Honeymoon TR - Day 8 - Chaos

Day 8 was a lazy day. We had the buffet breakfast at the KBH's Tiki Terrace around 8. We needed to be at Flying Hawaiian Zipline at 9:45. We drove down there. DW has never been ziplining and started watching flyin' Hawaiian YouTube videos and I could tell she was beginning to stress. So while sitting in the parking lot she decided she didn't want to do it and there's no shame in that. It's better than getting up there and deciding you can't do it, which I hear happens often. I didn't complain. She has been very adventurous throughout the trip but everyone has a limit. We decided we would do a shopping day at Whaler's Village instead. 

Devon and I's birthdays are two days (and two years) apart in August. I was born at the start of the greatest decade for music ever - 1980 & she was 82. But anyway, we decided that I'd buy her birthday present early in the form of some Ralph Lauren sunglasses that looked really good on her. 

Next we ate lunch at Leilani's. Eh...just eh...Devon's grilled cheese sandwich was great but my onion rings & Caesar salad weren't great. They've got the dipping sauce for the onion rings all wrong with that mustard thing they do. Ah well. 

After that we went in search of the Jet Skis! Devon says she'll do those with me to make up for Zipling & I'm excited about that. I finally got her to stop apologizing about it after we decided on the Jet Skis. I didn't realize how far down the Hyatt is (where the jet skis are at) so I made my first sunblock mistake of the trip. We walked down and asked about the pricing & decided we would do it the next day but by the time we got back my neck was burnt. Not terribly bad though. Then we napped. 

Next was the Old Lahaina Luau. We took a cab because I knew we would be drinking more than a couple. It was so much better, in my opinion, than the feast at LeLe which I went to last time. We sat on the ground and had front row seats. We each had a few Mai Tai's and the food was ok but the show was great. 

Toward the end they called for the people on honeymoons & anniversaries to come to the front for a dance! It was sooo cool. We counted it as the first dance that we didn't get to have after the wedding :) 

Afterward we went to Cool Cat's for beers. The guy playing the cover songs was great. He played 311 & Sublime which are a couple of my favorite bands. We took a silly singalong selfie 

And then took the cab home :) 

Honeymoon TR - day 7. West side!

Slept in a little Today. Headed back down the RTH around 8:30. We didn't stop for pictures on the way back so I made it in about 2 hours. The one stop we did make was at the halfway point for chips & a coffee.

Next we pulled off at the Ho'okipa lookout and watched the surfers for a few. I took a wrong turn in Kahului & DW spotted the mall so we stopped there. It's more of a big food court than a mall though. It was noon & I was starving, all I had eaten was a small bag of Maui chips but I figured I could hold out until Buzz's Wharf. I've always wanted to eat there. Well we get there and it's closed for whatever reason. Not sure if they're remodeling or what. There were people there but the inside looked like the didn't plan on being open anytime soon. So now I'm in near panic mode because I need food but luckily Devon had a bag of pretzels stashed in her bag! The pretzels saved the day. 

It wasn't time for check in so we parked at Whaler's Village & got lunch at the Hula Grill. The fish tacos were pretty good and DW's cheeseburger was so/so. Next we checked in at the Kaanapali beach hotel & the room they had us down for was two twin beds, but after the hotel desk clerk found out we were just married she upgraded us to a king in a partial ocean view room which was really nice of them. The view was great! 

 

Naps are becoming a daily ritual and today was no different. We napped for a good 2 hours. We didn't want to get up but we had to because it was almost time for our trilogy sunset sail! 

Check in was 4:45 and we were ready early so I had a couple beers & Devon had a couple screw drivers (yow!). 

The water was really rough so boarding was exciting. The food was good - veggie wraps, #chicken on a stick, BBQ pork sliders. I used the hashtag because when one of the guys working on the boat offered the chicken to this girl who was a senior in high school he said "these are good! You'll be talking about them on twitter like hashtag chicken on a stick!" We found it hilarious. 

Devon loved the boat. She says it's tied with the hike for her favorite activity. The crew was nice, the food was good, the sunset & my wife were both beautiful and life is good. :) 

Honeymoon Trip Report - day 6

Woke up in Hana after a great night's sleep listening to the waves crash in the bay. Got dressed and went to the store for some of that great chili & rice. Devon had a hotdog and says the hotdog is in her top 5 favorite things she's eaten on Maui (she's crazy...shhh).

 It rained all the way to Haleakala National Park and we were a little bummed but we decided to be adventurous and go anyway. Luckily the rain stopped just before we got there. It did rain on us a little during our Pipiwai trail hike but just enough to make it fun! We took lots of pictures and Devon says it's her favorite thing we've done so far. We were also the first people on the trail that day so we had it to ourselves on the way there. 

 I was a little upset to find they changed the end of the trail so you can't get as close as you used to. I was going to ignore the sign and go closer anyway but DW said not to & the water was running pretty hard and if I'd gotten hurt I would have never heard the end of it so we took pics from as close as we could and headed back. 

