While we were in Aruba in May, I was surfing on the timeshare site one day. A slot around Thanksgiving time for Kauai came up. I couldn’t resist and told Tom that we should go ahead and book it, because timeshare exchanges around holidays in Hawaii is difficult to book. We agreed, thinking that it would be just our next vacation.
I don’t really know when he actually decided to propose. But when this wedding planning landed in November, I was thankful that I didn’t have to think more of a honeymoon plan. The lodging was booked. The flight was booked. The car rental was booked. It was almost like this location was already chosen for us by chance; and it is where we should go.
I guess; if I have the time to choose, Hawaii is probably not high on my list as a honeymoon place. Mainly, it is because I have been to all the islands (except Molokai), at least twice each place!!! The South Pacific or the Greek islands would be my choice instead. But somehow, it didn’t bother me. I figure I would have different experience because this time I am going with Tom, on our honeymoon.
The only adjustment I made to our original plan is to add a few days in Oahu. And this happened about 3 weeks before the wedding. A room at the Marriott Ko Olina resort opened up, perfect timing to our existing plan. I used a soon-to-expire certificate to get this room for the entire week for a mere $199. I called the airline to see if we can change the return flight (between Oahu and LA), thinking I would end up paying for a penalty. No, the flight was booked using my miles, so no fee for changing the return, thanking my elite status for this. We did pay a minimal fee of $20 for the inter-island flight change. Wow, what a plan, we spent 5 nights in Kauai and 4 nights in Oahu.
It still amazes me how well we travel together. Or maybe I should say, I am a great planner and Tom is really easy going. Before I forget, I find it peculiarly incidental that the movie “mama mia” was playing on the airplane during the trip. I hope you know the story. I love the music! I first saw it on Broadway when I visited Andrea in NJ couple years ago now. Oh, it is upbeat love music, and the scenery is gorgeous. Ok, the actresses and actors were only so so. But I was singing along next to Tom anyway. Gosh, he was shaking his head and rolling his eyes the entire time. He didn’t quite get it. Come on, I just got married, we were on our way to our honeymoon, the airplane is playing a love movie with great music, I was happy humming away.
When we landed in Honolulu, we had a 4-hour layover before our inter-island flight to Kauai. Instead of sitting at the airport, Tom’s great idea is to catch a local bus from the terminal to Waikiki, thinking it probably would take maybe 20 minutes the most. Well, two hours later, after we made who knows how many local street turns, we got off the bus onto Waikiki beach, with our carry-on bags and 3 laptops. We stare at the ocean for about 20 minutes and decided we needed to catch a taxi this time to get back to the airport before we missed our flight!
Our inter-island flight by Island Air is a max 40 people small plane. I have never flown them before. I chose it because it was cheaper than Hawaiian Air. They were very efficient. We got our bags immediately. The only thing is their flights are not frequent enough for any kind of standby. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have our local Waikiki bus tour…
This is my 4th time on Kauai (I am pretty sure). Everyone said Kauai is quiet and boring. At the beginning, I agreed. Now, the more often I go, the more I am in love with this island. Oh, the Big Island is still my favorite, but all of them are coming closer each time.
When we landed, it only took me a few minutes to orient myself. I quickly discovered that I would be the assigned navigator for the trip. This is Tom’s first time to Kauai. By the time we checked into the Marriott Kauai Beach Club, and rushed out to the balcony to look at our ocean view, it was already dark!!! We just browsed around the resort and had a quick bit at one of the restaurant there. We didn’t feel like going back out.
It rained the next day, most of the day. It is perfect for honeymooner. It forces Type A people like me to stay put a while and not try to overpack the day with everything under the sun!!! We finally left the resort and headed toward northeast of the island. We stopped for lunch and farmer’s market in Hanalei. We bought this huge avocado from one of the produce stand. They don’t know the name either. They just called it buttery avocado??? It is locally grown. It is yummy!!!! We can just eat it without adding anything. Ok, maybe a few chips. No salt needed. The rest of the day, we just stopped at different beaches. The surf is high, not as famous as Oahu north shore, but it is still really good to look at. We got to the end of the road, at Ke’ e Beach, after a brief visit to the Haena cave first. I tried my photography skill on the wedding ring and this wonderful eroded tree roots on the beach. I was just goofing around while Tom was contemplating the meaning of life at sea... any moment now, I would start chasing all these wild roasters…
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