Our Honeymoon Day 5-6

DIAMOND HEAD [Day 5-Wednesday, Oct 27]

The early part of the hike

We got up and left the hotel around 10:30am to catch the city bus to Diamond Head.  This would be our final work out of our vacation 'cause we had no plans of going back to the gym!  Once we got there we just followed the trail of people up the hill paid our $1 entry fee and got to hiking.

Still chugging along

This is basically an extinct volcano with mostly dirt trails that lead you to the top.  There were so many stairs!  About 3 sets in all.  At one point I turned a corner and my mouth dropped when I saw another stairway that seemed to be going straight up.  

I never thought this hike would include a spiral staircase!

The view at the top was worth the effort though, not to mention the good work out we got in.  It's .8 miles each way and it took us about 1 1/2 hours total.  At one point we had to climb up this latter and through this crevice.  We were both sweating at the end.  I saw an older couple going slowly up the hill and thought "uh, oh..are they gonna make it?"  This hike is not for the old and/or infirm, and I couldn't believe I saw people doing this in flip flops.

We made it to the top!

It took our bus forever to come.  We saw the #8 about 5 times and the #24 rolled past but we didn't see the #23 for about an hour.  We had just enough time to go to the hotel, shower and then head to the Mandara Spa at Kalia Tower for our couples massage which we strategically planned right after our hike.  It was nice to come here to relax instead of sweat.  They ushered us into separate locker rooms where we were issued robes and sandals.  I had a few minutes to recline in this cushy chair with my feet up before I was escorted down to the treatment waiting area where Mj was already waiting in his matching white robe.  We were lead into this beautiful room where we laid down side by side on our own table for our 50 minute massage.  It felt absolutely wonderful!  We then had 30 minutes together in this huge jacuzzi tub.  My skin felt so soft again after being dried up from the sun all day.

After that we walked to Cheeseburger Waikiki for dinner.  I really liked it how half of the building was open so we were inside but could still be outside in the warm night air.  Mj insisted on getting this double cheeseburger the size of his head and failed miserably at eating it all.  I had a bleu cheese burger and chowed down on the fries.  This place is awesome!  The food was good.  We caught their happy hour, they gave us a 15% military discount AND a free dessert because we were honeymooners.  We ate every single bite of this giant Maui mud pie.  I don't think either one of us have ever been so full in our life!

Our complimentary honeymoooner dessert.
The dessert to end all desserts!

HANAUMA BAY LUAU DAY [Day 6-Thursday]

We arranged to have the shuttle pick us up bright and early at 7:30am for Hanauma Bay.  It's one of the best locations for snorkeling in all of Hawaii and they want to make sure us tourists who come in droves don't destroy it.  It's been designated as a nature preserve and they require everyone to watch a video before heading down.

The bay was beautiful!!

It was raining off and on so far through the week so we weren't sure what to expect but it was perfect.  The sun was shining and the view of Hanauma Bay was spectacular.  We got our towels from the hotel and bought our munchies the night before so we'd be ready for our early pick up.  We saved $7 each because we were able to get in free with Military ID.

I knew snorkeling was not for me and I wanted no part of it.  Fish freak me out so I stayed close to the shore to avoid any possible fish encounters.  Mj was adamant that I have my very own snorkeling adventure anyways. Which lasted for about 2 minutes.  I put on his mask and got a chance to see and breathe underwater.  It was actually pretty cool until a section of the sand that seemed to be moving caught my eye.  As I stared at it and saw that in fact the sand was moving and not really sand at all but probably a fish I was up and running for land within seconds.   That was basically the extent of my snorkeling experience.  Mj on the other hand had lots of fun with it.

Mj snorkel [one of his underwater pics]

It was another great day of lounging at the beach.  We were so full from the night before that neither one of us had an appetite for those sandwiches we'd packed but we were both hungry by Luau time.

Me lay down.  I couldn't et enough of this

We went back to the hotel showered and changed for our Luau at the Hale Koa Hotel.  We got a complimentary drink (well not really, we technically paid for it with our tickets!) and a shell necklace when we arrived. They had a cocktail hour and show at the beginning where I volunteered for a group hula lesson. I was already feeling the Mai Tai so I figured why not!

Hula lesson anyone?

Dinner is served

Next they brought out the pig and then seated us for dinner. This pig looked kinda icky coming straight out of the ground but when it showed up on my dinner plate I ate it right up. I was a good sport and tried everything including sea weed (surprisingly spicy and good) and accidentally ate raw salmon and Poi.  Well, the Poi wasn't really an accident.  At least not on my part.  Mj tricked me into eating this stuff, which basically looked like grayish purple pudding, by putting it on a piece of pineapple.  What part of "I don't want to try it" did he not get?

The Polynesian performers were amazing-particularly the fire dancers, the food was good and it was another fun night.

Honeymoon Day 7-8