Chris and Tawny are professional travelers and have documented their trips on their blog, Captain and Clark. Ryan met Chris while doing a Semester at Sea program in college. Through his stories I felt like I already knew them before our wedding and I was so excited to spend more time with them in Hawaii- and their two amazing kids, Holden (then 3) and Henley (then 1.5).
Chris and Tawny are PERFECT tour guides…oh yeah, that’s because they own a tour company in Tacoma. You could tell they delighted in showing us their favorite spots. After we joined them at the rental house we were treated to a custom itinerary of the BEST lagoons and beaches, best food spots around the island, the local favorites and the certified “worth it” tourist destinations like snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, the Dole Plantation, and sunset at the North Shore. Our days were a great blend of beach fun, and exploring the island. We also were playfully ranking our favorite beaches and Tawny and Ryan were trying to find the best Mahi Tai (they would have 14 each over the course of our trip)
My personal favorite beach was Lanikai. For me it was the perfect Hawaii experience that every postcard promised. Powder white sand, bright teal water, a little boogie boarding and when your turned back to the island, those classic Jurassic park mountains. After that beach, Chris drove us around that side of the island.
A very close tie would be our snorkeling trip at Hanauma Bay. I had never been snorkeling before- in fact I never considered myself a strong swimmer and growing up on the Atlantic, I never really liked swimming. Clearly I was in the wrong water. This excursion was raw beauty and felt so much like a movie adventure scene. Even the entry to the Bay starts you at the top of the mountain, and you walk down so you get this birds-eye view of the bay before you get there.
We made a special cocktail. Ryan tried 3 recipes to land on what we called “Da Kine” 
