Honeymoon

As most of you know, Ryan and I are heading to the honeymoon capital of the world:  Hawaii!!  We will be leaving the day before Thanksgiving, traveling the 4,000+ miles and finally landing on the Island Chain called the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaii (the specific Island) is the newest of the Hawaiian Islands.  It has a continuously dripping active volcano (Kiluea), lots of lava fields, lush rain forests and is the biggest of the Hawaiian Islands.  Oh, for those of you coffee lovers, KONA Coffee is made in Kona, where Ryan and will be staying for 5 days.  We plan to do the following on Hawaii:

• Kayak to a bay to snorkel
• Hike to the volcano
• Hike to a Green Sand beach (WOW!)
• Attending a luau with all the drums and fire and dancing
• Star watch  (at the top of a mountain, in the calmest atmosphere, where all the words best star-investigating is done by the professionals! No offense Big Sky family, this might have a fighting chance of being just as good!)
• Eat lots of coconut, seafood, fish, guava, macadamia and avocado (well, I will at least!)
• Drink Mai-Tai's
• Boogie Board

After our 5 days on the Big Island we fly to the Island of Maui.  Here we have lots of activities planned!

• Humpback Whale watching
• Snorkel Tour and Sail
• Road to Hana (this is what you think of when you think of Hawaii, but really, Hawaii is VERY much covered in old hardened Lava fields and MOUNTAINS with only a small portion of the east side of each island lush, tropical, rainforest green)
• And some beach time for me.

Following our 4.5 days on Maui we head to Honolulu (Oahu) to meet up with my cousin, Serina, and one of my oldest friends, JoEllen.  There we will get a tour of Pearl Harbor (nearly on the remembrance day!).  Enjoy some good company and our last few hours in Hawaii.

One fun story that we already have regarding this trip.  Helicopter rides are "the thing" in Hawaii.  There are many places that you cannot drive, hike or boat to easily.  Everyone who has gone to Hawaii that I spoke with said 1) the helicopter ride was the best thing they did or 2) the one thing they regretted the most, other than coming home, was not going on the helicopter ride.

I had told Ryan multiple times we couldn't afford such an adventure.  However, after talking with my good friend Sam, I was convinced.  (She told me to just suck it up and do it.)  Who knows when we'll have the opportunity again?  My goal was to book the trip and not tell Ryan a thing about it.  I was to stick to my guns about how expensive it was.  Ryan was flying home that night, arriving around midnight.  After booking the trip I was so excited I couldn't sleep.  Before I knew it, Ryan was walking in the door and the first thing I did?  Blurt out the surprise I had booked for him and I!!!  

 

Anyways,  I have no pictures to post so I am posting a few of my favorites from a recent email from my Grandpa and Grandma Johnson.  Beautiful!