I might have seemed absent for the last few weeks, I got married and just returned from my honeymoon in Hawaii, The Big Island. I wanted to share this fun post of the 10 things I loved while in Hawaii.

1. Seeing every sunrise and sunset. – I made a point to watch every sunrise and sunset while in Hawaii, so beautiful.
2. Seeing giant Manta Rays. – After a Lu’Au at the Mauna Kea Resort we stopped on the Manta Ray viewing point and saw three giant, I mean HUGE, Manta Rays swimming and feeding. It was like watching a alien creature flying through the water.
3. Morning walk on the beach and seeing two turtles. – Just after watching the sunrise we went on a walk along the ocean. While walking we came across two Green Sea Turtles resting on the beach.
4. Snorkeling and seeing a turtle. – Snorkeling in the bay just in front of our hotel was amazing, so many fish. But, the best part was coming across a sea turtle feeding on the bottom, just a few feet below me. I was able to watch it for 15 minutes, including it surfacing right next to me to breath and then going back down.
5. Oceanside sunset massage. – The resort we stayed at, Fairmont Orchid, offered a couples massage outside only feet from the ocean. We scheduled one just before sunset. How relaxing, a great full body message right on the ocean with only the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore. Do it!
6. Black sand beach. – Very different for sure. One of the stops on our 10 hour volcano tour was the Punalu’u Black Sand Beach park. The sand beach is literally jet black. The sand is made from hot volcanic rocks that hit the water and shatter.
7. Lava tube. – Another part of the volcano tour is the Thurston Lava Tube. This is a extinct lava tube that you can walk through. During a eruption it used to be filled with flowing lava. Cool!
8. Standup paddle boarding. – One afternoon at the resort we took a one hour standup paddle board lesson. Basically you are standing on a long surfboard and using a paddle to move yourself through the water. I thought for sure we would be falling off left and right, but neither of use fell once. It was not nearly as hard as you might think and it was a lot of fun.
9. All day oceanside cabana. – Absolute relaxation. Renting a cabana right on the ocean and just spending all day drinking, eating, and watching the ocean… along with a Mongoose that ran right in front of the cabana.
10. Ellison Onizuka Space Center. – Surprise find right at the Kona airport. We were delayed a couple hours and found the space center between the two terminals. If you have kids this place would be great, lots of hands on projects perfect for kids. Myself a big fan of NASA and the space shuttle, I also really enjoyed all the memorabilia.