To say we were excited for our Hawaii trip, is a TOTAL understatement! We left Monday morning, the 19th, so the day right after graduation. Our flight had one layover in LA, and then straight through to Maui. As we were landing in Hawaii, I was watching out the window, and tears came to my eyes. It was absolutely breathtaking, and I was so happy to be there. I couldn't believe how green everything was, everywhere you looked! When we got to Hawaii, we went to the grocery store first and got some basics for the condo, then headed to check into Noelani. Grandma, Kurt and Kerry were staying there during our whole trip, and we had dinner with them the first night, and also a few other meals throughout our whole vacation. It was really fun to catch up with them, and spend some quality one on one time together.
While we were there, we didn't want to have a strict agenda to follow, so we just had an idea of things we'd like to do, and went from there day to day. We went the Big Beach the most, Ryan's favorite. We went shopping on Front Street, and also at Whaler's Village. We LOVED going out to eat at all the fun restaurants with island flair. One day we took a drive to the other side of the island and drove the Road to Hana, we hiked the Pipiwai Trail to the Waimoku Waterfall. It was incredible, and so worth the drive....even though I was super car-sick/pregnancy sick the whole drive there and back! When we hiked back down the trail, we went to the Seven Sacred Pools of Ohe'o. Unfortunately they were closed to the public and we couldn't swim, but it was still gorgeous to sit and just watch all the water run through the pools and out to the ocean.
Another day we hiked up to Nakalele Point to see the blowhole, and the heart cut out shape in the rocks. It was a fun hike in since you just park on the side of the road and make your own trail in. There isn't a specific marked way to go, so it's fun to just explore! We walked through a big spot of lava rocks, and it looked like what we imagined Mars would look like, so cool! The blowhole was awesome, and we Ryan stood close to it for a photo, it blew up one of the biggest sprays we saw, it was awesome, and he was totally soaked!
We also went to Honolua Bay a couple of times, that was my favorite beach since the water is about chest high for a long way out, and the waves are very mild!
It was such a fun and gorgeous trip, Noelani was incredible and we feel so lucky that Ryan's family owns it, and we have access to such a gorgeous place to stay!
We seriously can't wait to go back again, and experience it all again!
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| view on our Lanai at Noelani...welcome to Hawaii!! |
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| First day at Big Beach, successful day of boogie boarding for Ryan! |
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| my view at Big Beach. pretty lovely! |
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| My boogie boarding pro |
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| pizza at Whaler's Village, pretty huge and tasty! |
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| turtles in the bay right down the path from our Noelani condo |
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| dinner with Grandma, Kurt and Kerry at Leilani's on the Beach in Whaler's Village |
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| made a pit stop along the Road to Hana |
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| Hana pit stop selfie! |
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| hiking through the bamboo forest on the way to Waimoku Falls |
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| Ryan in front of the Waimoku Falls |
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| we made it! |
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| Ryan's agile jumping skills off of Black Rock |
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| homemade dinner on the lanai with a view! |
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| Big Beach round 2! |
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| announcing to the rest of the world that we are expecting! |
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| loving our Luau experience |
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| Luau time! |
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| Feast of Lele Luau |
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| Nakalele Blowhole |
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| heart in the rock near the Blowhole |
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| Ryan was a great boogie boarder, and since I'm not the best swimmer, I made for a great spectator and bobbler! |
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| Cheeseburger in Paradise |
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| Slappy Cakes, make your pancakes = awesome! |
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| loving ourselves some breakfast! |
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| tossing my lei, and hoping to come back soon! |
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