Hawaii

For our honeymoon we spent a lovely week in Hawaii. We went to the island of Oahu, so we could do things like go to Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center, but we stayed over on the west side in Ko Olina so we weren't with all the tourists over in the Honolulu/Waikiki area.

Saturday:

We arrived in Honolulu in the mid-afternoon and rented a red Ford Mustang convertible. It was fun to drive around the island with the top down. We got to our hotel, the J.W. Marriott Resort, about 4pm and explored the hotel a little bit and soaked in the hot tub for a few minutes that night. Our hotel had pools with sharks and sting rays. Our room had a lovely view out over the ocean! And one evening we watched a spectacular sunset from our balcony.

Sunday:

In the morning we walked the length of all 4 of the lagoons that are over in the resort area in Ko Olina. Then we went to a big outdoor flea market that they have at the football stadium. At this point the rain rolled in. We drove into Honolulu where we wandered around a big mall and then went and saw the X-Men movie, in an effort to stay dry. 

Monday:

We went to Pearl Harbor on Memorial Day. It was great to be there on that day and to learn more about what happened there. Then we drove back and forth through all 3 tunnels and finally made it over to the east side of the island, which is really beautiful. We had lunch over in Kaiula and then laid out on a beach south of there for a little while. We finished up the afternoon with a hike to the light house at Makapu'u Point. 

Tuesday:

We drove up to the North Shore. We spent a little time in Waimea Valley walking through the botanical gardens and going to the see the Waimea waterfall. It was really beautiful. Then we dropped in to see the temple before going to the PCC. It was a fun afternoon, the dinner was good, and the night show was really great. 

Wednesday:

We enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast at a place over looking the ocean. Then we went on a dolphin/snorkeling cruise. We saw spinner dolphins. They are smaller and when they jump in the air they spin around a bunch of times before they land in the water. Unfortunately I got sea sick and I wasn't even able to stay in the water snorkeling very long because even the bobbing when I was in the water was making me sick. That night we ate dinner at a place just across the street from our hotel called the Monkey Pod. Best meal of the whole trip.

Thursday:

We decided to take a day hanging out at the resort. We spent the morning walking along the beach and exploring some tide pools, hanging out on the beach, and we rented a kayak and paddled around in the lagoon for an hour. Then we hang out at the pool for a little bit before going to enjoy a late afternoon couples massage at the Spa. Then we had a lovely dinner at the fancy hotel restaurant.

Fri:

We visited the Dole Plantation and spent some time walking around the shops up at the North Shore. Then we headed back down to Honolulu to catch our 9 pm flight home.

We had a great time seeing the sights, relaxing and just being together.