Airports (our final day) – Day 12

Since our flight back to Honolulu (to get our direct flight to EWR) was not until about 3pm, we were going to hit the beach in the morning, but the sun was not out. We were lucky to have great weather for the entire trip, but we knew that Kuaui didn’t always offer the most sun (it is the Emerald Isle). We decided to pack up and take a leisurely drive back towards the airport. We planned on stopping in Kapa’a, since there were plenty of great eateries for us to choose a lunch spot.  Since you can never have enough fish taco’s (especially when in Hawaii), we stopped at Monico's Taqueria, just below Kapa’a; great Mexican lunch. Since we had plenty of time, we made a stop of Border’s, Court needed a new book for the plane since I was hogging our new Kindle :) Our flight back to Honolulu ended up getting delayed by about 20 minutes, with a bunch of other Hawaiian Airline flights. The flight to Honolulu was smooth and we had plenty of time before our 7pm flight back to EWR, so we stopped for dinner at Kona Brewing Company. I decided to get a little more pig while in the Islands, so went with a pork sandwich. The flight back home was smooth and on time. It was only about 9 hours back (compared to 10 out), but was a long flight. We had a great time in Hawaii, and loved everything about it, at the same time we were ready to get back to Hoboken, NJ to start our life as husband and wife! :)

Mud & Pineapple – Day 11

Since we did the helicopter ride yesterday, this was our only other morning to do the hike we have been looking forward to all trip; the Napali Coast. The night before there were really heavy rains all night. In fact the bridge in and out of town was shutdown until about 3pm in the afternoon, and then only open partially until later in the evening! It was great that our accommodations were only about a 20 minute drive from Ke’e Beach, where the trail head was. We had went to the state department in Hawaii to get hiking permits to allow us to hike past the Hanakapiai Beach (2 miles out), as was our original intention. Due to the rains, the night before, the trail was very muddy and slick. There were a lot of rocks and a ton of mud. The 2 mile hike to the beach was more than we were used to, from our previous day hikes. It was an emotional and messy trek, but we made our way to the beach. We rested and had our power bars and decided we would head back since we had a challenging trek back. It had rained at times along the trail, as well, keeping things interesting.

The first 2 pictures, are photos of the actual trail, just to get an idea. To the right are photos of the end of the 2 mile hike out from Ke’e Beach. At the end of the stream is the beach, we decided to just end there to avoid getting any wetter :)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we got back to the Surfboard house, we rinsed out our muddy gear and left everything out to dry. I took advantage of the outdoor hot water shower at the Surfboard house as well as some cold beers, and we ate the lunch we had originally packed for the hike. After resting up for a bit, we decided we would walk into town to hit some shops, and I wanted to get a Mai Tai and chill. We did some souvenir shopping, but most of the stores and restaurants were closed due to the bridge being out (crazy). We ended up plopping down at Tahiti Nui. We sat outside and I had a Mai Tai and Court had a Corona. It was fun just chilling there, there was a line of cars waiting for the bridge to open, and there were some people that decided to wait at the bar. After a couple of more drinks, the band came on, and the crowd grew. We decided to stay at Tahiti Nui for dinner, since we had planned on getting pizza the night before, we had a Hawaiian Pizza (where better to get that, than Hawaii right?!). Court never had Hawaiian Pizza, so more the reason to make that our dinner choice. We spiced it up, with half Jalapeno’s, and it was a treat, the perfect end to our day. Walked home full of ‘za (and had some leftovers).

Our First Helicopter Ride – Day 10

It was strongly suggested to us by many friends that had been to Hawaii to do a helicopter ride over Kuaui. We were able to get a reservation with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, which was rated as the best one in the travel books. I also requested that we sit in the front (another recommendation). They said they could not guarantee it, but had that in my reservation. When we checked in at Blue Hawaiian, I made sure to make the request (kindly) again, and reminding them it was our honeymoon. Well sure enough when we got our seat assignments, we were seated up front (booya). We took a short van ride from the office to the airport where the helicopters were awaiting us. Our pilots name was Kurt, he had a very calm and soothing voice. Court was a bit nervous, but I thought the liftoff and ride overall was very smooth. Sitting up front was definitely the money call. We all wore headphones and each couple had a microphone in order to communicate with the pilot/group as needed (like to ask questions). Kurt played music through the headphones during the ride (great soundtrack). I strongly suggest you do this tour if you are ever in Kuaui, so worth it. The views that we got to see during the ride were amazing, tons of waterfalls and amazing valleys. The most breathtaking portion was the Napali Coast …so amazingly beautiful. Any photos I took, do not do it justice.  By the way, right now the commercial for A Perfect Getaway (the horror movie based in the Napali Coast) just came on, got to see that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the helicopter ride which was from 11am to noon, we were ready for lunch! We stopped in Kapa’a on the way back up towards Hanalei. We stopped in the House Of Noodles, this place was decent, nothing spectacular. It did the job though, and I got to get a Bud Light with a Hawaiian label, so that was a bonus.

