last year, one of my supervisors sent an email to our team offering up her condo in kauai as a way to offer some self-care to all the clinicians. instead of paying thousands of dollars for a week in paradise, we would simply pay the cleaning fee for the week. i was flabbergasted and knew i needed to take action immediately. i thought about who could best benefit from a week away and knew i needed to invite my twin, anj. we invited two of our girlfriends but as the youth say, life was lifin’ – they had to cancel. anj and i didn’t let that stop us from having a beautiful week in paradise with her son, enzo. getting to hawaii was far from easy for me with multiple delays and plane issues that required trekking through the airport to a new terminal all together before takeoff but once i landed, reunited with anj and enzo and saw that this was my backyard for the week, any travel exhaustion no longer mattered.

there is something extra magical about seeing a beautiful place through the eyes of a child. enzo is more knowledgeable about flowers and wildlife than almost anyone i know. even just the simplest walk to the pool would morph into a special moment for me.

we were fortunate to have a lengthy list of recommendations as multiple friends of ours have family in kauai and frequent the island. a beach that was a must was po’ipu. we made sure to stop at puka dogs to enjoy their unique hot dogs and fresh lemonade on the beach.

to say we were fortunate to have hanalei beach be in such close proximity to the condo is an understatement. that is where we spent the next few days.

outside of our time spent at the beach, we certainly had some favorite spots for a quick and fresh bite. hanalei poke was to die for. i also still dream about the shaved ice from wishing well. the flavor options are next level and the fact that there are organic options versus processed syrups is a game changer.

when we wanted a more upscale dinner, we traveled across the island to beach house restaurant. i’d highly suggest it and a reservation can be made on open table. tap on the link to read the full blog post about our dining experience. it was the one day we took the time to get dressed in something outside of swimwear.

there was something incredibly special about getting a tattoo to honor my grammy while there with one of my best friends who not only loved her (and was loved by her) dearly but walked alongside me through every stage of grieving her. i truly cannot thank twin enough for that. the libra club was the best tattoo shop i have ever stepped inside of. i immediately felt not just safe but comfortable. it felt like i was sitting in the living room one of my girlfriends. i am so grateful to hilly for recommending it.

for our final night on the island, we had dessert before dinner at jojo’s shaved ice (because wishing well was closed) before heading to the terrace restaurant and bar for dinner. enzo got to try shaved ice for the first time and i thoroughly enjoyed my calamari and poke nachos from the terrace.

while leaving the island proved to be chaotic (both because of sadness and because my preordered lyft/uber cancelled and the next ones i requested continued to cancel on me), i would go back in a heartbeat. kauai officially has a piece of my heart.

if you have an opportunity to travel with one of your best friends, the answer is yes. happy birthday, twin. i would go anywhere with you.

xoxo,

k. tap