We decided to go to Oahu a day early so that we could play in Waiki. My darling cousin LeeAnne and her hubby Tyler were on our exact cruise the week before us. We met up with them on Saturday and went to Pearl Harbor and went snorkeling in Hanama Bay. We had such a blast playing with them and were so happy to see them!
We arrived Hawaii!!!
LeeAnne and Tyler at Pearl Harbor
Our first stop was in Maui. We were there for two full days and loved every second of it! Our first morning we decided to explore the Road to Hona. I have done this before and was car sick the whole time. This time it was much different (sitting up in the front definitely helps). Maui had a bunch of rain storms day before we arrived so all of the waterfalls were super full and absolutely stunning! We bought the best book that told you were all of the amazing local spots were and hidden waterfalls (Maui Revealed). We stopped by the black sand beach and blowhole and ending up going to the 7 Sacred Pools (thanks Ash for the recommendation). The hike through the thick bamboo forest to the huge waterfall was incredible and I would highly recommend doing this. Make sure to bring mosquito repellant if you do! We had to learn the hard way…
This is the waterfall that you hike to at the 7 Sacred Pools
Black Sand Beach
We started off our next day in Maui watching the sun rise up at the Haleakala Crater. It was definitely worth waking up, except for it being freezing!!! After driving down the volcano, we stopped by Iao Valley. We then went to Big Beach (best beach in Maui). The waves were huge and kicked my bootie. Jordy and I swam in the waves all day and the water felt great (especially helped the mosquito bites from itching)! We LOVED Maui and can’t wait to go back someday.
Sun rise at Haleakala Crater
Big Beach
Our next stop was in Hilo (Big Island). We spent the day in Volcano National Park. The park was huge! We saw steam vents, miles of dried lava on once existing roads, Thurston Lava Tube and stopped by Rainbow Falls on our way back to the ship.
The Thurston Lava Tube entrance
Rainbow Falls
The next day our boat stopped in Kona (other side of the Big Island). We booked a zodiac rafting excursion that took us snorkeling and were able to see Hawaii Spinner dolphins. The place that we stopped to snorkel was really pretty and the town of Kona was darling. Our boat went by the active volcano at night and we were able to see the lava enter the ocean. Watching the lava spit up and drizzle into the ocean was such an incredible experience and something we will never forget!
Save the best for last… We woke up Thanksgiving morning in Kauai! We were lucky enough to experience no rain until today. We had many things that we wanted to do and thought we were not able to because of roads being closed from flooding and our Na Pali Coast rafting excursion was cancelled. Well… the rain didn’t stop us from exploring and seeing everything we wanted to. There is nothing more sexy than Hawaiian rain! Jordy and I had such a memorable Thanksgiving and a it will be a day that we will never forget!
Luckily we has two days in Kauai and were able to reschedule our Na Pali rafting excursion. This is what I was looking the most forward to visiting all of Hawaii. Words can’t describe how stunning the Na Pali Cost is! It’s very spiritual experience! Our boat ride was a blast flying over 30 foot swells and watching schools of over 200 dolphins play with you as you ride along. We could have reached out and touched them but would have been fined $250,000 if caught. No Thanks! I definitely want to spend more time in Kauai, hiking the Napoli coast and camping on the beaches.
The Na Pali Coast
Flooding roads
Our cruise boat sailed by the Na Pali Coast as we were leaving Kauai
After our cruise, we spent a few nights on The North Shore of Oahu. The North Shore is my favorite place to stay in Hawaii. We stayed at the Turtle Bay resort and were very impressed! The Tripple Crown Surfing compition was going on while we were there and it was so cool to watch the pro surfers take on the massive waves.! Most of the locals are surfers and are so laid back. We definitely were able to adapt to the life style of the North Shore and loved it! Every day we would swim at Waimea Bay and then go get a Matsumoto shaved ice. All of the other beaches were closed due to the gigantic waves.
Laie Point
The beautiful Laie Temple
Jordy eating a delicious Matsumoto shaved ice
This picture was taken at Turtle Beach. The turtles were huge and super cute!
The water was freezing at Waimea Falls. The current was crazy strong, but we made it to the fall.
A local photographer took this picture of us at Laie Point at night(we had no clue). She told us as we were walking back to our car and gave Jordy her business card. Jordy contacted her and surprised me with this picture for Christmas. I love it!
Jordy and I had such an amazing time with each other. We feel very lucky and blessed to have each other and all of the wonderful memories of Hawaii!
