Mahalo Hawaii Day 7-8

DRIVE AROUND THE ISLAND [Day 7- Friday, Oct 29]

We woke up and went to breakfast so Mj could get his Hawaiian Bananas Foster French toast he's been wanting all week.  His was $14 and my simple Belgian Waffle was $12!  And again with the no sides thing!  What is it with these restaurants?  After that we walked across the street to get our rental car so we could spend the day driving around the island.  By we I mean that Mj does all the driving and I sit on the passenger side with the map and attempt to help navigate.

According to our map it is only 90 miles around but for an island there seems to be quite a bit of traffic and some of the highway speed limits are as low as 50 MPH.  We took our time though and with 3 stops we were on the road from 10:30 am until about 5:00 pm.  That's 5 1/2 hours!  It was also the wettest day of the whole week but it was better it be our road day then a beach day. 

Creepy Kaneana Caves

We stopped at the Kaneana Caves which is just off the highway.  We would have missed it if we hadn't seen people walking over there.  It's like something out of an awful horror movie.  There were deep dark crevices that you couldn't really see into so it was pretty creepy but as long as their were no knife wielding psycho killers I liked it!!  

We also stopped at the Dole Pineapple plantation and browsed around a bit.  We saw Pineapples growing off of a tree which I'd never actually seen before.

You can see that pineapple sitting straight up
on this bush

That night was really special.  After we got back to the hotel we ate our slightly soggy left over sandwiches that we were too full to eat the day before, our left over chocolate cake and drank a bottle of wine together on our patio.  

Mj surprised me with this.  Our love of pretzels
was just one more thing we realized we had in common
when we met

I decided that now was as good a time as any to do what I call our "state of the union address" as we looked out over the balcony.  It's basically a time for us to just speak our mind and chat about what's good and anything that's bothering us in the relationship.  Communication is so important and I couldn't think of a better time and place to speak honestly and just be real with each other.    I went to bed a little tipsy and drifted into another deep sleep all cuddled up with Mj.  The moment we were dreaded came too fast...our last night in Oahu.

LAST DAY IN PARADISE [Day 8-Saturday]

We woke up, finished packing, took our luggage to the bell stand and headed straight for the beach.  It was our last day and I wanted to spend every last moment soakin' up the sun and relaxing.  

Waikkiki Beach

Lagoon Tower Pool

Eating icecream at Kalia Tower Pool

We hit up all of our favorite waterside lounging spots.  First Waikiki beach, then we went back to the Lagoon tower pool where we did the water slides again and relaxed in the jacuzzi.  We stopped for ice cream then went over to the quieter Kalia tower pool and hung out some more.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend our last day.


We stayed as long as we could then went to the bell stand to get our bag with our clothes and toiletries in it.  We went to the check in/check out lounge at the Waikiki tower to shower and get ready for our flight.  They have a really nice locker room and lounge area.  They even provide snacks and drinks!  Then all too soon it was time to get the rest of our luggage and head out to the pick up area to wait for our bus.  

Waiting for our bus

I absolutely was not ready to go home yet but at the same time was glad that it didn't feel like the whole trip went too fast.  Eight days is a good amount of time, any less and I'd probably have felt short changed.  We really squeezed out every bit of fun and joy from each day and I had a fantastic time.  Each and every day and night was perfect.  Since I have to go home at least I can do so knowing that this honeymoon was everything I hoped it would be  and more.

Honeymoon Day 1-4
Honeymoon Highlights

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

Aloha Honeymoon Day 1-4

I love the first day of a vacation because each day to come is stretched out ahead like an unopened present just waiting to be had. Checking out your digs is usually one of the first thing you do and it was so cool to find that our room not only met my expectations but exceeded it.  When we walked into our Lagoon Tower room and started exploring I got really, really excited because it was even nicer then I expected.  

