Ryan and Amber: Ultraman Hawaii and the aftermath part 3 (aka the Honeymoon)

So I have to say an extra special thanks to my wonderful husband. He put up with an ultra romantic taper week, a 3 day race, and a 3 day recovery before we actually got into full on honeymoon mode. It was his first trip to Hawaii and he got there just in time to experience the taper. Him, "what do you want to do today". Me "sit inside the condo and watch TV. I'd like to move as little as possible today." I'd point him in the right direction for a fun run or ride or he'd take part in my short training sessions for the week.

Would have been really nice to come here at night, but not enough time.....

Lava tube in VNP.

Sea arch in VNP

Petroglyphs at VNP. Over 23000 images. Definitely worth the nearly 2 mile round trip hike.

Waterfall near Hilo

Dad and Ryan "hiking" near Hilo

The day after the race we quickly packed up the bike and wheels and shipped them home. My backside wanted no further part of them. They are still boxed up in the garage. My dad was still in town for a couple days so we did a couple trips. One was to Hilo and to the Tsunami museum and a couple waterfalls. The next day we went to Volcano National Park. The highlight was a night snorkel with the manta rays. It is impossible to describe how amazing it was. The mantas would skim the snorkelers on the surface and then the divers on the bottom. This went on and on for about 45 minutes. I can't believe I waited so many years to do this.

Manta snorkel!!

After a couple days recovery we headed off to Maui. I booked the smallest plane I could find! The little inter island connectors are the best.

Goodbye Kona

Molokini

Hello Maui!

We had to cut our Maui section of the trip a bit short so that we could get home and finish our pre employment training for our new jobs and to find a new place to live. It was kind of sad to leave early, but we were super excited to get moved and start our new lives. We did make the most of our Maui time and got up early for a Haleakala sunrise. Never thought I'd be this cold in Hawaii. After sunrise we went from freezing to roasting as we hiked into the "crater".