Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Oahu
Our week on Oahu was quite different than our week in Kona. More relaxed and laid back I'd say, plus we had the biggest and most important event of our lives- our wedding day. We had lots of cool experiences and enjoyed the peace and beauty of the island.
The highlights of Oahu
* Our yellow Tonka Truck Jeep. We rented it because everything is very spread out out on the island and bikes weren't going to cut it- especially in a wedding dress (although D thought it would be ok).
* The coastline and various offshore islands. There is something magical about the ocean, and being landlocked most of my life, I am just in awe of the beauty of it. I took a lot of pictures. A LOT of pictures :-)
* The green mountains. So jurrasic and lush. And so different from the rockies. Beautiful in a different way completely.
* The smell. Oh my, it smells sooo good. A mixture of salt water, lush vegitation and every kind of flower you can imagine. I spend a lot of time just breathing it in.
* Our tiki hut accommodation was awesome, minus the crazy lady we rented it from..
* Our Wedding day- it was perfect, exactly what we both wanted, and a true celebration of our love and commitment. I wouldn't have changed a single thing. A HUGE mahalo to Rev Jim and Terry as well for providing such a beautiful service, the perfect bouquet and beautiful Leis, and just being all around amazing folks.
* Our road ride the day after our wedding. The gorgeous coast line, the old pali highway tree tunnel, the wind and the hills... and of course the glorious heat!
* Boogie boarding and wave surfing, well getting beat up and tossed around really. And how on earth did so much sand get there!!!
* the glider ride!!! My client and her husband bought us a ride in a float plane. Another plane towed us up and then we glided around on air currents for 20mins in silence. It was spectacular and terrifying!
* Overall we created the most amazing memories and had the best vacation of our lives. We feel so blessed and thankful that we could have the wedding we wanted, with the blessings of our families. Mahalo and we can't wait to go back with all of you for our anniversaries!
The highlights of Oahu
* Our yellow Tonka Truck Jeep. We rented it because everything is very spread out out on the island and bikes weren't going to cut it- especially in a wedding dress (although D thought it would be ok).
* The coastline and various offshore islands. There is something magical about the ocean, and being landlocked most of my life, I am just in awe of the beauty of it. I took a lot of pictures. A LOT of pictures :-)
* The green mountains. So jurrasic and lush. And so different from the rockies. Beautiful in a different way completely.
* The smell. Oh my, it smells sooo good. A mixture of salt water, lush vegitation and every kind of flower you can imagine. I spend a lot of time just breathing it in.
* Our tiki hut accommodation was awesome, minus the crazy lady we rented it from..
* Our Wedding day- it was perfect, exactly what we both wanted, and a true celebration of our love and commitment. I wouldn't have changed a single thing. A HUGE mahalo to Rev Jim and Terry as well for providing such a beautiful service, the perfect bouquet and beautiful Leis, and just being all around amazing folks.
* Our road ride the day after our wedding. The gorgeous coast line, the old pali highway tree tunnel, the wind and the hills... and of course the glorious heat!
* Boogie boarding and wave surfing, well getting beat up and tossed around really. And how on earth did so much sand get there!!!
* the glider ride!!! My client and her husband bought us a ride in a float plane. Another plane towed us up and then we glided around on air currents for 20mins in silence. It was spectacular and terrifying!
* Overall we created the most amazing memories and had the best vacation of our lives. We feel so blessed and thankful that we could have the wedding we wanted, with the blessings of our families. Mahalo and we can't wait to go back with all of you for our anniversaries!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Hawaii Highlights: Kona
Kona was amazing, we had so much fun and the energy and vibe of the Ironman World Championships was phenomenal! We saw and experienced so much, I will stick to the highlights or this will never get finished!
* The first morning, despite getting to sleep really late after our never ending flight, we were up early and caught the sunrise:
* We had many great swims from the pier. There were tons of multicolored fish swimming in the crystal clear blue waters, and the first day out I was approached by a pod of dolphins! The other highlight of those swims was a swim up coffee bar :-) I swear, if swimming was always like this I would do it everyday!