One more stop we made on the way back to the Surfboard house, was at the Kilauea Lighthouse, I love lighthouses, so it was cool to check this one out.

We spent the afternoon hanging out on our beach in Hanalei Bay and then went into town and had a great Mexican dinner at Neide’s Salsa & Samba (Brazilian & Mexican), which was great. A down to earth place with solid good portions and great margaritas..hit the spot.

Kuaui: Our Final Island – Day 9

Our flight from Maui to Kuaui was delayed by about 20-30 mins, but we got in fine and got our rental car from Avis. It was around lunch time, so we decided we would stop for lunch on the way to Hanalei Bay. When we came upon Kapa’a there were many eateries to choose from, so we parked and explored. We came across a cool outdoor cafe called the Mermaid’s Cafe. This was the perfect choice. Fresh Ahi wrap and fresh lemonade/hibiscus tea. Court got a satay chicken wrap, and we both absolutely loved our food. It was cool (yet warm) to sit outside and people watch in Kapa’a.  

 

 

 

We continued on towards Hanalei to our accommodations for this island…The Hanalei Surfboard House, which we were very very excited about. The drive up the northeast coast of the island was beautiful, we noticed how much more lush Kuaui is than Maui, so far we were really loving Kuaui. When we got toe the Surfboard House, we were greeting by the owner, Simon Potts. Simon was an A&R guy in the record industry. He signed Radiohead, Blind Melon, and the Stray Cats. He seems like a happy chap, and was very hospitable. He even had beer in the fridge and had bought us a bottle of wine. Our accommodations (the love shack) were awesome. Decorated with such amazing detail and taste. We absolutely loved it.

We spent the afternoon kayaking down the Hanalei river (Court took the front seat, as I barked rowing orders at her, so we can be in sync :)). After that we had another Shaved Ice (yummo) and chilled on our beach in Hanalei Bay  across the street from our Love Shack baby!

 

We finally get Lei’d in Lahiana – Day 8

We decided to explore the southwest part of the Island this morning, and to take a short hike in the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Preserve. We drove through Kihei and then down through some really nice resorts. It took us a while to get down to the natural preserve area. We had seen other lava formations, but this area had a vast expanse of lava from an eruption that only happened about 200 years ago. There was a trail that we were able to hike through, but there were many areas where you were not allowed to walk (hence the natural preserve). We cut the hike short when our path was blocked by these horned billy goats, we got a bit freaked out.

This was our last night in Maui, and it was the night of our big luau, the Old Lahaina Luau. This luau was recommended to us by a honeymooning couple we met in Waikiki. It turns out to be the Cadillac of luau’s :) We were given the option to do table seating or traditional floor mat seating, we of course went with the traditional floor mats!!  

With an open bar we had plenty of Mai Tai’s and other drinks to get more into the Luau spirit. We were really excited for the food, and it turned out to be amazing. They cooked a pig in the ground (unfortunately we missed when they took it out), there were all kinds of seafood (Ahi salad, baked Mahi Mahi), spinach wrapped pork, poi (which is like wallpaper paste), and so much else. We had a good feed. Then the evening continued with amazing entertainment. Many hips a wigglin' and amazing outfits. The traditional percussion instrument they played was really cool too. We were really glad we did this Luaua.

 

 

 

 

Hiking & Seafood in Maui – Day 7

Since we were lying around and eating and drinking a lot (as we should be on our honeymoon), we decided it would be good to get in a good hike. I found, what seemed to be a good hike, on the Northeast tip of Maui, called Waihee Ridge Trail. The road over the north part of the Island was even worse than the bad parts of the Road to Hana. There were tons of curves, single lane roads and bridges. We even drove through a small village in a valley at one point. We were able to find the Waihee Ridge Trail (so glad I brought my GPS to Hawaii :)). The hike was great, it was about 2.25 miles each way, with decent elevation and marked trails, took us about 2.5 hours. It was a bit muddy at points, which made it challenging, but we made it to the top.

