Hawaii Part II - Maui

get ready this blog post is lengthy....i couldn't leave anything out!

Now onto part II of the honeymoon...Maui! Many of our family and friends have been to Maui, so I was excited to see it myself. Nick's family used to vacation fairly often in Maui, so he is familiar with certain parts of the island. Although we did a lot of different things than he's done before plus we were on our honeymoon :)

We arrived in Maui at night and decided to rent a Jeep Wrangler for our first few days. pretty awesome. We stayed in Wailea at the Wailea Marriott Resort & Spa. Definitely a nice resort with a big open air lobby...everything was more sleek and modern at this hotel. That night a local recommended a local karaoke sushi bar...so good and fun!

Riding Jeep Style!


Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa


Day 1 in Maui was spent going to the Tedeschi Vineyards at the Ulupalakua Ranch. This was Nick's wedding present to me! We stopped and got sandwiches at Grandma's House in "upcountry" Maui and then drove the winding road to the winery. This is Maui's only commercial winery and has some great wines! We did the tasting and then had our picnic outside on the ranch. The rest of our day was spent relaxing at the resort and sharing a bottle of wine during a BEAUTIFUL Maui sunset :)

Getting lunch at Grandma's House


Wine Tasting!


Oceanside wine


sunset and a sunburn


Day 2 was our adventure on the Road to Hana! AMAZING. We left Poipu at about 8am and it took us all day...we loved every second of this day though and were so glad we had an open top jeep to enjoy it. The Road to Hana is a 68 mile highway from Kahului to the town of Hana. It is a winding road through lush tropical rain forest that goes over 59 bridges (mostly 1 lane) and 620 curves...although the whole thing is curves, so I don't know how they count. The scenery is amazing and we followed our guidebook to see almost everything along the way. We saw many beautiful waterfalls right off the road as well as some awesome coastline views.

Road to Hana 4WD


Start of all the turns


View of Road to Hana from the other side of the road


One of many waterfalls we saw along the way


One of the main things we did along the way was the hike to The Four Falls of Na’ili’ili-Haele. Quite an adventure...we ended up following a man and his two sons because they had done it on a previous trip. The hike included a bamboo forest, boulder hopping over creeks, climbing on a rope ladder that scaled the waterfall, swimming through one waterfall pool to get to the next and seeing 4 beautiful waterfalls. Took up about 2.5 hours but was worth it!

entering the trail in the bamboo forest


the trail to Na’ili’ili-Haele waterfalls


waterfall #3


We grabbed snacks at the halfway to hana roadside stand, made it to Hana, and kept going to the Seven Sacred Pools. We finally made it there before sunset to get some beautiful pictures...we didn't swim because the water was pretty cold! Most people turn around at this point and head back through Hana and home on the same road, but there is a 1 lane grated dirt road that takes you along the south coast of the island and along the back of the Haleakala Volcano. It takes a 4WD, so we did it! The road this way is insane....no guard rails, no yield signs, RIGHT along the cliff. Once you get to the countryside of the volcano it's pretty easy....unless you see a cow headed straight for you in the middle of the road! luckily i had my high beams on and have good vision! That night we were pretty tired, so we ordered room service :)

view from road to hana


hawaiian ice at black sand beach national park


seven sacred pools


another shot of seven sacred pools


it's scary to drive on the edge of a sea cliff!


driving along the backside of the Haleakala Volcano


Day 3 of Maui was my wedding present to Nick...surfing lessons in Lahaina! We had a blast...we both got up and surfed...some better than others ;) We then went sight seeing through Lahaina and up to Kapalua and Black Rock. We tried to snorkel in Black Rock but the water wasn't very clear...however we did bump into (literally) a very large sea turtle....which caused me to suck in a lot of water.

ready to surf!


riding waves


Nick is up!


Surfing pair


Nick hanging loose with our surfing instructor, Danny


trying local brews at Cool Cats in Lahaina



Day 4 we had our last adventure....seeing the sunrise on the Haleakala volcano and biking riding down the bottom. This means you have to get up at 2:30am (during your vacation....), drive to the bike shop where they load you in a van and drive you to the top of the volcano. The sunrise was incredible and they do a native chant when it comes up. We then rode our bikes all the way back down the volcano to the shop. Luckily we chose to do a self guided bike ride so we could go at our own pace...plus we got to stop for a full breakfast at the Kula Lodge! yummmy. We had a really fun time doing this, but due to the early wake up call...we wouldn't do it again :)

4:30 AM


Haleakala Sunrise


Kalahalu Overlook on Haleakala crater


biking our way down!


