Hawaiian Honeymoon

I'm fairly certain this will be my last wedding-related post, at least for now. ;)

A couple of days after the big day, "The Ukrainian" and I went to Oahu, HI.  I've been wanting to go to Hawaii since I was a kid, so to cross two items off my "list" (marrying and going there) felt great.  I've gone on some business trips this year, so I've covered a lot of miles relative to the norm and found the airport-ing fairly routine by now.

Most of our five-ish days there were fairly relaxed in pace, which is exactly what I wanted after all the excitement.  We had spent the previous days before we flew out there relaxing, visiting family, not cooking in favor of eating out, getting massages -- basically spending time away from our stupid upstairs neighbors who are seemingly awake very early and late, constantly walking like their feet are made of lead and don't seem to work during the day. =/

Anyhow, I'll start the barrage of photos now:

Ramen, my first post-landing meal (the meat was eaten for me).  Quality was about average, says this ramen-snob.

The famous Waikiki beach.  The first day was the only real sunny one we got.  The lei was part of a Groupon deal, more detail below.

Had to eat some gluttonous macadamia nut pancakes... SO good.  Pancakes in general are seemingly better in Hawaii. 

Some other resort near the Aulani... much prettier side of the island.

Part 2 of Groupon, all-day island tour! (Part 3 was round-trip airport shuttle... totally worth it!)

Stopped at the Dole Plantation and had Dole whip (dairy-free frozen pineapple dessert).  Yes, they have this in So Cal, but I haven't gone.  Forgot I tend to get an itchy throat when I consume too much pineapple... this amount (shared with "The Ukrainian") was enough to make me a bit tight in the throat.  Whoops.

These contained SPAM seasoning,... so good!

More tropical snacks...

Lunch stop was at a ranch... ribs and taro rolls... mmm.  I had a weird veggie patty with rice. =/

View as we were eating lunch.

So many macadamia nut samples!

View from atop a VERY windy mountain.

Hanauma Bay... we came back here to snorkel, and boy did I whine in terror.  I wasn't afraid of swimming around the fish or anything, but the breathing itself took some getting used to.

Came here upon recommendation.  This is fast food, but tastier and had veggie chili. =)

Malasadas... filled Portuguese donuts!! 

View from the room one morning.

Made sure to have some tropical drinks (pina colada + blue Hawaiian). 

Nice breakfast, husband! (benedict, pancakes, loco moco)

Homemade udon, rice balls, and tempura.  Be still, my heart.

HAD to try the shaved ice on my last night there.  So light and flavorful!

Although it was pretty short, I think we were ready to return to reality by the time we came home.  We're the kind of people who like to take shorter, more frequent vacations, and hopefully this was just the first of the many more. =)