We met a really nice man at the trail head, that was waiting for his family to finish the hike (talk about patience). He was from California but lived part of the time in Hawaii. He gave us a great recommendation for lunch; the Paia Fish Market & Restaurant. It was the perfect spot for lunch after our hike, we drove south from the hike into Paia, so we avoided the treacherous roads up north. We both had amazing grilled fish sandwiches (Mahi Mahi and Ahi) and shared a basket of fries….gooood stuff.

After this we went back to the condo to chill for the rest of the day, and we grilled in, good day.

Dining in Maui – Day 6

Since we had been eating in for breakfast every day, granola, yogurt, bananas, juice, coffee and bagels, I decided we should go out for a decent breakfast. The guide book said that the Plantation House in Kapaula was the best breakfast in Maui, so that’s where we headed. The views were great, as well as the service and food. I had the special NJ Omelet (of course) matched with a nice spicy mary, and Court had the French Toast. It was a great way to start the day.

We spent the rest of the day loungin’ out by the pool. I became good friends with a bottle of black rum I bought at Safeway, it was a good day.

 

 

 

That evening we had 6:45pm dinner reservations at Mama’s Fish House in Paia. Courtney’s sisters had gotten her (us) a gift certificate for her wedding shower for Mama’s. This is one of (if not the) most expensive restaurant in Maui, so we were excited. The place was so cool, great decor and ambiance. We had a nice view of the beach, and strategically spent the entire amount of the gift certificate and had a great meal. We really enjoyed it. (As you can see) The Supple family slept good that night :)

Relaxation and Magic – Day 5

We decided to take it easy the next day, and I rented some snorkel gear and we hung out on the great beach near the condo. The condo was stocked with beach gear, towels and beach chairs, which was great. There was a fair amount of coral right off the beach so snorkeling was actually really easy and amazing. I saw some beautiful fish and some really cool coral formations. At one point I saw a pretty big sting ray (or eagle ray?), which is when I decided to wrap up my snorkeling :) Courtney applied sunblock to my back, but “we'” unfortunately missed my lower back, so lying in the ocean water face down, yielded a serious burn on my lower back…ouch! (love my wife though).

 

 

 

We cleaned up and headed into Old Lahaina to try our luck on a self guided walking tour (mind you, every city that we have visited and tried this, we are ALWAYS disappointed, but we never give up). Sure enough, the walking tour sucked coconuts. The Banyan Tree (largest in US), was actually pretty cool though. This whole thing, is one tree, the limbs grown back down into the ground…wicked.

 

 

 

 

That evening we headed back into Old Lahaina to check out the Warren and Annabelle’s magic show, that we have heard so much about. We skipped the dinner option, and attended the show. The house star, Warren, was out and there were 2 other magicians that performed. One was a slight of hand guy and the other was a comedian/magician. He was pretty funny, but copped a whole Steve Martin type persona, not very original. They asked Courtney to be a magician assistant and I encouraged her to do it, and she did. She met the comedian/magician back stage before the show to plan it out, apparently he was an arrogant pr*ck. Too funny, Courtney was a good sport and the show was fun overall, but certainly not as amazing as some others thought (like 1 couple from Salt Lake City Utah, they also recommended the smoothies at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp restaurant, so you hear me).

After the show we walked to the other end of Old Lahiana to grab some italian food at Penne Pasta, which was pretty good.

The Road to Hana (“the road to hell”) – Day 4

We decided to take on the full day excursion of the Road to Hana for our first full day in Maui. We took the top down off the jeep and cranked the local tunage as we made our way to the Road to Hana, which starts in the small town of Paia. When I booked this trip, I almost put us in the Paia Inn (a small boutiquey hotel in this town), but I am really glad I chose our condo in Lahaina, it’s more our speed :) We stopped at the Shell gas station on the way to purchase the CD Guide for this road tour, the focus of this road tour is the journey, you are reminded that there is little at all to see in the small destination town of Hana. The drive was fun, but was definitely long and windy. By the time we got towards the end (Oheo Gulch), where we swam in the 7 pools, we were not looking forward to the drive back. We had some awesome Ahi tuna kabobs and fresh coconut candy along the way, as well as saw some amazing beaches, waterfalls, and views.

P.S. When we were at the airport returning home to EWR, we overheard an east coast woman saying “Oh yeah we did the Road to Hana, should be called the Road to Hell!”, priceless.

