Honeymoon - Day 8, 9, & 10

Day #8 – Monday – October 27th - Final Destination!

It was time to leave Maui and go to Oahu. We really didn’t know what to expect in Honolulu. We knew that it would be busier, but I think we were in a little bit of a shock of how much busier it actually was. It is pretty much different as night and day from Kauai. But the main reason we were there was to see Pearl Harbor. So we got off the plane and found a shuttle to take us to our hotel because we decided not to waste the money on renting a car for the 2 days we were going to be Oahu.

So once we got to our hotel… we walked over to Waikiki Beach. And let me just tell you… I don’t know if it’s because we had the amazing beaches and sand in Kauai & Maui or what, but the sand/beach at Waikiki was just NOTHING compared to that. It wasn’t even inviting to us. The sand was course and it was SWARMING with people. So since it really wasn’t screaming our name, we just walked along the sidewalk and then found a place to eat. And since Diamond Head was closed (we found that out from our bus driver from the airport)… we decided to EAT!!!! So we found a great place that had MANY, and I mean, a HUGE WRAP AROUND ISLAND of so many different kinds of beer on TAP! It was pretty cool! But we had great food there!!!!! Then it was back to our hotel to rest!

(Wakiki Beach) (sp?)

Day #9 – Tuesday – October 28th – A Day of History

Well, it was the big PEARL HARBOR day. We heard from SO many people to get there early so you don’t have to wait! So we scheduled ourselves the EARLIEST bus shuttle over there as we could (which put us there 45 minutes before it even opened!!). Well, much to our surprise, we WERE the FIRST people in line! Haha… but not much after we got there did the line fill in and wrap around to the end of the street! So we were thankful that we got their early and didn’t have to wait to get into the 1st group! =)

Now as much as I’d love to write you ALLLL that we did with Pearl Harbor and all the other history stuff that we did that day…. It’s going to take WAY to long to write it all. So I’ll just write the highlights.
Pearl Harbor (USS Arizona Memorial & Museum)
Bowfin Submarine
USS Missouri Battleship
Pacific Aviation Museum

Then because it was our LAST NIGHT in Hawaii, Matt was sweet enough to take me out a nice/fancier dinner date! We found this little Italian restaurant that had wonderful pasta and a great atmosphere! It was a great last night out before we had to go home.

Day #10 – Wednesday – October 29th – Ready, but not Ready

Well, we were able to sleep in and enjoy our last morning in Hawaii. Even though it wasn’t the same as listening to the waves crash on the rocks, it was still Hawaii. We even had some time even after checkout, so there was one more historical army museum that Matt thought could fill in some time. So we just browsed around there and then caught our bus shuttle over to the airport. As much as we wanted to go home, we didn’t want to either. It was back to reality when we got home. Work, unpacking, house stuff. But after an 8 hr. straight to Chicago, we were back home and ready to start our NORMAL LIFE (not Hawaiian fantasy!) together!!
Hawaii was beautiful and I recommend it to EVERYONE!!!!

A couple more photos from the Honeymoon

Honeymoon - Day 4, 5, 6, 7

Day #4 - Thursday – October 23rd - Another Travel Day

Finally STARTING to get used to the time change, we were able to sleep in a little more than we have been… so we layed around and relaxed in the morning, finished packing up our stuff to go to MAUI! Oh… and FORREST GUMP was on TV, so Matt had to watch that! =)

We got to the airport and got all checked-in a little earlier than we thought…and then to come find out that ANOTHER ONE OF OUR FLIGHTS has been delayed. So instead of having a couple of hours to do stuff when get got to Maui… we got there an hour later when the sun was setting.
Checked out the hotel, which included a waterfall in the middle of the lobby, flamingos, parrots all “wild” in the pond/water! A lot more busy than Kauai, but still a great place to stay…. Well, besides the fact that we had to have 2 double beds because they were all out of KING beds! =)

(our little hopper plane to go to Maui)

Day #5 - Friday – October 24th - Taking it easy!

