Weddingbee Blog

Part One: Kauai

Day 5 - Friday
 
We took an all-day catamaran excursion with Trilogy. Even though we picked what’s called their “Sunset Tour” we still had to arrive at 10am. They sailed us to the private island of Lanai where we had a driving tour of the quaint town, and then some time to snorkel on the famed Hulopoe Beach, supposedly one of the best beaches in the world. I wish we had spent more time actually snorkeling, but I kept gagging at the salt water and it hurt my ears…

Then they served us a BBQ dinner in their pavillion and we sailed back with the sunset as one of the crewmen played the ukulele. It was so picturesque! They also fed us all day: fresh cinnamon buns, (non-alcoholic) drinks, fresh fruit, wraps, chips & salsa, and the BBQ. Cost: Approx $190 per person (ouch, I didn’t realize it was so much until I checked our credit card statement!)

P.S. Apparently we weren’t wearing enough sunscreen cuz we got painfully FRIED. 

Our catamaran. It was deceptively large inside and fit at least 40 of us! 

Sailing 

Hulopoe Beach 

The ukulele player

And the sunset.
 
Day 6 - Saturday
 
On Saturday we tackled the famed Road to Hana. It was a cloudy day and drizzled off and on. 

Twisty windy roads

There is a lady who sells the most amazing fresh-baked banana bread at a little stand right off the road. She goes back and forth between the stand and her oven, and when she’s not around, you just leave $3 under a designated rock, and take a wrapped (still hot!) slice from a little warming box. It was… delicious!  

Ahhh… Hawaii! 

We didn’t think too much of the little town of Hana once we got there…

The most amazing views of the black sand beaches were from the State Park just a few miles before entering the town of Hana.

I was entranced with the blue-ness of the water.

In a little tunnel, aka a “lava tube” 

Dinner: Mama’s Fish House. I heard MANY raves about this place so we had to taste for ourselves!

We arrived a bit early for our dinner reservation so we spent some time on their private beach, watching the most spectacular sunset…

Fresh baked bread and complimentary asparagus soup. I wanted a whole BOWL of that soup, and aspargus is my least favorite veggie!!

Sashima - Ahi tuna - so fresh!!

Mr. E’s Crispy Kalua duck with mango glaze was perfection…

My wild fish in panang curry was amazing…

And dessert… was heaven!! The Polynesian Black Pearl: chocolate mousse and passion fruit cream covered in dark chocolate ganache, atop a crispy, buttery “seashell.” Hands down, best dessert I have EVER had. In fact, this whole meal was probably the best meal we have ever had!! Total cost: Approx $150
 
Day 7 - Sunday
 
We spent the day wandering the streets of Lahaina, a little town with tons of art galleries, jewelery and gift shops. Before our 9PM flight back stateside, we were craving some Japanese food, so we asked a local for a recommendation. The Japanese store owner recommended Tokyo Tei, a little hole-in-the-wall establishment which was nearly impossible to find (it was tucked away in a covered garage area). But we found it! It was kinda old and dingy and there was no sushi bar, but the food was GREAT! This was punctuated by the fact that the place was crowded with actual local Japanese residents!  Always a good sign when you are looking for something authentic. 

Eaiting our way through Lahaina…

Ah yes, Mr. E is sporting my purse and drinkin’ a smoothie! 

So bummed to leave this island paradise!
 
The end…

Overall, we loved Hawaii. But in comparison, we decided that we enjoyed our trip to Paris/London (when he proposed) last fall even more so than Hawaii. I guess we prefer urban to rural! But there is a good reason why so many honeymooners come here: it’s beautiful!! However - be warned - it is also pricey! But hey, it’s your honeymoon, might as well do it right, right?!  I must say that for reasons I cannot explain, we were lucky enough to have free lodging for our entire trip, and we bought our plane tickets with frequent flier miles, so our expenses were only for food and fun! That way, we were able to “splurge” more than we normally would. Yay!