The original plan was to BBQ at the hotel that evening but the rain cancelled that so we cooked some personal Digiorno pizzas at the room and took a power nap. At 3pm we had our couple's massage at Luana Spa overlooking the bay & it was fantastic! They never disappoint. 

Afterward we washed some clothes at the hotel and decided we wanted to dress up a little so we did & went for dinner at the Travaasa. The reviews online are a little harsh. The food was good. Yeah, it's pricey, but for fine dining at the edge of the world you are going to pay for it. Everything we had was good!  Not exceptional but still quite good. I had the fried beef skewers & BLT salad & DW had the eggplant & Parmesan pasta dish. 

We ended the night with glasses of wine and a game of scrabble since the Hana Kai has board games in the room, which is convenient and fun. 

Honeymoon trip report - Day 5. Haleakala sunrise & RTH

It was rough waking up at 2:30 am. We showered and got the car packed up and hit the road for 3:10.    I thought I was nervous driving up last time but Devon had me beat which in turn made me even more nervous. She was gasping and cursing at the turns while we were still in the lower section with the guard rails which I thought wasn't a good sign. We did 15 mph and hugged the center line while pulling over to let others pass and eventually made it all the way up! Sunrise was a half hour earlier than I expected but we still got there with 10 minutes or so to spare. I let the wife have my gloves that I brought because she was shivering. I'm used to working out in the elements so it didn't bother me quite as much (but it was still cold). We got some great pictures and she said the drive up was worth it :) I even took a picture of Devon taking a picture, lol. 

Picked up a couple T-shirts, a Christmas ornament for our tree & then headed back down. Had breakfast at Kula Lodge, gassed up in Paia, and then hit the RTH! We shed the winter clothes, put the top down, applied sunscreen amd caught our 2nd wind. DW loved the RTH and who doesn't? We didn't stop at twin falls because we had a lot of luggage in the car but we did do Garden of Eden & Wai'napanapanapanapa state park which were both gorgeous! We also stopped at a few nice photo op spots and took pics even though we got rained on a little. Devon looks super cute with wet hair. 

At first we were going to stay at the same cheaper room I stayed at when I came but we up graded amd I'm so glad we did because the view was breathtaking. We walked the black sand / lava rock beach behind the hotel to kill some time before dinner. 

We got dressed up and had dinner at the Hana Ranch Restsurant. I had a Mai Tai & she had a lava flow which have come to be our normal dinner drinks. When our food came the flies swarmed us so we moved inside and it didn't help so we asked for go boxes and took our food back to the hotel which kinda sucked but oh well, what can you do. We ate and then went to bed early. It was a long but really fun & memorable day. :) 

Honeymoon Trip Report - Day 4

I woke up to the buzzing of my phone from a group text between a few friends at 4 am. Decided to make coffee & start typing my trip report a little earlier than usual. Woke Devon up around 6 and we got ready to go to Maui Ocean Center for our Pride of Maui Molokini / Turtle Town snorkel tour. Devon took to snorkeling like a fish to water. I think I was more nervous in the water than she was when we weren't around the group. I can't make myself not worry about sharks in the open water, it's this whole logic thing I've got going on. We didn't see a turtle but that's ok, they got some great pictures of us. Here's one from the boat. 

After snorkeling we were starving so we drove up into Lahaina. After browsing some shops we decided to have lunch at Kimo's. We got the coconut shrimp & BBQ ribs and they were both fantastic. Last time I was at Kimo's I had the filet & lobster and I wouldn't get that again but today the lunch menu was on point. We got seated right by the water and got splashed a little but the view was so great we didn't mind at all. 

After Kimo's Devon took a nap while I struggled to stay awake on the way back to Kihei but we made it. As soon as I stopped at the first red light in Kihei, boom, she's awake! Imagine that...:) We got some beer at the general store and brought it to the pool at Kam Sands where we spent the rest of the afternoon. She read and I typed. Later, while she was watching the bachelorette I picked up some Coconuts takeout. We ate and fell asleep with alarms set for 2:30 for Haleakala. 

Honeymoon trip report - day 3

Our first day as a married couple! Today is our lazy, pool / beach day. I woke up and drank a few cups of coffee on the lanai.  We walked down to the pool & drank more coffee and read our books. I'm rereading all of Terry Goodkind's fantasy novels and she's reading some girly books called KGI something-or-other. There is no breeze so by 8:30 it's already hot and we're applying sunblock. We decided to go get breakfast. Kihei caffe was great! I had steak & eggs and the Mrs had eggs & bacon. Those potatoes & biscuits that come with it were the best though. 

Next we decided to check out Wailea beach. This is probably my new favorite beach. Devon soaked up some sun & I did some stand up paddle boarding for the first time. Super fun. 

The two of us went for a swim afterward and took some pictures from in the water. Unfortunately most of the pics are being taken with "the good camera" and the iPad doesn't have a USB port but I'll try harder to snap shots with our phones too when I can. 

