Hanalei Bay Anniversary Session // Kauai, HI

Emily & Chris are from my home town, and good friends with my sister-in-law!!! Last year they moved from the rainy & gloomy state of Washington to the Garden Island of Kauai (insert all the heart eyes here!!!) It was so cool to see how happy & healthy they are with a laid back, tropical, vegan lifestyle in the most beautiful place. You can really tell how much they love living there and how much it has impacted their lives!

Not only were they so hospitable in letting me & my two friends crash on their couch for a couple nights, but they also showed us some of the coolest secret beaches and hidden local gems!!! I’ve never loved the super touristy/crowded areas when traveling, so it was amazing to have recommendations for places we would have never known about!!

For their EIGHT (yes, EIGHT!!! holy cow!!!) year anniversary of marriage, they showed us to a secret beach really close to their house & the walk there was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It legit felt like we were walking through a secret jungle, we had the whole place to ourselves!!! I was so mad at myself for not taking any photos on the walk down to the beach, because it was legit unreal. The sun was peaking through the tall big leafy green trees, with peaks of orange flowers popping out here & there.

We got down to the beach, and surprisingly the water was HOT in some places. Like actually HOT. I wish we would’ve had more time here to just relax and play in the water on another day!!! But we had the best time that night, and their pup Walter showed us just how much he loves Kauai (and sticks, hahah) too!!!

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