* in keeping with the water theme, we rented snorkling gear and went out nearly every day for a snorkle. We found a great spot and were able to see so many varieties of fish, a snake eel, puffer fish, and even swam with sea turles!! The look like they fly through the water, flapping their arms (legs?). It was so peaceful and fascinating under the water, we definitely found another world to explore!
* We also did a kayak, only an hour long but our shoulders were burning! not from the sun, but from paddling! I felt like such a wuss. We rented some awesome schwinn cruiser bikes that were a godsend for getting around, and sooo much fun to ride. The massive hill climb we did whilst I was in bikini and flip flops was not so awesome by the time we reached 1000ft...ouch.
* There were, of course, heaps of uber fit triathletes running and cycling up and down Ali'i drive. With all the hardbodies around, it was hard not to feel fat and out of shape :-) I have to say, however, that they all had their game faces on- and early! It seemed as though everyone was very intense and serious, and not having much fun at all. I went out running a couple of times and got sucked right into it. I was running much faster than I normally would, and found myself imagining I was running the marathon of the Ironman. My face probably looked as contorted and pained as the rest of them..but I was having fun :-)
* One of the highlights of Kona was meeting Danny and Tania from Vancouver. They were on their 'honeymoon', 10 years and 4 kids after getting married :-) They are both Ironman athletes and marathon runners. They are also one of the happiest and most connected couples we have ever met. They were kind enough to share their motorized transportation with us and took us om a day trip out to the Volcano. Along the way we stopped at blacksands beach and the southernmost bar in the US- where we met the nutty professor. Lots of laughs there :-) Seeing the volano nat'l park was great, even though we arrived just as it got dark, the temp was sooo cold and it began raining/ Also, we were in a jeep with no doors or roof, and were quite underdressed! It was still fun though, we explored the lava tubes, hikes a bit around the crater, visited the interpretive center were we were able to see an active lava lake in the distance and stayed warm on the long drive home with a bottle of wine :-)
* Ironman day was phenomenal. We were up early, but still did not get down to the swim start early enough to get a good spot. D managed to squeeze onto the sea wall, but I watched the start on the big screen. There were drums, sining, chanting and the energy was palpable! So many nervous and excited people, waiting to start a day they have dreamed of. When the horn finally sounded and they were off, it was like a huge release.
We had a bite to eat and then watched the first people off on the bike. Once we saw the majority of the people we were looking for, we went to cheer in the final swimmers. It was neat to see all the older athletes coming out of the water and starting the bike. Men and women in their 70's and 80's about to take on one of the toughest physical challenges on earth! So inspiring, I want to be like them when I grow up!
Next we cruised around a bit, rested a bit and finally took up post at the hot corner. As it turned out we were right on the corner and as the leaders came around and I tried to take pictures, I had to move quickly not to collide with them as they hugged the fence. It was pretty cool.
We then took our bikes out onto the Queen K and experienced some of the desolate, hot and windy conditions the athletes face. We were able to meet up with Craig Alexander who was on his way back in, leading the race. We followed along side him and were able to ride in for his final mile. He was FLYING! I hope to see us on the DVD :-)
Finally we found a spot along the finish chute and screamed, clapped and cheered for the next few hours. By 7:30 we were pretty hot, sweaty and tired. We decided to head to our place and shower. Not before discovering we'd lost the bike lock key, which meant sawing through the cable with various implements provided by a nearby jewler, and finally a couple of cops. It was pretty funny to have a cop sawing through a bike lock :-)
We finally got home, showered, ate and decided to rest for a bit. Unfortunately we crashed out completely and missed the final hours of the finish line :-( We will have to save that to see on the DVD.
