Well here I am back from my honeymoon. I recently got married to the love of my life and we were honeymooning in Hawaii for the past 16 days. We had such an amazing time and I feel so lucky to have married a man who loves to travel as much as I do. Before he and I met, I did a whole lot of traveling through work. My passport was actually running out of places to get stamped. Pretty cool huh? One day while in Kauai, I realized that I have never so much as journalized my adventures around the world. So now, my husband Chris and I will be working on a cruise ship together for seven months and we will be traveling to different parts of Europe, why not share with my family and friends my favorite places to eat, favorite sights and neat things to do in my upcoming travels . I do feel the need to let you in on some of my favorite places here in Hawaii. So here I go!
Our first stop took us to the AMAZING island of Kauai. Ok guys, seriously, if you plan on coming to Hawaii, please please please bypass Honolulu ( unless you have a layover) and head straight to this island. Chris found an amazing deal online that actually had me worried because it sounded too good to be true. He really is so great at finding great deals online. We stayed at the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort and Spa on the coconut coast. This place was just awesome! We had a one bedroom villa with a fully updated kitchen ( I wanna have a kitchen like this someday!!!). Our view from our balcony overlooked the lazy river pool and the ocean. Just wonderful! The only two downfalls that I could think of are that they don't have room service and for being on a honeymoon there were lots of small kids when laying out by the pool. No biggie and some of those kiddies were pretty darn cute.
Now on to my favorite part, FOOD! If you love cheeseburgers like I do then Bubba's Burgers will rock your world. Chris had a chili cheese dog that I couldn't keep my hands off and their cheese burgers alone are finger licking good. I didn't get to eat as much sushi on this island as I thought I would but the one place I did try was Sushi Bashido. It was recommended to me by Tony, the lady who gave me a kick butt massage at the spa. Boy was the fish fresh! Another place that I have to mention was the restaurant at the hotel ( Oasis Restaurant). When Chris and I walked in we weren't really sure what to expect. When we sat down the waitress explained that everything was served tapas style. My poor husband was really hoping for a big piece of steak but in the end we both really enjoyed everything that we tried. Especially the deserts and my two pear and pomegranate martinis.
One of the many things Chris and I enjoyed doing was getting in our rental car and driving around the island. Our first drive took us up to the north side of the island. We randomly stopped at a botanical garden. It was the Limahuli Garden and Preserve. We did a nice leisurely hike through the garden and took some nice pictures then went on our way. If there is anything that you should definitely do in Kauai is a hike in the Kokee State Park. We did the two mile Awaawapuhi Trail. Yeah it kicked my butt but the views at the end and even along the hike were well worth the blisters on my feet. Chris even said me cursing at him while rock climbing to the top was worth it too!
The next island we visited was Maui. We stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Club through our Disney Vacation Club membership. When we walked into our one bedroom and saw that we had an ocean view room our jaws dropped! Within fifteen minutes Chris spotted Whales in the water and I was in heaven. We booked a whale watching tour through Safari Boat Excursion. It was a two hour tour that guaranteed that we would see whales up close. Boy did we! It was the boat ride that we would never forget. Seriously within minutes we saw three whales breaching out of the water one right after the other. After seeing that I was ready to get back to dry land because I don't do so well on small boats. While in Maui we booked a two hour couples massage at the Maui Spa Retreat in Upcountry Maui. We had no idea what we were walking into all we knew was that we read a brief paragraph about their spa in the Hawaii for Dummies book. First of all the drive alone was just gorgeous. When we finally arrived we were guided to our own cottage in the mountains for our treatments. The cottage had it's own sauna and outdoor shower. We felt as if we were the only ones there. Amazing! After our alone time we both got wonderful massages plus my metro hubby got a facial and I got a scalp massage. Heaven! I could go on and on about all the wonderful things we did in Maui but I would have to say the best part of this island was driving up to Haleakala National Park to the summit ( about 10,023 feet above sea level ). We drove through and up and above the clouds to get to the top. It took my breath away literally. Just walking a few feet had me gasping at times because the air was thinner at that altitude. But oh it was so peaceful and quite up there.
Believe it or not the sights in Maui stuck out to me more so then the food. We did eat at Sansei Seafood and Sushi Restaurant. We were told by a few sources that Sansei is the place to get the best sushi on the whole island. Chris does not eat sushi but was able to order pork chops that was really yummy. If you are a tuna lover then let me tell you that their spicy tuna roll was the best tuna roll I have had in a long time. It just melted in my mouth. We had pizza at Pizza Paradiso Mediterranean across the street from our hotel. The bread sticks were just ok, the pizzas were delicious and the hummus was tasty.
The final island was the big island of Hawai'i. Chris found a bungalow overlooking the ocean north of Hilo. Beautiful estate with a beautiful room but the owner was just a but intrusive. Not rude by any means but just always around. We were luckily not in our room that much so it didn't affect our trip. Our main reason for visiting the big island was for the Volcanoes National Park. Chris has always wanted to see an active volcano so this was major priority for us. The park is stunning and there is so much to do . We chose to go to the Jagger Museum where you can look out and see the massive active crater where supposedly the goddess Pele lives. We also did a four mile hike across a crater that use to be a lake full of lava but has since cooled down in the last 60 years. This hike also kicked my butt and had me wishing I worked out more then I do.
Our first night in Hilo Chris asked me where I wanted to eat. I looked at him and said Pizza hut! I know so unadventurous of us but who can resist greasy pizza??? I know I can't! Our last night we decided to try Hilo Bay Cafe and it was such a nice meal to end our wonderful trip. This place is tucked away in a shopping plaza next to the walmart. But don't let appearances fool you. This cafe serves quality organic locally grown food. Chris had the blue bay burger, local free range beef with Gorgonzola cheese. I had the crab cake salad. So so good!
Well friends or whoever decides they want to follow me on this blogging journey, I hope you enjoyed my rambling and I look forward to writing about our next adventure. Weather it be in Spain, Greece or Morocco stay tuned!
Blessings,
Erika Holmes
