Off to Kauai and Back

Hello hello lovely people!  Woooooo!  It’s so great to be back after a 1.5 week hiatus….

As most of you know, I’ve been:

1)  Getting married!

2)  On our honeymoon to Kauai, Hawaii!

And let me tell you that Greg and I were extremely blessed and utterly delighted with how perfectly the wedding went–not to mention, we got to stay at the beautiful Mission Inn on the night of the wedding.  Then, on Sunday the 25th, we flew out to Kauai.

While in Kauai, we stayed at the gorgeous Sheraton Hotel in the city of Koloa where the seashore meets the grounds of the hotel.

Although everything the food was excruciatingly expensive in Hawaii, we managed to eat delicious food for mostly every meal!  Since everything needs to be exported into this little island, prices can be quite hefty.  However, the upside of paying for the food is that everything is delicious and fresh, particularly the fish! 

The Sheraton recently opened a restaurant called Rum Fire, where we had a whole breakfast buffet feast 2 times during our stay.

This was possibly the best breakfast buffet ever?!

Just imagine endless smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel, a variety of muffins, specialty breakfast pizzas/quiches, fresh fruit, and of course…oatmeal.  Muahhaha.  Yeap!  Even on our honeymoon my taste buds were craving oats.  If I’m not considered a true oatmeal lover, then I don’t know who is.

One of the best restaurants we dined at is The Tortilla Republic.  Greg and I cannot stop raving about this lively, music-filled spot!  He ordered their grilled fish tacos, which were probably the only ones Greg has ever approved of. (He’s not fond of fish tacos usually)

I went with their pulled chicken Quesadilla, and it was by far the best ever!  It’s one of those dishes that I need to remake at home.

The tiny island of Kauai is pretty much untouched compared to all of the other Hawaiian islands, and though it’s a quieter and less touristy of a vacation spot, it offers gorgeous scenic views as well as fun activities.

Due to the fact that my point and shoot camera died in the middle of some of those fun activities, we couldn’t document those adventures.

Greg and I highly recommend to anyone visiting this place to:

• Go on zip lining
• kayak on the Wailua River (where many famous movies were shot, like Indiana Jones)
• Ride horses on the beach
• Check out the Smith’s Family Luau

On the tram ride to the luau

The Smith’s Luau takes place within a wonderful botanical garden where crazy cool animals reside.  The funniest thing we witnessed there was this peacock making a failed attempt to “lure” a female with his “charms”.

We had the whole pig-buried-in-the-ground ritual going on, and as soon as the pig was thoroughly cooked, we dug into this tasty feast with Hawaii’s traditional dip called Poi.  Poi is a cold and thick liquid made out of taro root.  It’s highly recommended to be paired up with any food due to its flavorless nature.  I really loved the poi with the pork, but most people didn’t seem to enjoy it very much.

And of course, what’s a luau without the actual dance?!  Right after the dinner we headed to the theater within the garden, where we watched a wide variety of Polynesian dances.

Horseback riding was a truly unique experience simply because of the fact that mine and Greg’s childhood dream of riding along the shore was granted!

One of the best parts on this trip was lying on the beach and swimming in the ocean.  It’s hard to believe that the ocean water can be so clean, especially after being used to California’s polluted beaches.

We also enjoyed the 10 foot waves in Kauai, as you can tell.

We both think that Kauai is a great option for honeymooners because it’s such a peaceful location, yet there’s so much to do all at the same time.  For newlyweds it is so important to spend time together in a serene environment, and Kauai is perfect for that reason.

As Greg and I are discovering the beauty of marriage and getting used to living with each other, we’ve been doing our best to communicate our every thought.  Needless to say, it’s been a wonderful experience thus far, and I’ve been enjoying cooking for the both of us everyday.

One thing that’s been driving us nuts?  The clutter in our house!  But soon it will be all cleared off, I’m sure.

I’m hoping that the wedding photos will be in soon so that I can share them with y’all!  That is, if you care to see them.

I am also excited to be sharing with you some pretty cool stuff I got to experience!  In particular, I want to share with you the interview I got to do with celebrity trainer Jackie Warner, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Where would you go for your honeymoon?

Have you tried Kalua pig before? (buried pig)

What’s your most memorable trip?

Love,

Ellie <33

Tagged as: breakfast buffet, delicious eats, God's blessings, honeymoon to Kauai, horsebackriding in Kauai, kayaking, love, luau feast, lying on the beach, marriage, Sheraton in Kauai, Tortilla Republic, zip lining