The rest of our day was spent napping and eating at the other resorts in Wailea...the Grand Hyatt pool bar for lunch and the Four Seasons Farraro's for dinner.

dinner at Ferraro's


Day 5 and our last full honeymoon day was "Leslie and Nick relaxation day"....Nick played golf at the Wailea gold course and I got a massage from the Grand Wailea Spa Grande...which was incredible!! Since it was our last night we had a very special dinner at Mama's Fish House in Paia. It was the best dinner of our trip...the restaurant itself is beautiful and really cool with canopies and flowers through the restaurant. Then the food was to die for....amazing fish. What a way to end the trip!

Nick golfing at Wailea Gold


Mama's fish house


love :)


awesome cocktails and dinner at mama's fish house


The morning before we left we did some awesome snorkeling at Wailea Beach and worked really hard to pack under the bag weight limit...we made it but it was not easy!

Wailea Beach



All I can say is we love Hawaii and were incredibly lucky to spend 10 days in Kauai and Maui...we loved all the adventure, the food, the beaches, and the relaxation of traveling. I want to go back!

Hawaii Part I - Kauai

We had an awesome time on our honeymoon in Hawaii and I'd like to share it all with you. Feel free to read whatever parts intrigue you b/c it may get a little lengthy. We had a pretty active honeymoon...the most outdoors activities I've done in years, so we have lots to tell!

On Our Way to Hawaii


The first island we visited was Kauai "The Garden Isle". It is the most beautiful paradise I've ever seen. Picture perfect to the point where you feel like you're in a movie or a vacation magazine....we also felt like we were in "LOST" or "Jurassic Park", haha.

Kauai Airport


Aloha!


Newlyweds in Hawaii!


Everything is green, lush, and blooming. The people are friendly and it's not a built up island, so you really feel far away from the world. It's a true escape. We arrived here after a LOOOONG, but uneventful flight. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in southern Kauai in the town of Poipu. The Grand Hyatt was BEAUTIFUL. Nothing goes unnoticed or uncared for at this resort. It was impeccably decorated and clean...it was all open air and smell deliciously like fresh flowers. Our room was on the lawn and opened out to the front of the hotel and the ocean....perfect. The pool there was amazing...it is a big lagoon that zig-zagged it's away up and down and all around the land of the resort. there were little downhill rivers, waterfalls, jacuzzi areas, adults only area, and big part that was surrounded by a beach. The Grand Hyatt also sits on Shipwreck Beach and there's a 50 foot sea cliff, Makawehi Point bluff there as well. Nick, myself and two other guys (honeymooners we met at the pool) actually jumped off this cliff after a few mai-tais and into the rough water...big, powerful surf. Everything I've read since says don't jump off this cliff. It wasn't one of our brighter moments. I will say we asked a local surfer kid to do it first to see if he survived. Luckily we all survived...with a few bruises from hitting the water...wouldn't do it again nor recommend it.

front of our resort


Resort Panoramic - click on it for a better view


Shipwreck beach and sea bluff


Day 1 in Kauai we relaxed...we couldn't sleep in due to the time difference so so we walked around the resort and had a DELICIOUS buffet breakfast on the outdoor terrace next to the resort waterfall. awesome. then we went to the pool and relaxed, read our books, then went cliff jumping. Later that night we drove to Scotty's BBQ in Kapaa.(recommended by our good friend, Rebecca Harper) We had some delicious Hawaiian BBQ at the seaside restaurant.

up early and taking pics!


resort lava rock jacuzzi


relaxing at the resort salt water pool and beach


Day 2 had some adventure. We signed up for zip lining in northern Kauai, in Princeville. We got our harnesses on and were taken out to the Princeville Ranch which is in the middle of a jungle with 9 different zip lines of different heights and lengths. The adventure included lunch at a hidden swimming hole, so myself and a 12 year old girl got to carry the lunch backpacks to add some weight to us. (embarrassing) This was to make sure that we could gain some speed and make it to the other side of every line....I would also get a running start and curl up in a ball to go fast! This worked every time except the last....on the double zip line, King Kong. This was after lunch (empty backpack) and Nick and went together and started off holding hands...really slowed me down. Guess who made it to the other side and who didn't...the guide tried to throw me a rope, but she threw it too late and I missed it. I slid allllll the way back down the line to the middle, where I just hung out (literally) above the jungle and a nice little creek below me. for about 10 mins till the guide made her way to me and the group reeled us both back in. To make it a little more embarrassing, there were other zip lining groups who stopped to watch the rescue and clapped at the end. It's always something....

