Bon Voyage
We headed to the airport two days after our honeymoon on Monday, and it was a 5 hour plane ride. It was the first time Ian and I had flown together. We definitely goofed around a lot on the plane and were lovey dovey more than our fellow passengers probably appreciated. But hey, we are newlyweds afterall :)
As we were preparing to land I looked out the window and it did not look like I expected, and I was suddenly thinking maybe Hawaii wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Boy was I wrong! At first it looked dry and mountainous and I didn't see ANY palm trees. What the heck! No palm trees in Hawaii?! Madness. But once we got closer to our destination, I saw all the palm trees and my doubts quickly vanished.
When we got out of our terminal I realized the airport was all open and I felt the heavy humidity weighing down on my lungs. That I was not used to, but I was just so excited to be there I hardly noticed later on. We got our rental car ( the guy at the desk tried to convince to get a corvette...newlyweds? Like that's in the budget!). I don't remember what kind of car we got, but that doesn't matter. It took us forever to get our rental, but once we did, we had another 45 minutes until we got to the "Royal Kahana" the condo we were staying at for 6 days.
We drove through a curvy mountain side and drove past all the sugar cane. A guy at the rental desk said that sugar cane we saw is not so common anymore in many of the other Hawaiin islands. We passed the beautiful ocean. There were little beaches everywhere along side the road. We were staying on the other side of the island where all of the hotels and tourist sites are. One of the first buildings we saw was a Stake Center that was just being built. I already felt at home! What is unique about Hawaii, is that even though there is a string of beaches, on the other side of the road there is a green, lush mountainside. Maui was everything I thought it would be!! Absolutely stunning.
Ian and I were surprised to see that there were not many waves in the ocean though. I guess that is normal in Maui, so there weren't many surfers.
Royal Kahana in Lahaina, Maui
We went into the Royal Kahana and to our delight we received a free upgrade to an ocean view room! We were so happy. We were on the 7th floor and we stepped into our condo and it was all decorated in island things. We had our own little kitchen ( which we never cooked in; but we stored things in the fridge) and our bed was right next to a sliding glass door that led out to a balcony. Well by the time we got to our condo, the sun was setting. The view was priceless! We could see the beach perfectly.
We heard that there was going to be an informational meeting about what there was to do on the island. So Ian and I decided to go to the next morning. But before we went to the meeting on Tuesday, we went for a morning stroll on the beach that was in our "backyard" as the sun was rising. It was perfect. When we got to the meeting, the concierge announced they would be doing a drawing for free tickets to events in Maui. I was feeling pretty lucky, being newlyweds and all. Sure enough, this old Asian man pulled our ticket out and we won a free ticket worth $75 to a popular cultural show called the "Ulalena." We were thrilled!!
The Week's Highlights
We then sat down and planned everything we could do that week with our amazing concierge. He told us all the greatest stuff to do in Maui and the best places to eat...and most importantly where the best sushi restaurant was (Sansei). Since Ian and I absolutely LOVE sushi more than anything, this was a must. What better place to get sushi than in Hawaii?
Snorkeling & Molokini-We used some snorkeling gear at our resort and explored the lovely beach in our own "backyard." Hawaiian water is SO warm! No beach in California can compare. I felt like I was swimming in a warm bath. It was amazing! We spent a few days just going to the beaches around us and exploring the ocean life. My favorite snorkeling adventure was the beach at the Sheraton hotel. We got to see sting rays and schools of fish...we didn't see that anywhere else, so that was exciting! That was our last snorkeling round, so I was so happy we got to see some new creatures.One day we even ran into two giant sea turtles, and Ian tried to ride one!! Come to find out, there is a $10,000 fine for touching the sea turtles...oops! Good thing we didn't get caught ;)
We also went on an actual snorkeling expedition in Molokini with the company "QuickSilver." Molokini is a crater where there is supposedly a lot of fish you can't see in other parts of the ocean.
It was fun being on a double-deck boat, but I have to say the snorkeling wasn't all that impressive. There weren't a lot of fish. But the fish we did see had brilliant patterns and colors! We were able to see lots of sea turtles, but I have to say the snorkeling we did on our own was more fun, and we saw more variety of fish. Surprising, I know! But being able to see the other side of Maui with all the beautiful homes and scenery was worth it. We even spotted some dolphins on our way back to shore.
Luau at the Sheraton- I enjoyed this activity the best! The luau was a blast. First of all, the location of the luau was gorgeous! The Sheraton hotel is high end and the outdoor area seems like it comes from a magazine--but then again, everywhere in Maui looked like it could be in a magazine. The show was just before the sun was setting, and there was a beautiful beach for our view and a lovely black rock cliff in the distance. When we got there, they had a lady taking everyone's picture before we entered in and received the leis I've been waiting for our whole trip!
We had premium seats, which meant our table was right in the front. I couldn't have asked for a better spot! We were right next to the stage and the men playing their ukuleles and drums. Since we were in the front, we got to be the first ones to indulge in the huge banquet of food! Of course, before they did this, they did the ceremonial unearthing of the pig. Something like that. haha They had all of us gather around the pit where they cooked the pig and then they had two burly Hawaiian men pick it up and unwrap it. It was neat to get a "taste" of their cultural...literally.
All the food at the luau was delicious. I got to try mahi-mahi for the first time. They had rolls that were made out of a special grain called "taro," that gives it a purple tint. The food was dang good, but the show was even better!
Not only did we get to enjoy some amazing hula dancing, but I got to watch my new husband get up on stage and attempt to hula dance, along with 50 other newlywed men! Priceless I tell you. I was loving it so much, I even took a video! I couldn't pass up recording entertainment at its finest. haha They had ALL the newlyweds stand up and there were a ton of us! But I was so happy I didn't have to be the one doing the hula on stage for all 500 people to watch me! Yikes.
It doesn't stop there. And this is one reason why the luau was my favorite night!! Towards the end of the luau the hula dancers came into the audience and picked people from the crowd to go up and dance with them on stage. Well this girl dancer came up to Ian and pulled him on stage! I was laughing so hard, because he already had to endure one round of being in the spotlight. But he was such a good sport about it.
We got our picture taken again at sunset, making the most gorgeous backdrop. We paid a whopping $20 on that single picture! Ridiculous, but everything in Hawaii is expensive. Take a trip to the grocery store and you'll know what I mean.
I could go on for days about our honeymoon, but all I'm gonna say is that it was the most perfect, romantic way to start our new life together and we didn't want to leave. We were incredibly blessed to be able to go on such a luxurious trip. It was certainly unforgettable!We hope to be visiting Maui in the future <3
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