We've received many questions about our honeymoon.  The trip to Hawaii was not without a few bumps, but overall, you can't beat a week in paradise.

To catch an early Monday morning flight, we headed to Chicago the day after the wedding.  Sarah mentioned the exit for Midway was coming up.  This was much to my surprise, as I had booked our hotel and parking reservations at O'Hare!  We had only been married for 36 hours, so you can't expect stellar communication yet, right?  After a couple hours of hassle, I was able to get the parking changed to Midway, but we had to make a 4am drive from O'Hare.  Luckily Sarah discovered this mistake before Monday morning!

As mentioned, I was able to write a blog from L.A.'s Ontario airport thanks to a 7 hour delay.  We got a free ATA flight out of it, but the worst was yet to come.  We missed our connection to Maui, so we were forced to stay at Honolulu's airport hotel on Monday night.  Nick The Clueless ATA Worker informed us our bags had miraculously made it to Maui even though we couldn't make it.  Fortunately, I checked baggage anyway before getting on the shuttle to the hotel and found them.  Most of the others on our delayed flight weren't so lucky.

We finally made it to the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel by Tuesday morning and all the trouble was forgotten as we soaked in the rays on Maui's most beautiful beach.  The news on TV that night talked a lot about a volcano being closed on the big island because it currently had lava seeping out of the side.  We laughed because in Guatemala no such closing would ever take place, as I had roasted marshmallows on the thermal heat of Pacaya and even got close to Fuego's violent eruption at its crater. 



Wednesday brought more poolside lounging for Sarah and some cliff jumping for me.  That night we went to a Lu'au and the woman seated across from us happened to be a graduate of St. Mary's College at Notre Dame! 


Thursday was our adventure day as we rented a car and first took a helicopter ride.  We flew over some amazing waterfalls and pools on West Maui before flying over to the virtually uninhabited island of Molokai.  There we were treated to some up close views of the tallest sea cliffs in the world at 3,000 feet.  Some of the accompanying waterfalls were as tall as 1,800 feet!  Spectacular.  We also took in a view of the famous peninsula where Father Damien served hundreds in his lepers' colony.



1,800 ft. waterfall with rainbow inside!

From there we drove to the top of the Haleakala Volcano Crater.  We hiked down inside the crater for about 3 miles before heading back up and out - a Grand Canyon style hike.  This was truly a unique hike as the sun bounced off the strange formations to create various colors, and the views changed with each half-mile of progress.  We stopped at a spot that provided some rocks to rest and have a lunch break before climbing some formations and heading back up. 




We headed to the west side of Maui and went directly to Cheeseburger in Paradise in Lahaina - dirty feet and all - to feed a giant appetite after a full day of adventure.  Friday was our last day of lounging in Maui, because on Saturday we took a ferry over to the lesser known island of Lanai.  Up until 1992, this small island was one big pineapple field.  In fact, 75% of the world's pineapples came from Lanai.  Since then, Four Seasons has built 2 resorts and they have started to embrace some tourism.  Bill Gates gave the island some pub when he held his wedding there - buying out every hotel room and the airspace in order to ward off the press. 

We were skeptical of our decision to end the trip on Lanai, because most people on Maui joked about getting lots of rest when we told them of our plan.  But it turned out to be a great decision.  We stayed at the old original Hotel Lanai in the only town on the island, Lanai City.  This little town had an amazing laid back vibe to it.  Actually, it was beyond laid back, as the pace made Guatemala seem like New York City.  We got our best meal of the trip at the hotel's restaurant after feeling very welcomed at a small Mass a few blocks from the Hotel.

On Sunday, we made a great hike along the Munro Trail, which led to a phenomenal lookout point with breathtaking views of Maui and Molokai. 


We finished the day resting on a quiet beach and took the ferry back to Maui on Monday morning.  This is where our traveling bad luck resurfaced.  We had scheduled a shuttle to the airport from our lunch spot of Bubba Gump's in Lahaina.  They never showed, so we quickly grabbed a taxi, which cost 65 bucks!  (btw, if you ever go to Hawaii, renting a car is definitely the way to go... as is packing a lunch!)  We flew overnight through Oakland this time and made it back to Midway at 6am Tuesday morning.... but our luggage wasn't so lucky.  It took the scenic route and arrived in Herscher 2 days later.

Hawaii boasts what has to be some of the most overpriced food in the world, which was tough on the wallet!  We laughed at one restaurant as the hostess wrote down our name as "Okana" - apparently the Hawaiian spelling.  But the islands definitely lived up to its name as a tropical paradise.  The lush greenery and miles of beaches are unparalleled, and it was a perfect spot to recharge after a hectic summer.  We did note; however, that it probably ties Roatan, Honduras for third on our list of favorite destinations - not to be travel snobs or anything!  Second would be Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica behind the top spot of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.  And the "Okana's" look forward to adding to/changing that list as much as possible.  Adventure is too good for the soul.

(Note:  to see the full album of pics from Hawaii, see our Snapfish BeYellow Photo Page at:  http://beyellow.snapfish.com/snapfish)