Why Me Canyon?

Another highlight was Waimea Canyon, in Kauai.  It's called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  This stop has a story! 

We drove up some crazy curvy roads to get here and snapped some pictures (including this one of Jason) at a lookout with an amazing view right? Well, I decided we needed an even better view.  According to my trusty map, there was a waterfall just a mile off the road inside the canyon.  I'm thinking its this phenomenal site, so I convince Jason to check it out.  We get out of the car and we're walking down this level dirt path and I think any second the woods will part and a waterfall will jut out from the sky.

Well, we keep walking and no waterfall.  Keep in mind we are in flip flops, and brought a half a bottle of water with us.  We're walking and talking....and see a this sign...Waipoo Falls 1 mile.  At this point Jason is ready to turn around, but he knows I won't turn around until I have some sort of "Ah ha moment." And besides, what's one more mile....?

 

We keep going...then the trail turns a little rough...as in down hill!

 At this point, even I'm ready to throw in the towel.  We're sweaty and hot and sandals don't have the best traction when you're heading down hill.  Then some crazy hiker says, "You're almost there, really it's a spectacular view you should keep going."  So against our better judgment we keep going.  Frankly we're lucky we didn't break an ankle. We were slipping and sliding all over the place and you know what? We never made it to the waterfall!!  'The spectacular view' was this, another lookout point.

It was a beautiful site, but the beauty came second to the thought of having to hike back out of here!

We snapped our picture, took a mintue to take it all in (and rest) and started back.

From here on out, Jason called this 'Why Me Canyon'...a twisted variation of it's true name Waimea (Why-a-mea) Canyon.  This has become the famous picture....the 'Why Me' stance in the middle of the dessert.

Both of us were tempted to rip out that sign that said the falls were 1mi.  Never trust a wooden sign in a forest lol.  It was a rough hike, but we definitley have a story to tell!

Pearl Harbor

While in Honolulu we went to see Pearl Harbor.  More than one million people visit this floating monument every year.  They ferry small boats of people out to the site that sits on top of the USS Arizona, one of four ships sunk by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.

    Our visit was an eerie experience.  A few pieces of the battle-scarred ship are above water and you can see streaks of oil as it slowly leaks out of the seventy year old tomb. 

The wall inside the 184 foot memorial lists the 1,102 soldiers who lost their lives that December day.

Surf's up

After Kauai we went to Honolulu.  We stayed right near Waikiki Beach, which we quickly learned was a much faster paced area.  It's basically Fifth Avenue with a beach.  Fast paced or not, it was still sunny and gorgeous.     

Once we adjusted to the change in pace, we set out to have a little fun. We watched some crazy surfers, and had more funny looking drinks with fruit lol.  Everyone is a surfer here. 

A trip favorite

Hanalei Bay was one our favorite spots in Kauai.  We drove about an hour north of the resort to hang out here for the day and it was well worth it.  The water is calm and aqua marine colored, and even though its a public beach very few people were there.  It was so peaceful.  In front of us was the bay, to the left of us mountains.

The north part of the island, Princeville, is known for being the rainy side of the island.  It rained for about a minute on our way there and that was it.  Outside the beach area there is an old school shopping area.  It's not built up and overpriced, its just mom and pop shops which was really cool.  We bought a few things and then had a Hawaiian staple - Shave Ice.  It's like a snow-cone, only a million times better.  A friend of ours recommended this particular vendor so we had to get some here, and on a hot day it hit the spot.

We really like how laid back everyone is on the island.  No business has a clock on the wall, traffic goes about 35 miles per hour, and no one is in a hurry. 

Beauty from above

While in Kauai we took a helicopter tour, since more than half the island can only be seen by air.  One family owns 85% of the island and they are very protective of it.  The entire western side of the island has no roads, it's just mountains and waterfalls you can only see from above.  Our hour long ride took us over the Na Pali Coast, where we took some amazing pictures. 

This one you might recognize - its the waterfall used for the movie Jurassic Park - only accessible by helicopter.

 

Paradise

Ah, Hawaii.  Just looking at the pictures puts us in a good mood.  For our honeymoon, we spent four nights in Kauai and three in Oahu.  This rock cliff was right near our resort in Kauai.  Because of the crazy time change, we were up for the sunrise the first morning we were there.  We decided to be ambitious and went on top of the rock cliff right to watch the sunrise. (There was a walking trail, we didn't need to put on hiking gear or anything lol.) 

It was gorgeous and a great way to start our week in paradise.

Our resort, The Grand Hyatt, was breathtaking as well.  This is the lobby.  As soon as you walk in you see the ocean, it was breathtaking.

The food was great, the views were amazing, and the staff was friendly.  All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better place to stay.

Everything was landscaped beautifully. Just walking around the resort was a treat. Each day we only spent half the day out and about, and then we came back and relaxed.

Wedding moments

There are a lot of moments during that day we'll remember.  So many people say your wedding day goes by in an instant, and it's true but Jason and I really made an effort to take it all in.  Because we did that, I felt like we really enjoyed those special moments like when Ashley and Josh gave their toast.  Both of them were heartfelt and funny and we really appreciated their kind words.

The cake cutting was another 'moment.'  Jason was semi-nice about giving me some cake, I on the other hand, took no mercy lol.