Hawaiian Honeymoon Part 1

John and I had a fantastic time in Hawaii. I feel refreshed and amazed by how much we did. We took a total of over 200 photos that I decided I'd widdle them down and share with you as a photo diary of sorts. We'll start with Kauai, the first leg of our trip. I have to say that we had no idea just how much we would LOVE this island. It was the highlight. Everything was so lush and tranquil. Kauai is less developed then some of the other islands and that shows in it's landscape, people and beautiful beaches. If you can only visit one island in Hawaii, then it's a must.

This was the view from our balcony at the Sheraton. We fell asleep with the screen door open every night to the sounds of the waves and just had a few steps to walk out to the beach each day. Heavenly...

We had breakfast a few times at the main hotel restaurant and enjoyed this view while eating...


The very first full day we had in Kauai, John and I got massages in a cabana on the beach. They were 80 minutes long and AWESOME. I think John was skeptical of this at first as it was deemed one of my activities but clearly he wound up loving it from this photo of him afterward. Relaxed much?


Down the road a bit from our hotel on Poipu Beach, there was a natural 'blowhole' that would shoot water straight up into the air every so often when the waves would crash across the rocks.
Here I am clearly getting into the Hawaiian spirit.


Kauai is such a small island that it takes virtually minutes to drive to a location like the Wailea Falls and stare out onto images like this...

Another interesting tid-bit about this island was how many chickens we saw just running around. I'm talking everywhere you turn. Here is one outside a shopping area we stopped at for souvenirs...


Kauai was the island that John and I did the most 'action adventure' type activities. I'd definitely classify these as John's choice, however, I was determined to get up the courage to do each of them as it was our honeymoon and it meant a lot to my husband. Which brings us to ziplining. The idea is they take you up to the top of a mountain where there are a series of cables you get strapped to and glide across in order to get down (7 total). Before leaving they give you a hard hat and harness and that's pretty much it. When this picture was taken I was crying a little behind my sunglasses as it PETRIFIED me to even attempt this.



John was convinced they'd have to come back and get me, especially when the guides told me I had to go before John. I spent a few minutes up there seconds from peeing my pants before I just looked over at John and the other folks in our group and went for it. Here's an example of me zipping. We were about 300 ft off the ground and this particular cable was 800 ft across. The second zipline of the day!


Here is John braving the cables as well...The next day I felt like I could take on anything so I wasn't the least bit nervous to take our helicopter ride that circled the entire island of Kauai, showing you sections that aren't even reachable by land. I was assigned to get on the chopper first which was when I suddenly realized I was going to be in a helicopter for ONE HOUR.


Everything was pretty much OK until about 15 minutes into our ride when the wind started to pick up and you could feel every movement. I squeezed John's hand so tight, kept adjusting the air temperature and wiped my forehead so many times I believe I was having some kind of a motion sickness/fear of heights/claustrophobic panic attack that our pilot even patted me on the back and said 'you made it' after we landed. Since I was sitting right next to him he was witness to my anxiousness. Even John said he got a bit queasy but of course didn't show it or promptly throw up in the bathroom upon returning to the helicopter offices like I did.
I was rewarded for my bravery and empty stomach by a stop at Ono Char-Burger for one of the BEST hamburgers I've ever had in my life. It was no more than a small shack off the side of the road, though highly recommended by Frommer's.


One of the last stops we made in Kauai was to see the Kilauea Lighthouse. It was surrounded by the most blue water on the edge of a narrow peninsula.

Kauai set such a high standard that we both didn't want to leave but were excited for the next leg which was Maui...