How to Honeymoon in Hawaii
Hawaii feels like an absolute lifetime ago now. Looking back at these photos now I can hardly believe we were actually there. SO MUCH has happened in the past 6 months.
It was full steam ahead literally the second we got off the airplane back home. We picked up Robert’s kids, and just like that we all lived together. Adjusting to life as a blended family has been one of the most difficult challenges for all of us. Every single one of us have had our lives interrupted, dismantled, and now we have to learn how to piece it all together. A lot of things don’t fit, they are obscure, or they are upside down and we haven’t figured it out yet. In the midst of juggling this life puzzle, we sold two houses, then bought a new one together.
I make that sound so simple and matter of fact.
It was not.
Not to brag on myself, but I don’t think Robert could have done any of that without me ;-) It was like a full time job sorting through the life he’d built, his home that was home long before he knew my name. Packing, sorting, packing, cleaning, painting, prepping, etc. But we did it, we moved, we survived, and we didn’t kill each other or the kids.
Anyway, you probably came here to read about Hawaii. It was a gift to be there. I don’t take it for granted one bit. It truly is a magical place where you see rainbows 12x a day. I do wish we could have done a few things differently, however, and if we hadn’t decided to elope and had spent more than 8 weeks planning all of this we could have done better. I know that sounds so privileged and I’d be rolling my eyes too if I read someone else saying what I’m saying, but hear me out. In case you ever want to vacation to Hawaii, you can reach out to me, and I can tell you certainly what not to do haha (spoiler, don’t stay in Waikiki if relaxing, quiet beach vacation is what you picture doing here). Second thing not to do - imagine you are one of the teenage locals and jump off the pier with them, try climbing back up the rocks the way they do, only to not notice the incoming wave that could have taken your life on the first day of your honeymoon. The wave knocked Robert back into the water with such force that he had to visit a chiropractor several times during our stay hahaha.
Waikiki felt like New York City but in the middle of the ocean. It was insane, except early in the morning. Many mornings we’d wake up at 5:30 thanks to jet lag, and we’d go down the road to the Hilton hotel and grab a coffee and sit on their beachside patio. Our hotel was a crowded high rise and sitting on our balcony all we could hear were car horns and the beeping of delivering trucks making their rounds. Needless to say we didn’t spend much time there. Now the infinity pool on the 5th floor was pretty sweet, and I could easily lounge there and knock back 5 or 6 $18 mai tai’s before I realized what I’d done.
We rented cars a few different times to get to other areas of the island and primarily found places to hike and explore. My most favorite day was our second to last day when we rented a Tesla and drove the entirety of the island. We woke up crazy early that morning and drove to Kailua on the east side where we made it to the top of the Pill Box by sunrise. It was the most breathtaking sunrise I’ve ever seen in all my life. I had tears in my eyes as I took it all in. By evening, after stopping along the way for coffee and lunch and a billion photos, we made it to the West Pill Box and hiked up for the sunset. When I look back on Hawaii, this day defined it for me. Oh, and the day we eloped. Duh. I’ve never felt so carefree, so beautiful, so PURELY happy in all my life.
People ask if I can’t wait to go back. And honestly? There are just too many other places in the world I want to see too. Sure Hawaii is magical and worth it, but there’s so much more out there. But a little something I learned about myself and maybe disappointingly surprised Robert with…I need snacks on me at all times haha. Traveling for 10 hours and look a mess and can’t find a place to get food yet? It’s lunchtime and we spent an hour just trying to decide where to eat, now we have to walk there too? I will get HANGRY, and it ain’t pretty, sister. If we’re going to travel far and wide, I will plan accordingly and have a backpack full of food next time.
