I came back from Paris and Munich exhausted but ready to work, but before I could get too much work done, I went on a quick trip to Charlottesville for my sister’s birthday. It was a super fun impromptu sibling … Continue reading
Brent was scheduled to take a horrible, no-good, very bad test the first weekend in June. He had already taken part one last year, and if you pass part one, you get to pay more money and take part two. … Continue reading
Brent and I have been trying to go to Hawaii since we moved to Phoenix. I have dreamed of going to Hawaii, of dipping my toes in the cerulean blue of the ocean, of snorkeling among tropical fish, of eating a roasted pig taken from the ground at a luau. I feel like I’m the last person in the world to go to Hawaii. I think my cousin Mindi has been there 5 times. At least three of my friends/family went to Hawaii on a honeymoon (you know who you are Rhyll, Jenny, and Stephanie) or an anniversary trip (Aunt Mary). My friend Jackie goes every summer with her family. My friend Tiffany’s grandfather lived in Hawaii, so she just had to come to Hawaii to visit him. What a terrible family trip! My dad worked on a pineapple plantation for at least two summers. To say the least, I have felt pretty gypped in terms of tropical vacations.
When Brent and I found out we were moving to Dallas, we knew we had to go to Hawaii soon. It is a non-stop flight to Hawaii from Phoenix but not from Dallas. I love flying but I hate layovers. It took some careful calendar scrutiny, but we were finally able to find a weekend where flights were open and our schedules were too.
Now that the weekend was scheduled, we just had to decide to which island to frolic. Brent and I both posted Facebook pleas of help, which did increase our knowledge but also my desire to go to every single Hawaiian island. Finally, we narrowed it down to Kauai or Oahu after intense deliberation and internet research. The weather proved the ultimate decider when the forecast called for rain all weekend at Kauai.
Brent and I arrived in Oahu with a jam-packed itinerary. We picked up our cute little car and went off to our hotel at Waikiki Beach. I don’t recommend staying in Waikiki Beach, but we had a great hotel deal with Brent’s Marriott points. Do you know that if you husband leaves you for at least 4 days a week and stays in a Marriott for at least 4 months, you can get two nights in a Marriott for your effort?!? Well, we have more than two nights accumulated but that’s what we used. We were exhausted after flying and trying to find decent cheap parking, so we ended up just grabbing a quick dinner and going to bed.
On Saturday, we combined two days worth of activities into one day. Brent and I drove to the North Shore in awe of the gorgeous scenery.
We stopped at the Laie Temple.
Then we headed off to Sunset Beach to swim. This was my first time ever swimming in the ocean. As I have only visited California with its freezing ocean temperatures, I have never gone more than thigh high in the ocean. This water was amazing! I loved that it buoyed me up. I loved that I didn’t have to work to tread water. I loved that the waves gently nudged me.
We stopped at Ted’s Bakery for lunch and pie. Did you know that Hawaii has everything that I love: pineapple, coconut, and macadamia nuts. Although this picture really has none of those items.
We tried to go swimming at Waimea Bay afterwards, but we couldn’t find parking so we swam at Haleiwa Ali’i Beach. It was pretty rocky and not as nice as Sunset; however, I still enjoyed swimming in the ocean.
Off to the Polynesian Cultural Center to experience different islands, watch a night show with fire twirlers, and eat some pig.
The Luau was enjoyable but kind of cheesy. I have decided that all-you-can-eat buffets are a terrible investment for an eater like me. I don’t want more than one plate, so I feel like I waste my money. I did like me big smoothie in a hollowed out pineapple though. I also felt like my money was helping fund students’ education in a productive self-sufficient kind of way which made me feel warm inside.
The next day, Brent and I had great plans to go to Pearl Harbor, yet we cancelled them to sleep in and recover from the previous day. We did attend church at the Honolulu Tabernacle with its intriguing architecture.
We then hiked a place called Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trial. It didn’t actually lead to a lighthouse, just a view of it.
We may or may not have done some more swimming with much guilt but justification as it was the last of two days in Hawaii. Well, maybe more guilt on my side…
We flew back that night to Phoenix so Brent could recover on Monday and study for a big test that Saturday. I think that Hawaii was one of the few places that has actually lived up to the hype surrounding it. On this trip, I finally understood tropical beach vacations and the gloriousness of spending the entire day swimming and lounging in paradise. I desperately want to go back. I want to spend more time on the North Shore just swimming. I think I would also like to visit more of the islands as well to see how they compare. If anyone wants to fund this scientific study of the comparison between beach vacations among the Hawaiian Islands, I will gladly accept their money.
When I started this blog I thought, “I’m going to rock this thing. It’s going to declutter my life by combining journaling with scrapbooking. AND I am not going to do lame catch-up posts about events that happened jeers ago.” Well, I am here to eat my words. Eat them big. Life has changed significantly since my last post; my camera is bursting at the seams to display all the visual goodies. I am tempted to rush through it all and do one giant skim over the past two months. However, since my goal is to make this a journal/scrapbook, I must insist on quality which means I could be catching up for quite awhile so brace yourself for some lengthy commentary on very old events.
My cousin Mindi was married in the Draper Temple. I arrived the night before and stayed with a fabulous friend Heather. We stayed up much too late catching up before falling asleep. Brent was in Dallas this week, and we weren’t sure if he was going to make it up for any part of the wedding.
At the sealing, I met up with lots of family.
Mindi looked lovely in her dress. I loved her bouquet. Mindi is a fabulous flower arranger, and she picked a gorgeous and unusual bouquet that also included purple cabbage! I was lucky as Brent was able to catch a flight from Dallas to Salt Lake City and meet me for the luncheon.
After the wedding, we took the opportunity to test drive cars together since Brent’s 16-year-old Honda was soon to be retired, and we were never together during the week as Brent commuted to Dallas during the week. I think I like getting an annual exam at the OB-GYN more than car shopping. I hate the phrase, “What can I do to get you in the car today?” To celebrate surviving the ordeal, we ate pizza at The Pie. YUM.
Brent had to fly back to Phoenix early Sunday morning to perform PPI interviews (for which no one showed up) while I stayed and attended Music and the Spoken Word with some family. I also went with the Boydens to lay flowers on Hillam and Sneddon graves for Memorial Day. We found the Hillam side fairly easy but despite Kate’s wandering up and down the SLC cemetery, we couldn’t find the Sneddons.
It was a fantastic weekend reconnecting with family and commemorating relationships.
Just Call Me Zabsher 