* Our final dinner in Kona, we went out with our new friends Tania and Danny. We first went to try some Kava, a drink made of Kava root, that looks like dirty dishwater and tastes like dirt. It is supposed to make one feel relaxed and happy- when in Hawaii how could you feel anything but!? It did make our lips go numb and it was funny to watch each other choke the yucky stuff down. We then made our way to Lulus for dinner and drinks. Dinner was great and we all had a couple drinks. Then the rain started. Now Hawaii rain is not like normal rain. It is like the sky opens up and pours down full force. We decided to wait it out, since once again we had the jeep with no roof or doors. We continued to have great conversation and more drinks. Our waitress started bringing shooters to us, unsolicited, and next thing you know we were all a bit inebriated. Tania and I switched to water, but the boys kept the drinks coming and by the time the rain stopped and we were able to leave it was pretty funny to see my soon to be husband, as drunk as I'd ever seen him.
*
We actually had to bail out the jeep before we left, it was full of water! We went back to our condo and continued to visit, well 3 of us did and one disappeared to bed..lol.
The next day we were scheduled to fly to Oahu in the afternoon. I left in the morning for a run, I needed to pick up a roll of film at walmart and we had returned our bikes the day before. D was not feeling well so he stayed in bed :-)
It was a great run, although all uphill to get there! I ran just over an hour and was gone nearly 90mins including time in the store. By the time I got back D was up, so we packed up and made our way to the airport.
* Final Kona highlight- the airport. It is all outdoors! It is beautiful, warm and like no other airport environment I have ever been in.
* The first morning, despite getting to sleep really late after our never ending flight, we were up early and caught the sunrise:
* We had many great swims from the pier. There were tons of multicolored fish swimming in the crystal clear blue waters, and the first day out I was approached by a pod of dolphins! The other highlight of those swims was a swim up coffee bar :-) I swear, if swimming was always like this I would do it everyday!
* in keeping with the water theme, we rented snorkling gear and went out nearly every day for a snorkle. We found a great spot and were able to see so many varieties of fish, a snake eel, puffer fish, and even swam with sea turles!! The look like they fly through the water, flapping their arms (legs?). It was so peaceful and fascinating under the water, we definitely found another world to explore!
* We also did a kayak, only an hour long but our shoulders were burning! not from the sun, but from paddling! I felt like such a wuss. We rented some awesome schwinn cruiser bikes that were a godsend for getting around, and sooo much fun to ride. The massive hill climb we did whilst I was in bikini and flip flops was not so awesome by the time we reached 1000ft...ouch.
* There were, of course, heaps of uber fit triathletes running and cycling up and down Ali'i drive. With all the hardbodies around, it was hard not to feel fat and out of shape :-) I have to say, however, that they all had their game faces on- and early! It seemed as though everyone was very intense and serious, and not having much fun at all. I went out running a couple of times and got sucked right into it. I was running much faster than I normally would, and found myself imagining I was running the marathon of the Ironman. My face probably looked as contorted and pained as the rest of them..but I was having fun :-)
* One of the highlights of Kona was meeting Danny and Tania from Vancouver. They were on their 'honeymoon', 10 years and 4 kids after getting married :-) They are both Ironman athletes and marathon runners. They are also one of the happiest and most connected couples we have ever met. They were kind enough to share their motorized transportation with us and took us om a day trip out to the Volcano. Along the way we stopped at blacksands beach and the southernmost bar in the US- where we met the nutty professor. Lots of laughs there :-) Seeing the volano nat'l park was great, even though we arrived just as it got dark, the temp was sooo cold and it began raining/ Also, we were in a jeep with no doors or roof, and were quite underdressed! It was still fun though, we explored the lava tubes, hikes a bit around the crater, visited the interpretive center were we were able to see an active lava lake in the distance and stayed warm on the long drive home with a bottle of wine :-)
* Ironman day was phenomenal. We were up early, but still did not get down to the swim start early enough to get a good spot. D managed to squeeze onto the sea wall, but I watched the start on the big screen. There were drums, sining, chanting and the energy was palpable! So many nervous and excited people, waiting to start a day they have dreamed of. When the horn finally sounded and they were off, it was like a huge release.