Master Bedroom

Dining Room

Living Room

Granite counter tops, plantation shutters in the master bedroom, two balconies!  When you open the sliding door of the main balcony the AC automatically clicks off and it's like being outside but in.  It was a recently renovated huge 2 bedroom/2 bath condo with a full kitchen.  It still had that "new" smell and I was so excited to have it as our "home" for 8 whole days!!! 

We watched the sunset, unpacked and then went foraging for food which isn't too hard since the Hilton Hawaiian Village is really just that.  A little village that has everything you need including retail stores, convenience stores, restaurants, bars and most importantly the beach.  We ate at a Japanese restaurant called Hatsuhana where Mj was quite happy to make sushi his first meal in Oahu.

He loves Sushi but I just think it's gross

We strolled around a bit before heading back to the room.  The front desk check in areas are all partially outdoors and the hotel was just  beautiful.

WAIKIKI BEACH [Day-2 Sunday]

The first thing we did is head to the gym bright and early to get our sweat on. It's so much easier to get up and go to the gym when my time is really my own without 40 hours a week of it sucked up by going to work every day.

I love reading outside.  And check out that
beautiful backdrop.

Playing in the water

  After that we bought some sandwiches and munchies at the ABC Store which is on every corner there and headed straight for Waikiki beach which was conveniently right in our back yard. This beach is so beautiful and it was calling my name since the moment I laid eyes on it the day before.  I could hardly wait! We paid $60 bucks for two chairs and a guy to dig us a hole to put an umbrella in and then lounged around and played in the water there all day.  

I only live 30 minutes from the beach
but I can't remember the last time I went

After we finished there we headed to the Lagoon tower pool and lounged some more.  This pool had fun water slides and when I got chilly I just jumped in the jacuzzi.

Lagoon Tower Pool-view from our room

I screamed half way down every time I did it

HANGING AT THE POOL [Day 3-Monday]

Back to the gym for an early morning run on the treadmill.  Gotta balance out all that food somehow.  After that we headed over to our timeshare meeting.  Mj is a Hilton Grand Vacations Club owner and when they offered us $200 Hilton bucks to go for an owner update I couldn't turn it down.  I have no problem with taking time out of my vacation to sit through these things when we are being offered money that will help finance it.  She made us a great offer but there is no way we can buy more points right now so we said no and that was that.

We ate lunch at Hatsuhana again so Mj could eat more sushi then walked next door to the Hale Koa hotel to buy tickets for the activities we wanted to do.  They are a military hotel so a lot of the shuttles and tickets are offered at a military discounted price. Up until now we weren't exactly sure what we were going to be doing all week aside from our dinner reservations and our couples massage.  Who says you don't need a planner on vacation?  The difference is on vacation your planner is only filled with fun stuff you want to do.  I wrote out our activities in the daily planner so we wouldn't get confused about when we were doing what.

Our fun filled schedule

• Tuesday-Atlantis Tour 3 pm, dinner reservations 7 pm
• Wednesday-Diamond Head AM, Couples Massage 3:30 pm
• Thursday-Hanauma Bay 7:30 am-1:00 pm, Luau 5 pm
• Friday-Explore the Island
• Saturday-Go home : (

After sorting that out we headed straight for the Kalia tower pool near the fitness center/spa which we discovered is a lot quieter with very few rug rats running around.  This is where Mj jumped into the pool with his iPhone in his pocket.  Yep.  The very same iPhone that he was getting ready to let me have.  I was sooooo close to having an iPhone but it was not to be. Guess it's just me and my trusty crappy razor.  That night we watched a DVD we brought from home and ordered pizza in for dinner.

This is the life!

This medium pizza was $23 bucks!
The twisty bread was free with our coupon.

ATLANTIS [Day 4-Tuesday]

We did our 3rd and final gym work out for the week in the morning and then went to lunch.  I picked off of Mj's plate because I was still full from dinner the night before but I had a yummy tropical drink.  After that we did our Atlantis Submarine Tour.  We took a boat out to the submarine and then had to climb down a hole on a latter to get into the submarine.

