Jes and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary (11/5-11/9/17) in Kauai without the kids. My parents came up to watch them for the week and we were able to get some rest and just hang out together like we used to.

We booked our flight through United with miles and although it wasn’t Hawaiian, it got us there in once piece and we were able to upgrade to Economy Plus. I had some sparkling wine and watched TWO full-length movies!!! I watched the live action version of Beauty and the Beast and then Cars 3. It was so different sitting on a plane without having to get up out of my seat every 15 minutes.

Our first stop after picking up the rental car was Costco. We picked up a giant bottle of mai tai and I also found these honey furikake puffs that are so tasty. I wanted to pick up a few extra bottles of Koloa Rum but knew that we wouldn’t be able to carry them onto the plane.

We later checked in to Sheraton Kauai and then went to the beach bar for a drink and snack.  Ah…mai tai…

This trip also felt like a “run-cation”. I ran 3 days in a row and two of them were with Jes! So fun!

We were up early and I got this photo of the surf with the moon still awake.

Loved running along the water and this awesome side street with a gorgeous view of the mountains and fields.

One of the places we had to visit was Princeville. It’s now called the St. Regis Hotel but it’s where we stayed for our honeymoon.  We had brunch at the restaurant that has a gorgeous view of Hanalei Bay.

We also recreated a photo we took 15 years ago.

On one morning, we visited the Koloa Rum Tasting Room. It’s a free tasting and featured their dark rum, spiced rum, coconut rum, and coffee rum.

Their gift shop was chockful of cool stuff including these giant flasks!

We had some tasty food while we were there. One of our breakfasts was at Tip Top Motel and Cafe. The loco moco was delicious.

We also found Koloa Fish Market and picked up a plate lunch and some poke.

On our last night, we had a reservation with Kauai Ono, which is a catering chef that has one seating per night under a tent at Princeville Ranch. All the ingredients are local and the communal tables create a fun place to meet new people.

We sat across from a couple from San Rafael that was in Kauai to celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary. We had a fun conversation as the chef served us 5 courses.

We had seared beef heart over mashed breadfruit, a cucumber salad, seared marlin over a kale salad, brisket cooked with lemongrass and paired with Japanese purple sweet potato.

Dessert was a mochi churro with chocolate coconut dipping sauce. Tasty.

On our last day, we spent about 6 hours in a cabana that we rented for the day. It was right on the beach and had the perfect amount of shade and breeze to keep us comfy with easy access to the ocean and pool.

I read, took a nap, played in the ocean, and spent some quality time with the husband.

Oh and did I mention there was food and drink service?! We simply put up a flag and someone would come by to take our order. So nice.

The Sheraton had an awesome location with direct access to the beach and some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.

Our hotel room had a garden view but you could actually see the ocean from the lanai. Not bad for a discounted $189/night rate.

On the morning of our return flight, we went back to the beach one more time and found a monk seal napping on the beach too.

Our flight was delayed 2 hours but we had plenty of bar time at the airport to chill out. It was also much easier to tolerate the delay without the kids in town.

Luckily, we finally got on the plane and it was a 4.5-hour flight. We had a great time together in Kauai and 4  days away was a good amount of time for us to regroup, get some rest, and miss the kids.  Good times…