HONEYMOON-DAY 8

For the record, Erica was the one who picked out the PT Cruiser from Avis. 

"I love Erica thiiiis much!!!"

Look out! It's a lookout!

A view of Waimea Canyon. 

We were told this was the best view on the island, it's too bad someone left the fog machine on too long.    

This is the famous Kauai rain. 

And this is the famous Kauai sunshine, only a half an hour and 15 miles away from the storm. 

Courtesy of our camera's 10 second timer.  And if you look really closely, there's a wedding happening way off to the right.  

So after our helicopter trip we wanted to see Kauai's lush landscape up close and personal. Renown for it's hiking trails we drove up to Waimea Canyon to trek some of the more scenic trails.  We made several stops as we took our mighty PT Cruiser (I like to consider it the "PT Bruiser") up to the highest point in the island, including Kokee State Park.  But right as we parked our car and were about to begin our hike, it started to rain.  And I'm not talking about Southern California rain, where it drizzles and people go crazy and forget how to drive on the freeways, but tropical storm kinda rain...  It's like that scene in Forest Gump when he's describing the rain in Vietnam during the war, and how it "even seemed to come straight up from underneath."  And since we didn't pack our scuba gear for this type of rain, we had to call it quits and go back to the hotel.  But we did get to stop at a local restaurant, know for their "world famous" shimp!  And if you know anything about me (Ree), I love me some shrimp! 

HONEYMOON-DAY 7

As an added bonus to our helicopter tour, we got to ride in this sweet van. 

Eat your heart out Airwolf! 

 Waterfalls from about 1200 feet above the ground.  

Why doesn't the water in Long Beach look this blue? 

The beautiful shores of western Kauai. 

The "Grand Canyon of the Pacific", Waimea Canyon. 

Safety back on the ground (and those aren't yellow fanny packs, they're life preservers).

Why did the chickens cross the road...

To get 140 rolls of toilet paper at Costco of-course! 

I think these chicken bakes are undercooked. 

Enjoying the free Mai Tai's!  Remember, you can't spell FREE without R.E.E.

Hula dancers performing to some live music.  

Goodbye day 7, we'll miss you. 

Day 7 started off with an arial adventure!  For the first times in both our lives, we were going to go on a helicopter ride!  Since Kauai is covered by so much dense vegetation, the best way to capture the beauty of the island is from the sky.  Both of us were a little nervous before our 60 minute ride and it even got bumpy at some points, but it was an experience we'll never forget. Erica was even able to lose some weight on the ride (if you know what I mean...).  

I don't know about the rest of you, but the only way we could top off a venture like that was to go to COSTCO!  Forget the Gucci, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, give us the Kirkland!  So after a little shopping and a couple of the world famous $1.50 hotdog and soda combos, we headed back to the hotel just in time for the Mai Tai reception. Tropical Paradise + Free Mai Tai's + Quality products at warehouse prices = HEAVEN!     

HONEYMOON- DAY 6

A shot of the Marriott Ko'Olina Beach on our last day in Oahu.

Our room at the Sheraton.

The patio of our new room!

Chairs were set up for a small wedding a couple of yards from our room (Erica couldn't help walking down the aisle again).

The sixth day of our honeymoon signaled the end of our time in Oahu. But as sad as we were to be leaving, we were really excited about beginning the second half of our trip in Kauai. So after a quick breakfast and a final goodbye to Ko'Olina we headed for the airport, jumped on a small plane and made the 30 minute flight to Kauai. The "Garden Island" lived up to it's name and we were struck by how lush Hawaii's 4th largest island was. The hotel put us up in a huge room with an awesome view of the beach, but the only problem was the room had two full sized beds instead of a single king. But since our back yard was the Pacific Ocean, we had no reason to complain. We concluded our first night in Kauai by enjoying the sounds of the crashing waves from our two beds.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program...

We have to apologize, we've been off the island for more than a week now and we still haven't finished updating our honeymoon blog.  Not to give anything away, but we had a blast and already miss the laid back Hawaiian lifestyle (Erica especially misses the Mai Tai's).  So without further adieu, we continue the second half of our honeymoon... 

HONEYMOON- DAY 5

Driving by the Dole Pineapple Plantation.


The ticket counter of the Polynesian Cultural Center.


A canoe ride through all the islands that represent Polynesia.


Me and Erica posing in front of a fake waterfall.


Here's another picture of Erica and I. Haha, just kidding Babe!


Sitting at dinner during our Luau.


Dancers performing at dinner.


Erica was inspired by the Hula Dancers.


I was inspired by the Polynesian dancers too.


Here I am doing my best impersonation of Elvis...Phuong (inside Vietnamese joke)

The stage of "Horizon's" performance at the end of the night. 

Don't mess with a buff Samoan guy with a flaming stick!  

Happy Birthday America!!!
Our 5th and final day started with a drive up to Northern Oahu. We were able to drive by the Dole Pineapple Plantation and the famous North Shore where all the surfers go to ride some of the world's biggest waves. We were headed up to the Polynesian Cultural Center and attend our first official Luau.

The PCC was great! We were able to catch some really awesome performances, the highlight was the fire dancer at the end of the night. So although we didn't get to see much fireworks on the 4th, we made up for it with the fire dancing. We're gonna be sad to say goodbye to Oahu but are excited about Kauai.

HONEYMOON-DAY 4 CONTINUED

Ahh...how sweet!  Get it? Because they congratulated us and it's a dessert...

I (Ree) took my Pepcid AC, so that's why I'm not so red faced after drinking all that wine. 

The world famous floating fork trick, now famous in two states: California and Hawaii. 

Erica's appetizer sampler. 

Macadamia nut encrusted lamb chops. 

Our own special menu, if you click on the picture you'll notice that they put our names on the menu (I guess that means you can order us for dinner...)

Here we are on our catamaran ride. 

Me steering the boat.  The driver told me to promise him to not show this to their insurance company. 

Since we did so much on our 4th day, we couldn't fit everything on just one posting.  We'll be spending our final full day on Oahu on Friday  before we leave for Kauai on Saturday. 

HONEYMOON- DAY 4

Hamamanama Bay, or Hanauma Bay to the locals. 

Here I am getting ready to go snorkeling.  And by the way ladies, yes I do work out. 

Another picture of Hanauma Bay. 

Erica and Honolulu's skyline in the background. 

Today we went snorkeling off of Haunamanmanmsna Bay. Or, whatever it's called! Ree and I have been trying to pronounce it all week long and haven't yet got it right according to the locals. We (or should I say I since Ree doesn't feel comfortable with his snorkeling skills), but I had a blast. I swam beside so any fish! When do you ever get to do this along the California coast? It was wonderful and we took lots of pictures with our underwater camera. For lunch we hopped aboard a Catamaran for a two our tour that included my favorite... cocktails!!! We loved the view and being at sea. Ree had fun pretending to be the sea captain! At night, we had an awesome dinner at Alan Wong's (a world famous chef). As you know, Ree and I love to eat. Especially GOOD food. We both agreed it was the best meal we have shared over our 7 years together. The staff at the restaurant knew we were on our Honeymoon and even created a special menu for us! It was a wonderful way to end the night.