Since we got an early start out, we got back to the condo at a decent hour (6:30pm’sh), where we relaxed a bit then showered up. The dinner decision came to sushi, we had read good things about Sanei Sushi in Kapaula. The sushi was truly amazing, some of the best we have ever had, if you are ever in the area you need to go here.

Goin’ back to Maui – Day 3

The next day we got our return ride shuttle back to Honolulu airport to take Hawaiian Airlines to Maui! The intra-island flights in Hawaii are pretty cheap and easy (about $50-$60 to/from neighboring islands and only about 30 minutes).

When we landed we got our white Jeep Wrangler from Alamo and headed toward our Condo (Mahana) in Lahania, which was about an hour drive. The condo owner, recommended we stopped at the Lahaina Cannery Mall (3 miles from condo) to shop at the Safeway and also hit Los Pelones for tacos (unfortunately we missed taco Tuesday for $1 tacos and were there on Wednesday). We also made the mistake of getting fried fish in the tacos, so we felt a bit logey for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

When we arrived at our Condo, Mahana at Kaanapali, we checked in at the kiosk pretty easily and continued to our room #714 and were blown away with the place. It was roomy, nicely decorated, and the views were amazing.

We took our first night easy, and just relaxed and enjoyed the pool, hot tub, and beach front relaxation.

Honolulu, Oahu – Day 2

Due to the time difference, we got a great nights sleep and were up pretty early (around 8am). We started the day by enjoying the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, which was great; coffee, pineapple juice, granola, yogurt, fruit and baked goods. After fueling up, we walked to the Diamond Head Crater for our first official hike of the trip. This 1.5 mile round trip was a decent hike, all fenced and some of it stairways, but was still pretty rigorous. It is good we got a relatively early start, as this was a pretty popular tourist spot. When we got to the top, we were rewarded with fantastic views of the crater itself, the Diamond Head Lighthouse, and Honolulu and the coastline.

 

  

When we got to the bottom, since it was hot out and I felt I deserved it, I grabbed our first Shaved Ice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we got back to the hotel and cleaned up, we took a stroll through the Waikiki area, where there are tons of shops/markets and eateries. We stopped in the International Market Place and saw some really cool shops. We even had a psychic reading from a woman named Sheila Feigin. Not to be the pessimist, but I was not impressed with her skills.  

 

 

 

 

I read in our guide book that the Banyan Veranda at the Moana Surfrider was a great place for sipping a Mai Tai and watching the sunset, so sure enough this was our next stop before continuing on to dinner at the Hula Grill, right next door.

 

The Hawaiian Ceviche is what drew me to the Hula Grill, it was ok though, had mango in it, which made it fun, but I think I prefer the Mexican and Cuban versions of ceviche that i have had. The entrees were awesome though.

We were exhausted by 8pm, still jet lagged, so grabbed some major z’s back at the hotel (of course I stopped at the hotel bar (which apparently is gay friendly…sweet) to cash in on my complimentary beverage, I chose a Manhattan, which my newly made friend (wink-wink) / bartender poured with a nice Woodford Reserve).

Honolulu here we come!!! – Day 1

It was a great idea to take the Sunday after the wedding off before heading to Hawaii. We had plenty of time to pack, and wind down with my father before taking him to the EWR airport, for his flight back to SEA. He wanted some NY pizza before returning home, we did him one better and got some Hoboken Pizza, he loved it.

Our direct afternoon flight from EWR to Honolulu took about 10 hours (ugh!), but left and arrived without incident and on time. If we did it again, we would probably make a connection just to get out and stretch the legs and let the butt breathe ;) Also Courtney was not feeling so great after we decide to eat the leftover wedding food the night before for dinner.

 

The 6 hour difference was nice, but we were so tired by the time we checked into the hotel. it was so nice to be greeted with a bottle of champagne, and a hand written note to the new Mr. & Mrs. Supple congratulating us. The staff at the Hotel Renew were great, highly recommend.

We did not rent a car in Honolulu, since we were staying right in Waikiki and were only staying there for 2 nights. We took the airport shuttle, and patiently waited through the other hotel stops. The hotel was right across the street from Waikiki beach which was sweet.

After checking in and freshening up we walked down along the beach to Duke’s Canoe Club for drinks and fish taco’s (booya). We were both trying to keep our eyes open, so after a late dinner we went back to the hotel for some serious ZZZ’s.