This was the trip of a lifetime as we flew to the other side of the world to get married on the beautiful beach of Diamond Head, Oahu, Hawaii.
To break the trip up, we had a two day stopover in New York on the way out and a two day stopover in San Fransisco on the way home.
New York
We wasted no time and on our first day hired some bicycles and saw:
- Central Park
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Statue of Liberty
- Grand Central Station
- Rockefeller Building
- Empire State Building
- Ground Zero
- Time Square
We met up with our friend Brenda Fischer at Grand Central Station and enjoyed lunch together.
Day 2 saw lots of walking, we tried out the Metro, visited Macys and the treat was having dinner cooked for us by the CEO of Sungard, Cris Conde at his penthouse on the upper East Side. Here’s the view from his apartment:
Oahu, Hawaii
From New York we did the 11.5 hour flight to Oahu, Hawaii. We stayed in The Sheraton Waikiki.
The next day we took the bus to Honolulu to sort out the paper work for our wedding. We did some shopping, made use of the swimming pool, took a stroll along the beach and visited the parrot man who was a bit of a tourist attraction in the market opposite our hotel.
The next day we hired a mini van and bikes and headed off to see the island. We swam in the sea with turtles and took in the beautiful tropical scenery.
Diamond Head, Wedding Day
We started our wedding day with a hike up Manoa Falls.
We had a very relaxing and peaceful wedding on Diamond Head Beach and enjoyed an evening meal in a Treetops Restaurant.
The Big Island, Hawaii
The next day we hoped on a small plane and flew to Kona on The Big Island. We stayed at the Hilo Seaside in Hilo. We hired a Jeep and drove to the Volcanos Natinal Park, visited Crater Road and walked through the Lava Flow Tube. We were stunned by the size and activity of the Kīlauea volcano.
The next day we visited countless waterfalls and enjoyed a long hike. We saw tidal pools full of fish and were amazed by the warmth of the water.
On our final day in Hawaii we took a helicopter trip over the volcano. It was amazing, you could actually see the lava flowing.
We drove over Saddle Road to Kohala and Hapuna Beach where we both enjoyed a dip in the warm ocean.
San Fransisco, California
We started our visit in a open top tour bus and saw:
- Fishermans Wharf
- Alamo Square
- Alcatraz
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Lombard Street
- Rode a tram
- Union Square
- China Town
- Coit Tower – where we saw a humming bird.
The next day we took a boat trip to Alcatraz. It’s incredible how much the fog can change in just a few hours. When we set off it was like pea soup which emphasised the damp cold conditions inside the cells. Just a few hours later the sun was blazing down, giving a clear view across to San Fransisco.
That afternoon we took a taxi to The Golden Gate Bridge.
