Simply put, our honeymoon was the best honeymoon ever. The only way it could have been better is if it was longer. Other than that, it was perfect.The morning after our wedding we headed down to breakfast, the excitement of being a bride was still fresh as ever. I had a husband and a cute new name and I felt awesome. After breakfast we drove to LAX but not before stopping at In and Out. Anyone who knows me knows that cheeseburgers are my favorite food. Unfortunately cheeseburgers and my wedding dress weren't a friendly pair and my cheeseburger addiction was put on strict hold for the two months before the wedding. When I was in high school cross country I gave up soda for a season. It was my way of committing to my running. Once the season was over something funny happened - I no longer cared for soda and to this day don't drink it at all. I can't say the same thing happened with In and Out, but my addiction has lessened dramatically. It's a good thing not to be addicted to things, even if they are just cheeseburgers!
So we make it to LAX where we board the lowest part of our honeymoon - our United flight into Kona, Hawaii. Let me just say United Airlines is an abomination. I do not understand how a company so horrific can stay in business. It was bad and everything that could go wrong did. Luckily I had my cute new husband and a giant book on Ayurveda to make things manageable.
We arrive in Kona around 11pm, over 3 hours past the time we're schedule to get in. We rent a car - no roaches! (I've never ridden in a Hawaiian rental car without roaches - it's just a part of humid island living). We drive down the dark "moonscape" road until we reach Wikoloa, a resort filled part of the island overflowing with lush greenery and beautiful beaches. We check into our hotel and make our way on the tram to our room.
I have stayed at the Hilton Wikoloa Village growing up many times and it holds some amazing childhood memories but it had been at least 10 years since I'd been back. It was so nice to experience the resort in new way with my husband. We get to our room and are greeted with wine (we have awesome friends and family) but we're starving and literally nothing is open. So I take a shower and Nate makes it his mission to go out and find us some food - a vending machine or something.
So he leaves, and is gone over half an hour. When he comes back he tells me he went down to concierge desk where he finds a hotel phone. He calls the front desk and explains that we just got in, we're starving and if he could just be directed to a vending machine it would be awesome. They said they will send someone over to help. The next thing he knows a man pop up from behind a door and says "Yo man you need some food?! Follow me!" and precedes to take him underground, under the resort through tunnels where only the employees are allowed. Finally they reach a vending machine where Nate buys a plethora of snacks. I love my husband.
The next day we went to the Big Island Breakfast - the most epic, gorge yourself on delicious food and to-die-for-hawaii juice, and explored the resort. We signed up for every discount card available including the Holo Holo card. The Holo Holo card basically made our honeymoon. It's a nice little green card that gets you discounts on EVERYTHING - like hundreds of dollars of discounts in return for, wait for it, attending a time share presentation. It became an ongoing joke that on the back of the card in all caps it reads, just to clarify "THIS IS A TIME SHARE PRESENTATION". The time share presentation was good and all, but we stayed firm. We also got AMAZING mango juice out of the whole experience. I'd almost say the mango juice alone made the hour long presentation worth it.
The next few days flew by. We went on a snorkel trip, where I jumped off the high dive from the boat, panicked mid-fall, and curled up into a fetal position proceeding to "butt-flock" smack onto the ocean. The moment I hit the water I thought "Yup shouldn't have done that!". Nate says I should have done that, I should have just jumped like a normal person. Big bruises proceeded.
That night we went to a Luau at the Marriott next door to our hotel - it was like $50 cheaper per person. Cha Ching! We sat with two young couples who met on one of the couple's honeymoons a few years ago. We sat with another couple celebrating their 40th anniversary. We were the newlyweds - everywhere we went. The luau was amazing food and an open bar where I discover that Bird of Paradise is not only a yoga pose but also a delicious tropical drink! It was an awesome night. Nate danced on stage with the only men from our table and we watched the fire dancers and ate. Then I went to the bathroom and found a $100 bill next to the sink. No joke. Magical karma.
The next day we went zip lining on the other side of the Island in Hilo thanks to Nate's awesome cousin Adam. The company we went with was brand new and every one of the 8 zip lines was duel which meant we could go side by side. It was awesome - so fun.
