Oahu - November 2006

Our honeymoon continued with a week on Oahu (first week on Maui).  We stayed on the North Shore, outside of Haleiwa.  We ended up staying at a cottage on the beach owned by a family member.  It was a very, small one bedroom cottage, but it was nice and relaxing being on the beach.  We fell asleep listening to the waves every night.  We didn’t really splurge on food, we cooked at the cottage a lot. 

ACTIVITIES: 

Beach Walking - We walked the beach a lot outside the cottage.  We went from our cottage to the beach where the TV show Lost is filmed.  We saw smoke from a campfire in the tree line and some stuff, but we didn't get close enough to see anyone famous.  We also walked to Pipeline and watched some surfers.  We saw lots of sea turtles on our walk.

Driving Around – Oahu Reaveled – We discovered this book at the cottage and I started reading it.  I thought it would be a good idea to go out driving and making the recommended stops in the book.  While Mike drove, I read descriptions of the area and we stopped at several places from Haleiwa to a macadamia farm. 

We stopped at:

 Malaekahana State Rec Area – You can swim out to a uninhabited island and hang out, but we didn’t. 

Laie Point – there is a rock there with a hole in it that was caused by a wave. 

Chinaman’s Hat – There is an island off the shore of Kualoa Park that is shaped like a Chinaman’s hat.

Tropical Farms macadamia farm – This is a popular spot for tour buses.  There is a shop that sells a lot of things made with macadamias.  I think we bought some pancake mix.

Waimea Valley Audubon Center – We discovered this place in the book, Oahu Revealed.  We were looking for a hike to a waterfall, but didn’t want to go very far from the cottage.  It’s a great place to see some beautiful vegetation.  There is also a small waterfall and you can get in and swim out to it.  There was a lifeguard on duty to help tell you where to go or not to go.  The water was a little cold, but it was fun.

Waimea Bay Beach Park – We spent a day relaxing on the beach here.  The waves were pretty big.  In November, the waves start to get really big and draw surfers in from all over.  The beach also has a rock nearby that people jump off into the ocean.

Polynesian Culture Center – We spent 2 partial days here.  On our first day, we went around to all the different villages and watched presentations put on by each village.  The place allows you to learn about the life and culture of the different Polynesian Islands.  Besides the presentations, they teach you how to do different things, like play the ukulele.

Swap Meet – Held at the Aloha Stadium, it’s a great place for souvenirs and other shopping.  There are hundreds of vendor tents set up all around.  We took a couple of hours to go most of the way around.  After a while, you start to see a lot of the same stuff.  They also sell food and snacks.

Diamond Head Sunrise Hike – On our last morning, we got up early and walked to the top.  We had to use flashlights in the beginning as it was still dark.  At the top, we watched the sunrise and had great views of Honolulu and Waikiki.   

RESTAURANTS:

Spaghettini – We really enjoyed this place.  It’s a small place on the side of the road where you order your food at the window and sit outside under the awning.  It’s a great place to have some inexpensive pizza and pasta and people watch.  I thought the spaghetti was very good, better than the pizza we’d ordered also.

Pizza Bob’s – We ended up eating here twice.  The food was really good as well as the service.

Island Shack – We came across this place one day when we were out driving around.  It’s across the street from Sunset Beach and has a totem pole in front.  I wasn’t sure about eating there at first.  It’s basically an outside, covered eating area.  So, there’s grass on the ground.  There is a port a pot outside for a bathroom and a sink inside to wash your hands.  This place seemed to be pretty popular with surfers.  We had a chicken plate and discovered acai.  We had our first acai bowl here and absolutely looooved it!  We’ve since found that it’s becoming more popular in juice stores.

BBQ at our beach house:  We bought some chicken and veges at Foodland in Waimea and made kabobs on the barbie.

Maui - November 2006

We chose to go to Hawaii for 2 weeks for our honeymoon.  We spent most of our time relaxing, which is needed after planning a wedding! 

Our first destination was Maui.  We stayed there for a week and enjoyed catching up on our rest.  Among our activities, went to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise and ride bikes down the mountain and we took a tour on the Road to Hana.

HOTEL:

As part of our wedding gift, a family member booked our stay at Maui Sunset (TA Review). These condos are both owner-occupied and time shares. Our unit was an ocean view.  It was a very nice room decorated with floral wicker furniture.

There is an activities desk on site that helps you plan your stay and book activities. They have an informal information session every morning and serve juice, coffee and pastries. There are also tennis courts on site.

ACTIVITIES:

1.  Independent Snorkeling - While sitting through a discussion of things to do on Maui, our hotel rep mentioned a secret place where locals go to snorkel. It's called "the aquarium" or "the fish bowl." She gave us a little bit of directions and we headed out to find the place. It was an amazing place to snorkel, but the area has been closed off to keeping the area preserved.

