Laurie’s Hawaii Honeymoon: Maui

After spending 11 days honeymooning in Hawaii, I can honestly say it's one of my favorite places on the planet. We packed a lot of action into those 11 days, and while the pictures don't seem to do it justice, hopefully they'll give you a small taste of our adventure.

First stop: Maui!

Monday after the wedding, Duzzy and I woke up at 3 a.m. (the first of many incidences of time completely messing with my mind) to catch a 6 a.m. flight to San Francisco, with just enough time to grab some food (and perhaps a cocktail) before finally heading off to Maui.

That island might be one of the most beautiful places in the world. It's all turquoise water, palm trees, rainbows, and beautiful flowers everywhere you look. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Ka'anapali, which was absolutely gorgeous.

We crashed pretty early after we landed, which is a good thing, because we had to be up at 1:30 a.m. Hawaii time for our first excursion. (Lucky for us, it felt like 7:30, but still...) We headed off and watched the sunrise from above the clouds on top of Haleakala, the dormant volcano that makes up most of the island...and it was one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen. We spent some time checking out the world from 10,000 feet, and got to see a plant called 'ahinahina (silver sword) that only grows in Hawaii, and only above 7,000 feet. Even cooler, after all that, we biked down the mountain!

The next day, we were supposed to do the Road to Hana, but rain on the north side of the island created some flooding issues and we couldn't safely do the trip. (That's okay, just an excuse to go back!) In addition to some pool time with frozen cocktails -- and a spa visit for me while Duzzy hit the gym -- we also enjoyed an authentic luau in Lahaina, some of the best sushi I've ever had, as well as a beautiful sunset dinner cruise...then it was off to the Big Island! More on that next...