Honeymoon in Kauai, living Aloha forever
You become married on your wedding day, you become family on your honeymoon. It’s your newlywed privilege to escape everyone you know (and love!) for a getaway. I was snorkeling over a reef and reaching out for my husband’s hand when I realized this was the first of many family vacations he and I would take together in life. It’s corny, yet so special and sincere. Kauai is a place where you become one with nature, one with the earth and all its living things. We basked in the sun, we swam, we ate the freshest meals of our lives. We explored the island and witnessed the magic of the Na Pali coast. We came home with aloha in our hearts forever. Oh—and we took some great photos.
Dolphin breaching by Na Pali coast of Kauai
Sea life
The highlight of our trip was an 8-hour boat ride with Holo Holo Charters. The crew was wonderful, it was the single most beautiful and incredible day of our lives. We saw whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and the cliffs of the Na Pali coast. They were incredible hosts and custodians of the sea, and the experience is a great treasure.
I grew up on boats but don’t often ride them these days. I hope to own one in the future. Being a mariner is an important part of who I am, and it’s something I miss so dearly. An 8-hour day at sea is soothing to me, although the rest of the boat was unwell with seasickness. We snorkeled above a reef, which I don’t have any pictures of, but it was wonderful.
It’s hard to believe this place is real, and it’s an honor to have spent a week of my life taking it all in. These photos are easily my favorite I’ve ever taken, and they encapsulate the jaw-dropping liveliness of the sea life in Kauai.
The native Hawaiians, the locals, and the culture
The weather throughout our trip was… eventful. We went in late March, and two major situations were developing. Firstly, Maui was experiencing devastating floods they haven’t seen in decades. We frog-hopped over the storms somehow, never directly in their path. Kauai is one of the rainiest places on Earth and it didn’t bother us one bit, we were drizzled on most of the trip. It’s such a beautiful and warm, pleasant place to be that you don’t even notice you’re wet.
Secondly, we were traveling during the chaos surrounding Department of Homeland Security, impacting TSA throughout the flights. Despite all the issues in American tourism right now, the hospitality, kindness, and warmth of the Hawaiian people will forever move me. Hawaii is truly a special and magical place deserving of protection and admiration; if we all adopted their ways of life, we’d be better for it.
Seeing the locals and native Hawaiians maintaining their land, their homes, their community… it is moving in ways I’m not sure I can adequately explain. Being in the center of the Pacific ocean, the cost to import supplies to the islands is enormous. They are truly a resourceful people who get by with what they have, and they rely on each other. The houses are mostly all single-story and modest homes that have stayed as-is for decades. It’s like a time capsule. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the storms and floods, it’s shameful how little assistance these islands receive from the federal government. I am forever moved by the Hawaiian people. They’ll never remember Mike and I, but we’ll remember everyone we met and everything we did there. On this island, we were truly present. Each day felt long and slow and meaningful.
I took about 800 photos on this trip. All of them take me right back to the greatest place in the world, and yet none of the photos do Kauai any justice.
Most importantly, my honeymoon was everything I could ever have hoped; an out-of-this-world adventure and experience with my husband (and favorite human being). Nobody told me that when you get married and have a honeymoon, a piece of you will live in that moment in time forever. My wedding and my honeymoon are two of the strongest and most intensely magical memories of my life, I can revisit them fully in my minds eye any time. There aren’t words for it. For months after this trip, we’re still listening to Hawaiian music and appreciating the special trip. I cannot wait to return to this place in the future. I could see us moving there someday, and if not, it will always be a place we’ll revisit. I miss it so much and when my thoughts idle, I find myself in rainy Kauai, with chickens and my man.