Today was a day we just layed around on the beach and by the pool for practically the WHOLE ENTIRE DAY!!! It was GREAT! We were on the Kanapanali Coast (sp? Sorry, I’m not right by anything from our honeymoon, so I can’t look up the spelling right now!) Which that coast is where most of the hotels are and so because of that, a lot more people on the beach. But it wasn’t bad. We saw some dolphins swimming behind a boat while we were in the ocean just lounging around on our inner tubes that matt went and got us!!!! The pool at this hotel was great! 3-4 different ones with a “ride/slide” thing that if you got enough momentum, it could practically flip you over (matt did pretty good at getting enough speed to just flip as he was going into the water!) Plus the pools had waterfalls and one little cave with a pool! It was very cool!
Then it was time to go out for the night to a luau. My bridesmaids/girls bought matt and I tickets to the most famous luau in Maui…. The Lahania (sp?) Luau! It was great! We had free drinks, good food, and we got to watch the Hawaiians dance like I only wish I could dance!! (even ½ as good would be MUCH of an improvement!) But the dancing part actually told a story of I believe the history of the Hawaiians and how dancing effected it…. (or at least that’s what I got from it, I may be wrong about that!) But we had great company at our table. We sat with a family that the daughter had just gotten married the night before on the coast just about 45 minutes away or so!

(taking the pig out of the "slow cooker")

(waiting for the dinner buffet to start)

(Mai Tai's anyone? I like 'em, that's for sure!)

(dancers)

Day #6 – Saturday – October 25th - Taking the road to nowhere!

Today was a big day. A LONG DAY! But a fun and adventurous day!
We had heard about the Road to Hana, but you never realize how beautiful the drive to Hana really is until you do it! Every turn, bridge you cross you look over and see waterfalls and beautiful coastline photo opts! We saw so much stuff it’s had to write it all here on the blog but some highlights are bamboo “forest”, a black sand beach, caves, little fresh water pools, and so much more that I can’t begin to describe! But with renting a car, when you sign the contract, technically you say that you won’t drive the car on any unpaved roads, etc… but there is a continuation of the road past Hana. ½ of it is a little unpaved, but you get a totally different view rather than going down the way that you came! So…. Matt and I decided to be rebels and take that extra road around the rest of that ½ of the island. It was beautiful, bumpy and we really enjoyed it! Good thing that they just re-opened the road just a little bit before we got there!
And that pretty much lastest the whole entire day!

(starting off on the Road to Hana)

(coastline on the way to Hana)

(waterfall on the way to Hana)

(a cave that was part of the Black Sand Beach)

(waterfall at the Oleo Pools - "Seven Sacred Pools")

(Oleo Pools - 22+ little pools that were fresh water)

(illegal but fun & adventurous)

Day #7 – Sunday – October 26th - Soaking up the sun!

Another relaxing day. We want to make sure that we sit and relax too… so we wanted to take another day to just soak up the sun and relax before we head to Oahu tomorrow.
We went down to another hotel to snorkel and we some more fish and 3 sea turtles! That was pretty cool!

Honeymoon - Day 2 & 3

Day #2 - Tuesday – October 21st - Eye Opening Day

Bummed around in the morning... then on the way to our helicopter ride, we stopped at Wailua Falls. There we talked to a local that makes jewelry out of different types of fruit seeds... he even gave us one to try (as long as we gave him the seed inside!) We don't quite remember the name of the fruit (something that started with an L - it tasted like a grape, very tasty!)

Then it was off to Lihue to the place where we booked out helicopter ride. Pulling into that place, you would never imagine that this company makes probably thousands upon thousands of dollars a DAY giving helicopter tours. It was a run-down "shack" looking place with rusted old trucks just sitting in the parking lot not being used. But this is an instance were you don't judge a book by it's cover (or a business by it's office!).... We first got our safety instructions and then we proceeded to load up into a van with 4 other couples and went to the airport. Once we got there we saw our helicopter!!! Now when I booked out flight, I KNEW that I wanted to get the Hughes 500 helicopter (an OPEN-DOOR helicopter with just 3 seats in the front and two in the back!) They figure by weight who sits where and thankfully, Matt and I got to sit next to each other in the back (where there was more room than in the front!) The tour took us over the whole island of Kauai.... there were so many different trees, so many different types of landscapes, it was just breathtaking. Most of it all has not been touch by man… so to know that God’s handiwork and creative hand had made this beautiful island really hit me when were up there. We saw the Waimea Canyon, the Napali (sp?) coastline (which is an area where you aren’t able to get to by land, but only see it by boat or helicopter! It has the bluest water and perfect beaches I have ever seen. ) and we also saw some waterfalls (ok, a LOT OF WATERFALLS!). There are so many different trees... different landscapes that make up this beautiful island.