2.  Snorkeling Tour - We went on a guided tour to the most popular snorkeling and diving spot in Maui, Molokini. It's a crescent shaped island off Maui's southwest side.  We decided on Maui Magic as our catamaran after having several options. We got on the boat at 8 am and they had coffee, juice, and pastries for us. We pulled out of the harbor and headed south to find some spinner dolphins. Maui gets a lot of wind, so the day will determine how far south the boat will take you. The crew found a couple of dolphins to follow for a short while.

We then headed to Molokini. They docked us for about 45 minutes to snorkel around. There were several other catamarans there. The water was deep, so what you saw was fish up against the side of the Molokini. There were quite a few fish, but it wasn't the greatest snorkeling. 

After Molokini, the crew took us to a place between the harbor and Lahaina to snorkel and eat lunch. This area was known for sea turtles and we were the only boat in the area. We snorkeled there for about an hour and a half and had lunch. The crew grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. There were also free drinks all day, as well as beer. We didn't see any turtles while in this area.

We headed back to the harbor and on our way back, we got to see several sea turtles swimming in the open water. We were docked shortly after noon.

I recommend this catamaran and crew. They were all very friendly. This catamaran cost more than others, but I think it was worth what we got out of it.

3.  Road to Hana Tour - We ended up taking a guided tour on The Road to Hana. The road consists of 50 some miles of sharp curves and one lane bridges. We thought having someone else drive would allow both of us to enjoy the scenery instead of focusing on the road.

The company we went with was very good and we highly recommend them. Our driver was very nice and informative. He talked almost nonstop from the time he picked us up from the hotel to when he dropped us off. After being picked up from the hotel, we were taken to a place to get some juice, coffee, and pastries. Once in Hana, we stopped to eat a provided chicken plate lunch. They also provide beverages all day; water, juice, and soda.

You also get to see the Maui Winery on this tour. The road to the Seven Sacred Pools was damaged from an earthquake when we were there in November 06, so instead of making a circle around the island, we had to back track to get back to Kihei.

The drive itself is beautiful, full of vegetation, waterfalls, and cliffs. We saw rainbow eucalyptus trees and awesome bamboo jungles. You can pull off to the side of the road and get out and walk around to see things. Our 12-passenger tour van made a few stops, but not as many as we would have liked. We decided we should have driven the road ourselves, made several stops, and stayed the night in Hana before driving back the next day.

If this is something that you plan to do, make reservations for rooms in Hana early. If you plan to make the drive in one day, make sure you leave early in the morning, so you are back before it gets dark.

4.  Bike Down the Volcano - We got up at 2:30am to be driven to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise and then bike back down the volcano. It was very cold and windy at the top, but it was a neat experience to see the sun rising above a Volcano crater.

The bike down was ok. We were in a group of 8-10 people and rode down single file. They put the lighter people in the front; therefore, those in the back had to brake down most of the way. We were also wearing a helmet and couldn’t really look around at the scenery very well. It was exciting at first biking down, but the excitement wore off after about 10 minutes.

I still recommend doing it for the experience unless you don't want to get up that early or want to ride a bike. There are different tours where you don't get up as early, but you don't get to see the sunrise. You could always drive up to see the sunrise on your own.

RESTAURANTS:

Sarentos - Our hotel rep recommended this restaurant for a romantic dinner. We were on our honeymoon, so we wanted some place special.  The restaurant has free valet parking. You have to make reservations in advance to reserve a table on the rail to get a good view of the sunset (5:30pm in November was our reservation). It's an open air restaurant, so you can view the sunset and feel the breeze while eating. The food is a little pricey, but the food was really good, the service was spectacular and the atmosphere even better.  Definitely a place I'd recommend for a nice romantic dinner. 

Sansei - We were really hungry and wanted to eat early.  We got here right before it opened at 5:30pm and there was already a line starting to get inside.  We sat at the sushi bar and thought the food was pretty good.

Other restaurants we ate at but don't remember details on the experience:  Stella Blues, Cafe O'Lei

Second week on Maui 

The Big Island of Hawaii - May 2005

This was our first big trip together. I was looking to plan a trip for my 30th birthday. Once we decided to go to The Big Island, we booked it a year early, because we couldn't wait until my birthday. Being the adventurous couple that we are, we decided on The Big Island for the main reason of seeing the active volcano. We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village (TA review). We stayed there on points for 9 nights and absolutely had a blast traveling around by car.

Driving around the whole island can take a while. We decided to go on a circle island tour our first full day on the island. The tour guide was a little hard to understand, but we made all the major tourist stops. It was a long day; I think by the time we were picked up and dropped off, it was a 12 hour day. If you don't rent a car or you don't like to drive or you are only staying for a short time, this would be something I'd recommend. However, if you like to do your own thing and are going to be on the island for at least a week, skip the tour and drive yourself.

