Where do you go to relax and unwind with your spouse when you only have 48 hours to do it? My wife and I chose to head to Kauai, to stay at the St. Regis Princeville. We were both very curious about the newly rebranded Princeville resort.

It got a lot of buzz for being the legendary brand’s first resort in Hawaii, and opened in October 2009 following a multi-million dollar renovation.

So it was planned: three days and two nights at St. Regis. Exciting! What was more exciting: it was my first trip alone with my wife in a year and a half. Our daughter is two.

THE RESORT
From Lihue, it took us about 45 minutes to reach the resort. Definitely budget in 20 minutes for traffic slowdown through Kapaa both coming and going.

Princeville is on the north shore of the island. "Built on historic grounds beside the emerald green Hanalei Valley and overlooking the awe-inspiring Napali Coast, The St. Regis Princeville Resort is surrounded by five majestic mountains, a patchwork of taro farms, a wildlife refuge, equestrian paths and hiking trails," sums up the press release.

As new guests, we were greeted with orchid lei at the port cochere, and after an efficient check in, led to our room. There are 252 rooms, and we were booked in one of the 51 rooms with an ocean view. The bellman gave us a quick orientation for the room.

Apparently, the hotel’s always been famous for its magic bathroom window. If you left it transparent, you could see through the room and clear out the window to the million-dollar view. If you flicked on the switch, it turned frosted white.

After we unpacked we decided to tour the grounds: the infinity swimming pool, the bar, the spa, the exercise room, the visiting vendor in the lobby. It's a beautiful and compact property, easy to navigate.

We decided to take a jog. We ran a two mile loop around the golf course. It's too bad we're not golfers, because "The St. Regis Princeville offers access to two premiere 18- hole golf courses, including the Prince and Makai designed by Robert Trent Jones, II. The championship Makai Course is also undergoing a major renovation to be completed in March 2010," according to the press kit.

The first night, we had dinner at a hot Hanalei tapas restaurant called Baracuda (pronounced Bar, like wine bar - a play on words). Good eats, but if your budget is tight, maybe go grab a burger first so you can let the flavors at Baracauda roll around on your taste buds.

On our second day, we spent the first half zipping and dipping in the jungles, with a tour company called Princeville Ranch Adventures. They also offer a kayaking tour, but we chose their most popular, called the Zip n' Dip.

"This tour offers the most zips on Kauai and the ultimate zip called King Kong! A combination of 9 exciting zip lines, a suspension bridge and an hour at a deep hidden swimming hole, where you’ll enjoy a picnic, swimming, jumping and floating on inner tubes. It’s the experience of a lifetime!" gushes the website description.

We met at 9 am, got a quick lesson in how to zipline, and got started. There really wasn't much to it- just run off the platform and trust that the cables will hold you.

The first one, named Manini, is only 25 feet above the ground. It's a good test to see if you can handle it. You're clipped to a half-inch galvanized aircraft cable that can support thousands of pounds, and just for safety sake, no riders can be more than 280 pounds anyway.

A few people - those afraid of heights - clung on to the lanyard for dear life at first, but by the end, it seemed everyone was literally hanging loose. The lines have fun names like Ironwood, Okole Hau, and Pau Hana, and the longest run (also the only double zipline), King Kong, was 660 feet.

Most of the rides lasted half a minute, at a speed of about 30 miles per hour. You could go faster if you balled yourself up to decrease wind resistance.

Near the end, we stopped for lunch by a pool, which we could also swim in, had the weather been warmer. The guides handle a couple tours a day, and the company ends up taking out about 75 people a day in the slow season. In the summer, that doubles.

The tour is four and a half hours, so I was expecting a massive hike. However, it's not really a hike, it's mostly spent waiting in line to zip. You therefore don't have to be intimidated by what sounds like the potential for a lot of exercise. You will be literally flying high, and likely, loving it.

http://adventureskauai.com/

THE NORTH SHORE
After the ziplining, we decided to drive to the end of the road, to Ke'e Beach. It's been years since we've been up here on a leisurely personal jaunt, so it was fun to revisit some sights.

There are two caves along the road that everyone stops to look at. One is Maniniholo Dry Cave, which goes back about 300 yards. Bring a flashlight if you remember, so you can better peer at the cave walls. It's just cool to be wandering around a cave.

The other one we visited is Waiakanaloa Wet Cave, at the end of the road just before Ke'e Beach.  This cave is filled with algae and too creepy to want to swim in (because you can't see the floor), even if there wasn't a no swimming sign due to leptospirosis. There are guppies in the shallow, and the water is cold. I've read that scuba divers explored it 100 yards in and reported no sign of life. Just stand there and enjoy the view.

NAP TIME
We then returned to the hotel to do... nothing! We took a nap and watched TV, which in and of itself felt like a real treat to do in the middle of the day.

The resort was kind enough to send a bottle of champagne and chocolates, so we obliged by drinking, eating chocolates, and enjoying the ocean view. 

We spend the second night’s dinner at the resort's signature restaurant, Kauai Grill, headed by the very young and very talented Chef Colin Hazama. He was up for a James Beard award, and it's an honor to just be nominated. So we knew the food had to be pretty spectacular.

Honestly, it's all superb. Here's a few of our favorites:

Roasted foie gras with carmelized mango and ginger 


Diane's entree: steamed lobster calamansi with jalapeno spetzle and vegetables


My entree: seared sirloin of Wagyu beef, ginger mushrooms, and soy caramel sauce


Fruit salad with white pepper ice cream 

On our last morning, as we drove back to Lihue, my wife and I reviewed the vacation. I deemed it the best vacation we’ve taken since Olivia was born. The Garden Isle is lovely and we always enjoy visiting, but the real luxury was the chance to stop and remember who we were before we were parents.

CELEBRITY SUITCASE: What won’t they travel without?

Roy Yamaguchi, chef and owner of Roy’s

Roy Yamaguchi owns 33 restaurants: 25 in the continental U.S., six in Hawaii, one in Japan and one in Guam. He is busy. He spends half the year on the road, visiting each restaurant, making sure he gets to know the staff, and checking on quality control. Some of those travel days are for celebrity events, like tournaments, cook offs, and fundraisers.

“When I travel, I have to bring my own goose down pillow. I’m particular about my pillow. I like it very flat. When folded, my pillow is about the size of your pocket camera,” he says, as he points to my Nikon Coolpix.

“I also like to bring my Blackberry, not for the apps or the games, but to stay in touch with my family, friends, and staff,” he continues.

What’s the third thing, I press. He thinks. “I guess another cell. Because I lose things a lot, so if I lose one, people can still find me,” Yamaguchi laughs.

Yamaguchi has had a busy year already: Israel, South Africa, Egypt, California, Guam, Arizona, Chicago. He’s so in demand, it doesn’t look like there will be any slowdown in the near future, either!