Friday, August 03, 2007

Honeymoonin in Hawaii!


We’re here in Hawaii for our honeymoon, and can’t believe we only have 2 more days left in Maui before heading to O’ahu for our second and FINAL week in Hawaii. It’s been so nice and relaxing…as well as adventurous!

Leaving Calgary airport:


A stop over in Seattle:


Arrival at Maui airport:


We landed at 6pm, rented our car, and headed to our condo. Within the hour it was already dark…but still hot! Our condo is beautiful and has all the luxuries of a regular kitchen. This called for a good thorough grocery shopping trip to Foodland. Apparently this trip wasn’t as thorough as we originally thought as we’ve been back every day since. We haven’t eaten out yet at all—we’re saving that for next week when we won’t have a kitchen. Well, we did buy a nummy smoothie, and today we plan on buying this island’s specialty: shaved ice.

I'm pointing to our condo:


The condo inside:


The view from our window (it's a rough life I know) :


Our rental car. My goodness it’s BEAUTIFUL. We don’t have a good picture yet, but it sure is a 2007 Ford Mustang Convertible!! We feel so spoiled. You will see a picture of it…SOON.

Our first full day in Hawaii was spent biking 9, 750 feet down a volcano to the ocean. We were picked up at 7am, trucked up the (obviously inactive) volcano, and guided down it on bikes that were provided. Breakfast and lunch were included, and both were consumed at some point on the volcano. One of the options for lunch was a Chef salad. Are Lowell and I the only Canadians who didn’t/don’t know what that is? When we questioned them, the guide just repeated “CHEF SALAD” with extra clarity. Um, but what is it? Apparently a salad with turkey, bacon, shrimp among other goods.
The ride was beautiful and we went through patches of intense fog & rain (pedaling through the clouds) , then right back into the clear sunshine. We got to the bottom at almost 2pm. I think this is the only situation where you can spend 6 hours on a bike and get NO exercise!

From the top of the volcano:




The parking lot at the top where several bike tours gather:


They also provided rain suits and helmets. This is us! Lowell=blue; Julie=yellow:


Wednesday we tried out the BEACH for the first time. We have our own little beach about a minute away. Again. SO spoiled! We about burned our feet on the sand, but enjoyed laying in the warm (well, extremely hot) sun. And yes, we were wearing waterproof SPF 45. Sunscreen is our best friend these days!

Yes, the beaches actually look like this!

After the beach, we took a 4 hour walk through and around the town of Kihei. We stopped at all the little markets and scouted prices out. Are we supposed to barter in Hawaii? I know that goes on in Mexico, but some of these markets look the same as Mexico, and they have no prices with them, so we feel like they should be bartered down. Is this kosher? I don’t know. Are we dumb Canadian tourists? YEP and LOVING it!

Yesterday was another beach day and we went body boarding! It was super fun catching the waves and getting sand blasted. When we were finished for the day and I took off my bathing suit, I was wearing a sand suit! Sand stuck to me like glue and I probably could’ve gone out in public and no one would’ve noticed that I wasn’t wearing anything! Sorry folks, no picture there.



PS: by the time we brought the camera out, the waves were dinky. Trust me: we caught MUCH bigger waves than this!!

Today we have more sun, fun, and body boarding planned.

Until next time….aloha!

6 comments :

Mama Bear said...

wanna trade? You and Lowell can write my exams and i'll go and relax on a beach in hawaii.

Looks like so much fun!!

shareen said...

oh so jealous...and so happy to hear about it! look forward to talking to you when you get back. (by the way, you'll need to email me your new contact info at the new condo in etown)

Elizabeth said...

Yeah, I'll ditto on the trade.. how about if you get to be 23 days away from a baby's arrival and I get to go surfing and biking in Hawaii??? Takers? Just kidding, I'm so glad that you are having fun. Looks AWESOME!!

Allison D. said...

je suis jalouse!! :)

you guys look like you're having a stellar time...paradise!!

Karyn Clemens said...

I still find it funny that you're taking time to BLOG when you're in HAWAII!! On your HONEYMOON, no less! Aye Carumba! Crazy kids. One day I'll go to Hawaii...one day. *sigh*
Glad to see you're having a blast!

~K~

Ryan,Grace,Penny, Tytus, Henry & Liam said...

I second, I can't believe you are blogging from hawaii. but all the better for us who aren't in paradise, we can live it through your thorough descriptions. Enjoy the rest of your time there and looking forward to hearing/seeing more.