hawaii | honeymoonin': hanauma bay

One of the highlights of our honeymoon was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. The beach and views were GORGEOUS. Although this is a tourist area, it was very well done - after paying your admission, you have to watch a short movie to learn how to respect the park and the underwater ecosystem. (No feeding the fish or standing on the reef!)

Snorkeling here was a little different than the snorkeling I've done in the past. I've always snorkeled off of boats in deep water and here you snorkel directly off the beach. It's a little challenging in such shallow water (I was afraid I'd accidently kick the reef!), but once you get the hang of it, it's amazing. We saw so many different fish and because the water was shallow, you could practically reach out and touch them. (I didn't!)

I know we're hard to resist, but hands off! We're taken!

Convict Tang.

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a! (or Reef Triggerfish - the state fish of Hawaii)

Believe it or not, folks, that's the last Hawaii post! (I can't believe there were 14 chapters to this crazy business trip/vacation/wedding/honeymoon story!) Oahu was definitely the most beautiful place Larry and I have ever been. I'd love to check out the other islands someday...and next time I won't have to pack a wedding dress!

Mahalo Hawaii, for an unforgettable trip!

hawaii | honeymoonin': makapu'u point

The hike to Makapu'u Point was one of those experiences that reminded you that Hawaii is really waaaaay out in the middle of the ocean. As the trail wound up to the summit there was blue, blue ocean just as far as you could see. From the top you could see Oahu's windward coast, Koko Head Crater, cacti, a lighthouse, Rabbit Island, and humpback whales.

hawaii | honeymoonin': on the beach

So...we'd planned a secret wedding, spent a week in Oahu, drove to the windward side, survived ingestion of the poop fish, hiked Mariner's Ridge, and gotten married. It was finally time for the honeymoon!

We had three days to enjoy the island after the wedding...and it was delicious! It felt so great to have all the pre-wedding stress lifted and to finally be married. We had nothing to do but enjoy ourselves. Those three days were also not enough time - ideally, I'd suggest at least a full week of honeymoon after the wedding. But those three days were a pretty great start to married life! We spent most of our time at the beach and eating delicious food. We also squeezed in a couple of outdoorsy adventures, like hiking to Makapu'u Point and snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, and spent a few hours wandering around the town of Kailua:




We spent one day at Kailua Beach and one day at Lanikai Beach. Both were amazing - great swimming, palm trees shading the beach, and views of The Mokes (Twin Islands).






We spent a lot of time watching dogs play on the beach. I'm normally a stickler for leash laws, but all the dogs we saw in Hawaii were so laid back and well behaved off-leash. It was as though even the dogs understood how lucky they were to live in such a gorgeous place and appreciated the island pace of life.

Pug! Dachshund! Beagle!

Great Dane!

When we weren't watching the dogs, we were watching all the outdoorsy people kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and outrigger canoeing. Around 4 in the afternoon, it seemed that everyone got off work and headed to the beach to paddle. What a great lifestyle!