Mj  laughing at me 'cause I fell

I somehow managed to skip the last 5 rungs on the latter and scraped my shin.  We went down to about 100 feet.  Did you know that the Hawaiian state fish is a Humuhumunukunukuapua?  Now that you do can you say it?  I can't!   We saw schools of fish and sunken airplanes.  It was pretty cool.

After that we went to the Hale Koa Hotel bar where the drinks are a bit cheaper and sat there sipping on tropical drinks until dinner. We each had two.

I had either a tropical drink, beer and/or wine every day
except our last day

At 7pm we went over to Bali Steak & Seafood  for dinner.  It was an overpriced expensive but delicious meal.  I got fillet Mignon and Mj got the New York Strip steak.  At those prices you'd think they'd give you the the sides but since they didn't we ordered the medley of mashed potatoes, green beans and Jasmine rice.   We got a free dessert with a coupon but were so full that we had to take our 7 layer chocolate cake to go.  We are only half way through our vacation at this point.  Time was moving nice and slow, I was having a blast and there were still four days to look forward to.

Honeymoon Day 5-6

Backyard Landscaping

I am still getting my honeymoon posts together but in the meantime I thought I'd post about something that happened before that.

Our backyard which until recently was an ugly dirt lot was finally completed two weeks before our honeymoon.  This was hubby's project from start to finish and it took a little bit longer then originally planned but he got the job done within the 6 month HOA time frame.  We were just fine with having a small backyard.  We really didn't want the maintenance and upkeep that a large one would require.  We definitely didn't want to worry about watering grass or sprinkler systems.  We could have done concrete like just about everyone else on the block but we wanted to do something different.  Our landscaping concept was so fancy in fact that the HOA required an architectural review.  They made us submit our plan, documentation and get 6 of our neighbors to sign off on it before approving.  Then we get this little letter in the mail from them kindly letting us know that they had not received our $120 payment for architectural review.  Huh?  I suppose that was in the fine print somewhere in that thick book of rules and regs but I sure didn't see it.  

 After initially considering the cheaper possibility of having Mj and friends attempt to do the work and five estimates later we hired a professional to lay pavers and build us a fire pit and stone planter.  The fire pit required a gas line which we didn't want to take any chances with and he and his friends really have no experience with landscaping.  They were just going to wing it and who knows how long it would have taken considering it took the pros 3 long days of hard work.  After the pavers were done we contacted a rock company to come out a few days later.  A big red dump truck pulled up and unloaded $425 worth of rocks in our driveway.  Who knew that something you get outside for free and kick with the bottom of your shoe could cost so much? Mj's friends who thankfully work for beer instead of cash came over and helped him lay down plastic and haul the rocks onto the sides of the house and the back corner of the yard.  Our house is no longer surrounded by dirt.

$425 bucks worth of rocks.  Our garage and everything in it is now coated in dust

 Of course I tried to talk Mj cheaper options like concrete but he was adamant about what he wanted so I stopped fighting it and just let it happen.  If it cost this much for our tiny yard I can only image how much it costs to have pavers in a large yard.  It was the more expensive option but I can't argue with the results.  Our yard may be small but now it looks nice and inviting.  It's opened up the space and made it appear so much larger.  We are going to add some potted plants around the edges and plant some in that handy dandy planter we had built.  If anyone has any ideas on plants that are hard to kill let me know.  I am really, really bad at remembering to water plants and in keeping with our low to no maintenance theme we want  tough plants that can stand up to our neglect.

We left this corner without pavers to fill with rocks

An inviting outdoor space for relaxing

 I can already see us sipping on wine cuddled up around the fire pit on a chilly night or enjoying some BBQ and beer outside on a sunny day.  We are going to have to spend even more money to get there.  Will it ever end?  Aside from the plants we still need to buy a grill and a small table with chairs to totally finish off our outdoor space.

Home Project:  Crown Moulding