on the mainland! 

Black Friday sales are now starting earlier and earlier (Thursday even!), I thought I better get this post out quick! Here are  some fun holiday shopping options for you!

• Spam Musubi Pillow- How cool is that?! These pillows are handmade by Hawaii Girls Scouts.  Not only could you have this fun pillow, but you'd also be supporting a great organization!  http://shop.girlscouts-hawaii.org/store/product/1817/Spam-Musubi-Pillow-Large/
  
• Kauai Kookies- We LOVE Kauai Kookies! Baked on Kauai--they're delicious! We actually leave extra space in our luggage just to bring home plenty of these! Our favorites are the Chocolate Chip Macadamia  Cookies and Guava Macadamia Cookies (they're pink!) http://www.kauaikookie.com/
• Coconut Cards- Why send a letter when you could send a ...Coconut? How awesome would it be to send a Christmas Coconut?! Personalized coconuts grown/made on Kauai! http://coconutmessages.com/
• We support Kauai Made businesses, for over 100 more made in Kauai products please check out : http://kauaimade.net/

Aloha! Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoying the ocean is one of the best parts about a Kauai vacation.  What can make that vacation even better is having a great beach close! From the condo, take the paved path through the meadow. Just 200 yards away is a beautiful beach!

No need to drive. Grab the beach chairs, pack a picnic and spend a relaxing day at this golden sand beach!

This was our complimentary meal flying back to the mainland on Hawaiian Airlines. Yes, that's real food--in coach! The island style meal included: Teriyaki Chicken; carrots and broccoli over rice; a green salad with balsamic dressing; and for dessert, mango cake.  The  glass to the right side of the photo is filled with Cabernet  wine-- also complimentary!  The chicken was tender. The rice was fluffy.  The broccoli was slightly overcooked, but I still ate my veggies.  The salad was fresh and crunchy. The mango cake was moist and lightly sweet.  All surprisingly tasty. 

Hawaiian Air is the last domestic airline to offer free meals in coach.  One more reason to love Hawaiian Airlines!

Aloha! 
Let me first start by saying, "mahalo plenty" (thank you very much) for visiting CoconutCoastCondo.com. It is my intention to share and spread the Hawaiian spirit of ALOHA to all that visit this site.

The story began years back. . .  My husband and I, along with our kids have enjoyed spending our vacations on Kauai . The east side of the island; the Coconut Coast is our favorite area. Hundreds of coconut palms, beautiful beaches  and it's central location can't be beat! We've always dreamed of owning a little part of this paradise. Almost a year ago, we had the opportunity to  do just that:  now we have our own  "little grass shack". Our condo was left bare, but clean by it's previous owner.  It was the perfect beginning! We were excited at the  thought of renovating it, but it was scary too. I teased that we were "cocoNUTS" to even think about trying to do all that work in such short a time! We did it  in 7 days and it became the Coconut Coast Condo.

In the Coconut Diaries I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences with you:

• The condo and the renovations.
  
• Island news, events and activities.
  
• ALL the best beaches.
• Inexpensive travel tips.
  
• Local eats and fine dining too.
  
• All the fun you can have on Kauai!
  

As always, I appreciate your comments and your questions...thanks for reading!

Aloha!

PS .This was posted on Veteran's Day. Thank you to all veterans for your service to our country!