After that wonderful helicopter experience we drove up part of the East Coast seeing the Opaekaa Falls and TRIED to find the Fern Grotto, but what we found was closed and obviously didn’t do our research on that before we went to try to find it… =(.

Day #3 - Wednesday – October 22nd - Romantic, Fun Loving Day

We took a very easy day.... we started out the day early with sitting on the beach watching the sunrise and then going to the wonderful breakfast buffet that our hotel offers. It was a very romantic start to a wonderful day!!! The weather was just gorgeous at that time and just got better throughout the day. Soon after we found a spot to relax for the day, a MONK SEAL decided to rest on our beach. And because they can be dangerous, they had to rope off part of the beach so no one would get in it’s way. Plus, then we heard that just down the road at another beach had a dying Orca Whale beached there with sharks starting to feed on it…. so that was kind of exciting news at our resort!!! To continue the fun of the day so far, we rented boogie boards and snorkel gear. We had fun with the waves and looking for some fish by our hotel, but then in the afternoon we went to Kalaheo to snorkel for a little bit of a variety of fish.

In the middle of all of the fun of snorkeling and boogie boarding, we layed out and of course got a little toasty... matt a "LITTLE" bit more than me!!!! Since I had a good base already from “fake baking”… I just got a little red!!!!

After relaxing for little bit, we thought we do a little more sightseeing… so we drove to Waimea Canyon, took the 11 mile drive up to the lookout point. To give you an idea of what it’s like….. it’s called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Now, I’ve been to the Grand Canyon in AZ, I know it's been awhile since I've been there, but from what I remember, this is like it, but a whole different color scheme. The Grand Canyon is more reds/oranges/brown, but the Waimea Canyon is luscious with trees and many different kinds of them too!

Honeymoon - Travel Day & Day 1

Sunday – Oct. 19th - Travel Day

All of our flights and transfers went very well, just a little slight delay on the flight from LA to Kauai. I think both Matt and I were very thankful for the layover, to actually get off a plane… it just gives you us little break from sitting on a plane, being crunched in between seats! But when we were in the LA airport, we had our first CELEBRITY sighting..... DR. DREW... I know it's not that extra special of a person, but it was cool that we saw him... we even thought for a second that he could have been on our flight, but I don't think he ended up being. We arrived in Kauai and as soon as we got our luggage and we were on the way to the rental car place, it started raining….. but like they saw, it stopped just a little bit later!!!! But once we were at the rental car place… we saw a white mustang and thought “wouldn’t that be cool if we got that car? Well, what a great surprise, we got that white MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE!! (too bad we couldn’t put the top down right away because of the rain!) But anyways… we took that to our hotel and checked in... I couldn’t believe the view we have, we see a good chunk of the coast and am hardly interrupted by the busyness of the resort!!!! We could here the waves crashing on the ocean, loud, but soothing! But after checking out our room and view, we were hungry, so we had a little supper at the restaurant here at the hotel. And of course, I’m in Hawaii, so the first drink I had was a Mai Tai and Matt tried some Hawaii beer!

(matt doing what he does best... j/k)

(our view coming into Kauai)

(we got "LEI-ed")

Day # 1 - Monday - October 20th - Getting Acquainted

We woke up to hearing the waves crashing on the shore, but it was a little foggy and little bit rainy…. Ibut we decided to go to the Spouting Horn (which is blowhole) and then we decided to go get a couple of things from the store and just see what we could find, and ate at SUBWAY! Mmmm… I think I was going through withdrawals! =) Hahah…

The rain started to clear up so we decided to get on our bathing suits and head up to the beach! Which, the beach is part of the resort! We don’t have to drive to it, it is our resorts beach. So, we first went in the ocean and layed out a little bit and then checked out the pool and slide that it had! =) (Matt enjoyed the slide I think!) Then we heard that our resort puts on a Mai Tai reception for an hour a couple nights a week, so we went there for free Mai Tai’s and some Hawaiian music and dancers. We learned not to really ask the concierge for restaurant advice (or at least not in this area…. A little more ritzy of an area I think), but she recommended to go to dinner at Roy's, just a little walk from the hotel. Well, it ended up being an overexpensive "fancy-shamanzy" restaurant that really only had fish and steak on the menu…. but oh well. Then were given a bottle of free champagne from the hotel.... as a gift for our honeymoon…

(the Spouting Horn)