Hawaiian Adventures – Part 1

Our recent vacation to Hawaii was, in a nutshell, what dreams are made of.  No kids + the beach + my best friend…it doesn’t get much better than that.  Don’t get me wrong, I definitely DEFINITELY missed my babies, but John and I haven’t been on a trip together for nearly 9 years (YIKES!) and the time together as a couple was much needed.

I thought it would be fun to share some of the activities and adventures we LOVED and maybe a few things to avoid for anyone planning a trip to the big island.  Before I get started, we stayed at the Fairmont Orchid on Pauoa Bay.  I would highly HIGHLY recommend it.  The staff, the food, the view, the atmosphere, the rooms, everything was just perfectly lovely and blew me away.

Now, on to the adventures…

WHALE WATCHINGDespite my extremely uncomfortable bout of sea sickness, whale watching was an amazing experience.  Due to my ever increasing desire to die (okay okay, not really, but I did feel pretty YUCKY) I was not able to take many pictures while aboard the old yellow zodiak, or capture the amazing sight of breaching whales.  With a bit of DRAMAMINE, the whole experience would have improved.  I’d also recommend sunscreen, shades, and SNACKS!  We were pretty hungry after a few hours, especially as we ended up jumping in and snorkeling  around for some time.  Other than the nausea,  we would definilty place whale watching  on the ‘MUST DO in Hawaii’ list.

HORSEBACK RIDING THROUGH THE JUNGLEI’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant to get on a horse and when we arrived at Waipi’o Valley my nerves were definitely rattled.  However, I was determined to keep up with my adventure-loving hubby, and hopped on my ornery old horse.   It ended up being such a wonderful and relaxing outing, maybe even a bit too serene for John, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.  Waipi’o Valley is the most lush, green, fairy-tale land I have ever seen.  Traversing through the jungle a top a beautiful horse while munching on fresh coconut was an experience I’ll not soon forget.

WARNING:  If you’ve never ridden a horse before, the simple act of walking, after being on a horse for a few hours, is also an experience you’ll remember for some time.  OUCH!

WATERFALL AND VOLCANO HIKEOur last day in Hawaii, we booked a guided hiking tour to visit the volcanoes and waterfalls on the Hilo side of the island.  We had a great day together, despite a few regrets:  A long bus ride with a teenage tour guide may suit some folks just fine, but both John and I were a bit itchy to “get on with it” most of the day.  If we had to do it again, we definitely would go with our own rental car and the freedom to explore at our own pace.

Besides being a bit held up at times, the sites were once again, just breathtaking.  John was particularly excited to see some of the areas where Jurassic Park was filmed…which also meant I had to deal with a raptor-impersonating husband from that point on.  Besides random weird screeching sounds from my hubs, a torrential down pour, and a few crazy attacks from my ever-growing hair, we had a great time together.   The rain made the lava a bit hard to view, but I loved the unique trees, the black sand beach, and of course, Rainbow Falls. I have a few more adventures from our Hawaiian getaway to share, but will save them for another day!  I hope this was helpful for anyone planning a vacation in the near future…and for those who don’t see Hawaii on the horizon any time soon…want to know my favorite part of our whole vacation?

Sitting in a hammock with my best guy, laughing at our butts scraping across the ground and our terrible lack of selfie skills…which I believe you can do just about anywhere.