Zipliners


The king kong zip line!


Afterwards we went exploring! We found Queens Bath, Hideaways Beach, Secret Beach, Princeville which was surprisingly a really nicely laid out community. And our favorite spot was the Secret Lava Pools...REALLY hard to find. We found a random path between two oceanside mansions and followed it. The path led to this incredible lava formation between two cliffs where the water comes in to form little pools. There were tons of little fish, crabs, sea urchins and lord knows what else in the pools. Nick and I both jumped in the deepest one and immediately jumped out for fear of weird sea life...hahaha. We then trespassed (opps) onto one of the mansion properties to the top of a sea cliff to find a gorgeous view. This is a perfect example of why I love to travel...finding something that's not touristy, off the beaten path, and makes your experience incredible! On our way home we needed a snack so we stopped in Hanalei at Bubba's Burgers. They have 3 locations in Kauai and made what we thought was the most amazing hamburger of our lives.

Queen's Bath


Hideaways Beach


Secret Lava Pools Explorer


That night we had dinner at one of the best restaurants on the island which happened to be at our resort...Tidepools. Gorgeous thatched roof restaurant with little huts over the koi filled lagoon.


The next day we headed north again...this time to Hanalei, Tunnels Beach and the Na Pali Coast. We stopped at an awesome roadside stand on the way to grab some delicious fruit and sandwiches for our picnic. Then we stopped in Hanalei to check out the surf shops...Hanalei is a quaint, beautiful beach town in Kauai. If we make a trip back to Hawaii, we'd like to rent a house here. Then we made our way to Tunnels Beach. Tunnels Beach is hands down the most beautiful beach we've ever seen. Like something on a postcard. The large green mountains of Kauai descend down right on the beach. At the base there is a very cool cave and then a gorgeous beach. The water is crystal clear and the reef there is amazing. We snorkeled amongst some colorful fish and numerous sea turtles! Those guys are so chill....just floating along occasionally using their fins to get some speed. Really cool to see. We had our picnic lunch on the beach and relaxed for a bit.

Tunnels Beach


Fresh Coconut juice and some crazy beach hair


Next we headed up the road to the start of Na Pali coast hike. It's 11 miles along gorgeous sea cliffs where there are no roads. If you want to do the whole thing people recommend camping...if you don't want to hike it then lots of people see it by helicopter or zodiac boat. The first 2 miles of the hike take you to a beach and a waterfall....that was our goal and then to turn around. Since we had such a great time at Tunnels Beach and were on a timetable to get back for the Luau that night soooo we did 1 mile, experienced the cliffs and gorgeous views and then turned around. hahaha. a little disappointing, but leaves something for the next trip. To anyone who wants to do this - it's not an easy hike. It has lots of rocky, muddy parts and tons of tree roots...parts of the cliffs are windy (I had to anchor my foot under a root to not get blown off the cliffside!).

Na Pali Coastline


The luau that night at our resort was pretty fun, we sat a table of honeymooners and two of them happen to live in nyc on the upper west side! such a small world. We had some good mai tais and hawaiian cuisine while watching the show and dancing. Glad we got to see a luau.


Our last day in Kauai was spent relaxing around our resort in Poipu...we saw Sprouting Horn, a natural lava formation that blows out water when the waves crash. We had some famous Hawaiian hotdogs at Puka Dog, sooooo good! Then we laid by the pool with some frozen drinks till our sad departure from Kauai.

Puka Dogs


Sprouting Horn


Hawaiian Monk Seal on Poipu Beach


Last frozen cocktail at the Grand Hyatt Pool


I would've loved 1 more day in Kauai and at our fabulous resort...so I was kinda sad to leave. Nick kept saying, "we're still on our honeymoon! We're going to another island!" haha...I knew I would love Maui too...but Kauai was an incredible time.

Off to Maui!


Ready for more honeymooning


Married :)