We had a bite to eat and then watched the first people off on the bike. Once we saw the majority of the people we were looking for, we went to cheer in the final swimmers. It was neat to see all the older athletes coming out of the water and starting the bike. Men and women in their 70's and 80's about to take on one of the toughest physical challenges on earth! So inspiring, I want to be like them when I grow up!
Next we cruised around a bit, rested a bit and finally took up post at the hot corner. As it turned out we were right on the corner and as the leaders came around and I tried to take pictures, I had to move quickly not to collide with them as they hugged the fence. It was pretty cool.
We then took our bikes out onto the Queen K and experienced some of the desolate, hot and windy conditions the athletes face. We were able to meet up with Craig Alexander who was on his way back in, leading the race. We followed along side him and were able to ride in for his final mile. He was FLYING! I hope to see us on the DVD :-)
Finally we found a spot along the finish chute and screamed, clapped and cheered for the next few hours. By 7:30 we were pretty hot, sweaty and tired. We decided to head to our place and shower. Not before discovering we'd lost the bike lock key, which meant sawing through the cable with various implements provided by a nearby jewler, and finally a couple of cops. It was pretty funny to have a cop sawing through a bike lock :-)
We finally got home, showered, ate and decided to rest for a bit. Unfortunately we crashed out completely and missed the final hours of the finish line :-( We will have to save that to see on the DVD.
* Our final dinner in Kona, we went out with our new friends Tania and Danny. We first went to try some Kava, a drink made of Kava root, that looks like dirty dishwater and tastes like dirt. It is supposed to make one feel relaxed and happy- when in Hawaii how could you feel anything but!? It did make our lips go numb and it was funny to watch each other choke the yucky stuff down. We then made our way to Lulus for dinner and drinks. Dinner was great and we all had a couple drinks. Then the rain started. Now Hawaii rain is not like normal rain. It is like the sky opens up and pours down full force. We decided to wait it out, since once again we had the jeep with no roof or doors. We continued to have great conversation and more drinks. Our waitress started bringing shooters to us, unsolicited, and next thing you know we were all a bit inebriated. Tania and I switched to water, but the boys kept the drinks coming and by the time the rain stopped and we were able to leave it was pretty funny to see my soon to be husband, as drunk as I'd ever seen him.
* We actually had to bail out the jeep before we left, it was full of water! We went back to our condo and continued to visit, well 3 of us did and one disappeared to bed..lol.
The next day we were scheduled to fly to Oahu in the afternoon. I left in the morning for a run, I needed to pick up a roll of film at walmart and we had returned our bikes the day before. D was not feeling well so he stayed in bed :-)
It was a great run, although all uphill to get there! I ran just over an hour and was gone nearly 90mins including time in the store. By the time I got back D was up, so we packed up and made our way to the airport.
* Final Kona highlight- the airport. It is all outdoors! It is beautiful, warm and like no other airport environment I have ever been in.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Amber and I just got back from Hawaii and it was an incredible trip, fun, adventurous, eye-opening, and life changing. The highlight of course was our wedding but we had so much fun everyday that we've both come back refreshed and ready to get back to work. Our wedding was beautiful, just the two of us on the North Shore of Ohau on the beach at sunset. The place was perfect, the setting was exactly what we were looking for and Amber was absolutely beautiful. We spent a lot of time taking pictures (seemed a bit like a photo shoot) but the service by Reverend Jim was perfect, not overly religious but enough to make you realize that our joining is going to be for life. We were both very moved and happy with the entire evening.
The rest of the time we had fun renting some road bikes and touring the island, going to the Polynesian cultural centre (which was a little to "touristic"), trying some surfing, boogie-boarding, and running along the beach. Hawaii definitely has a lot to offer and the weather is always, always good. I'm going to miss it but fortunately I have some fantastic memories with AD and a reason to go back in the future some time.
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