Next we checked out big beach. I brought my boogie board but the waves were breaking too close to shore so we just sat around and listened to the lifeguards trying and failing to dissuade people from going in. Their comments were pretty funny. At least no one got hurt. We grabbed a shave ice from a food truck that was their and headed back to the condo for Devon to nap and for me to watch that tragic US World Cup game. 

Headed back out around 4 to foodland for an ice chest & some beach chairs. We will probably leave the chairs at KBH for someone else to use when we leave. Ate some nachos at Moose's and watched the heartbreaking soccer replays over and over on TV. Then it was time to go! Off to Little Beach! Devon is visibly nervous and totally unsure about it but she was a trooper & loosened up after we sat and had a beer and she saw that lots of others opted for clothes. We listened to the drums & enjoyed the sunset for a little while and then left. I thoroughly enjoyed helping my wife get up and back down from the rocks. The drum circle is one of my favorite things about Maui and a truly unique experience. 

We only had the one beer at the beach so we stopped at Mulligan's on the way back & each had one. The same Irish band that was playing when I went in 2012 was playing. Thought about getting some food to go but decided to eat some of the food at the condo that we haven't been eating & called it a night because we've got a big day of snorkeling planned for tomorrow! 

Honeymoon trip report - Day 2 - wedding day!

The day has finally arrived after 9 months of planning, saving and waiting! I think we figured out how to beat the time adjustment after traveling 15 hours and staying up until 8pm because we both slept in. I woke up at 4:30, went to Denny's for a large coffee to go & not long after I got back Devon was awake. We went back to Denny's for breakfast at 7. I threw a piece of hash brown to a little bird that was staring at us. It was very grateful but Devon pointed out that there was a sign that clearly stated "do not feed the birds" oops. 

We went to the grocery store near by afterward and got some food for the condo, wine, a pair of sunglasses for me and swim shoes for both of us. After that we went scope out the wedding location which is Southside beach or white rock beach....I'm not exactly sure which is the correct name but it's just down the road from the Fairmont Kea Lani. We walked on the beach. There were chickens and chicken tracks all over which we found hilarious. Some nice locals took a picture of us and we snapped a few selfies while admiring the gorgeous view of Molokini. 

Next we ventured to Shops at Wailea. We got some Maui coffee, I bought a hat, and we ate lunch at Island Cheese Burger. She had pancakes, I had the cheeseburger babies. Both were pretty good. Devon had a Mimosa but I stuck to iced tea because I knew I was going to the gym later. 

Next we stopped and checked out the beach across from the condo (I think it's Kam 3?). She is in awe of the beauty of Maui and I couldn't be any happier with my life at this point. 

We took a 2 hour nap afterward. The girls from Maui Makeup Artistry showed up at 3pm which was my cue to hit the gym! I went for my 2nd time to Maui Powerhouse Gym. I did a 45 minute mixed upper body workout & ran a mile & a half on the treadmill (side note: my first triathlon is in august). 

I came home and the girls are just finishing up her hair and makeup and she looks beautiful! I'm sweaty and I don't even look like I belong in the same room as her! Lol. Next it was off to the beach to get married! Our minister was Kahu Kale, a Polynesian guy in his 20s who was very good at what he does. He made us & the moment feel very special! We said I do, said our vows, and took lots of pictures in the south Maui sunset. It was perfect. Here is Mr & Mrs Smith! 

After the ceremony we came back to the condo to wash the sand off & then off to Monkeypod for dinner. I can't say enough about Monkeypod. The food was excellent. I had the lobster & mushroom pizza and DW had the filet with grilled potatoes. I tried hers too & this was probably the best meal I've ever had & that's a bold statement beings we"re from Louisiana. They also have the best Mai Tai I've ever tried. Afterward we tried to have a drink at Mulligans but it was closed for a private event so we settled for a couple beers at Moose's near the condo. I got myself a cigar at the nearby liquor store and sat outside at the condo to write this report while she gets her beauty sleep. Not all activities are mentioned here :) A whole life of activities await us. Thank you all for reading these and sharing our joy. 

Honeymoon trip report - Day 1

I'm going to start off by saying I am so happy to be back! 

The travel went pretty smoothly. Lafayette > Houston > LAX > OGG. 15 hours of traveling back in time. We landed around 2pm island time, picked up our Mustang and hit the road.

 We were both starving but decided to get our chores done first so we dropped my wedding clothes at Alii dry cleaning and continued on to the marriage license appointment. About 20 minutes & $70 later we're all set to get Mauied! For the record, someone suggested we get matching "Just got Mauied" T-shirts, but I refuse. You have to draw the line somewhere... 

Devon agreed to try Coconuts even though fish isn't her favorite. We both got fish & chips and it was delicious! She loved it. We stopped at Life's a beach and each had a Longboard before heading to Kamaole Sands for the night. Our condo is very nice. Day one is a success!