We did take a couple of days to drive around to the different beaches for snorkeling. We jumped in the car with our own snorkel gear, lunch and snacks, and a map from the hotel. One of the great things about the Big Island is that there are so many different kinds of beaches to see. The island has beautiful white sand beaches and spectacular black sand beaches. There are also green sand beaches on the island, but we didn't make it to any of these on our trip.

ATTRACTIONS:

1. Pololu Valley Lookout - While out driving around, we went up to the northern part of the island and followed 270 until it ended. You'll see cars parked on the side of the road and people out walking. The highway stops and overlooks this beautiful lush green valley. We put on our hiking shoes and walked down this path that takes you down to the bottom of the lookout. The trail was a little rocky, but not that steep for experienced hikers. For beginners, it may be a little rough on you and you might just want to enjoy the scenery from above. Once at the bottom, there is a black sand beach where most of the surfers go. This is the only part of the island that usually has waves.

2. South Point - We went down to South Point. It's the southern most point in the US. To get there from Kona, you take the main highway south. South Point (Ka Lae) is at the end of an 11 mile road, due south from the Mamalahoa Highway (Hwy 11) turning off between the Ocean View Estate and Wai’ohinu (home of the descendant of Mark Twain’s Monkey Pod tree). Once you get down off the main road, the road gets a little narrow and bumpy and you think you are going the wrong way. Just keep going, you'll pass some wind turbines on the way and eventually see other cars parked off to the right. If you keep going, there's supposed to be a green sand beach around also, but we didn't know that when we were there. Where we stopped, there are places were people jump off the side of the cliff into the ocean. That wasn't for me, but Mr. FT did it and loved it.

3. Punalu'u Beach - This was my first time experiencing a black sand beach. We stopped here twice, once on our circle island tour and once on our own. When we came on our own, we had our snorkel gear with us. We grabbed it and jumped in to swim with the turtles. The water was really murky and I was startled when all the sudden 2 big sea turtles were right in front of me and jumped up and out of the water! It was a cool experience though. Also visit the Punalu’u Bake shop when in the area. They have awesome Hawaiian sweet bread and samples. I've even ordered it online.

4. Hapuna Beach - If you are looking for a beach to relax and get the Hawaiian experience, go to Hapuna Beach. The beach has beautiful white sand and is pretty big so you'll be able to find a spot on the beach. We snorkeled up against the rocks on the south end and were able to swim with sea turtles. My husband came across a reef shark lying under a rock ledge also. It was docile, so nothing bad happened. I was swimming around the area where he saw it, but I was too scared to go under to see it closer.

5. Kilauea Volcano - We visited the park on our circle island tour and had lunch in the Volcano's House. We then drove around crater rim drive and stopped to walk through Thurston Lava Tube.

The highlight of our trip was hiking out to the erupting Kilauea volcano. We had been advised by a family member to wait until the evening to hike out. We drove into the park in the afternoon and headed down Chain of Craters Rd. Once we got a ways down the road, you could see the steam from the lava entering the ocean. This is sight enough worth seeing if you don't want to hike over lava rock in the heat.

We got to the end of the road where people are parked on the side of the road. We parked, grabbed our backpack, 2 flashlights (one for each person) with NEW batteries, and plenty of water bottles and snacks and headed out.

The hike is long and tiring and hot out to the active lava. There are markers in the beginning, but then you just head toward the steam. Once you get to where you can see the lava entering the ocean really well, most people stop here and watch it for a while. You can look up the mountain and see lava flowing down, which is easier to see when it's getting dark.

We were feeling a little more adventurous and decided to walk to the other side of the lava flow where we saw some other people sitting. We could hear crackling under us, which was probably lava underneath the rock. We came upon a hole that was glowing from the lava underneath, it was pretty cool. This hole eventually started erupting with lava and turned into a lava flow that was within a 100 feet of us. You could feel the intense heat. It started raining and you could hear hissing from the rain hitting the lava.

I look back now and realize how dangerous this hike can be. Be careful.

RESTAURANTS:

1. Captain Bean’s Dinner Cruise - We decided to go on the Captain Bean's Dinner Cruise and booked through our hotel. It's a cruise on a big catamaran that serves dinner and has a luau onboard. Once onboard, you are allowed to get drinks. I don't remember all the options, but we stuck with the Mai Tais. After the catamaran launches, the crew starts performing. They put on a little show and get the audience involved. They usually chose men to dress them in hula attire. Dinner is served to your table. The tables are in the middle of the catamaran that can hold up to 15 people or so. It wasn't a gourmet meal, but the atmosphere and entertainment made the cruise very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this cruise if you are looking for a little fun.

2. Café Pesto - We found this restaurant in Kawaihae by the harbor. It's a cozy little pizza, Italian joint. The servers are all friendly and the food is great. We enjoyed it so much that we went there twice during our stay on the island.