Porcupines Take on Hawaii- The Arrival

I'm just waiting patiently for our CD of images to start on our recaps. Before I jump in on those, I thought it would be fun to start off with our amazing honeymoon in Hawaii.

As soon as we started talking honeymoon, the first place that came to my mind was Hawaii. Being from New York, it’s not exactly the quickest place to get to. Like most New Yorkers our vacation spots tend to be on the Atlantic side of the ocean, and lean more towards a 4-hour flight (Mexico, Bahamas, Florida, etc.) as opposed to the 12ish hours it takes to get over to Hawaii. What better reason to sit on a plane(s) for 12 hours and go across the country than your honeymoon though- right? 

Surprisingly, the longest flight of my life was not the worst. I’m not a good flyer. I generally hate flying and mentally wish my family and friends a final goodbye when I get on a plane. Every sound the plane makes gives me flashbacks to the cast of Lost being sucked out of their plane and plopped onto “the Island.” But, I digress. Thanks to my father-in-law and his frequent flier miles, we got to fly first class! I wish we could always fly first class. It was A-MAZ-ING. And, being given free meals, fluffy blankets, and snacks makes you forget you are up-teen-thousand miles in the air flying over America. What up creepy desert?

What in the freak is going on down there in the desert?

Yes, more mai tais!

We picked the Big Island after much deliberation when we first started planning, and flew into Kona International Airport after a short layover in LA (seriously- where were all the celebrities sitting in first class? I NEVER see anyone!) We were completely MIND BOGGLED when we landed. The airport is completely open and looks more like a zoo or theme park than anything else. 

We rented a Jeep, which I must recommend, because driving around Hawaii with the Jeep’s top down is a once in a lifetime experience. As we drove the 20 minutes to our hotel, we were amazed to see how sparse the land looked. It resembled Mars as we drove along the highway to our hotel.

We stayed at the really beautiful Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. After checking in and trying to somehow organize our stuff, we didn't have much time for more than a light dinner before I crashed from the jet-lag. Mrs. Porcupine + a 6 hour time difference + 12/13 hours of travel = I DO NOT WANT TO BE AWAKE. I felt like high hell and didn't have much energy to look around. Luckily, our flight started at 9 AM and by the time we were done with dinner it was 9 PM Hawaii time (an early bedtime there, but a very late bedtime in NYC.) I slept off all the jet-lag for what was going to be a very jam packed honeymoon.