SPI ~ Sunrise
Since it is summer and everyone goes to the beach I thought we would too; the next few posts are not really things to do in South Padre, they are more a reflection of relaxation. There is nothing like standing on the beach watching the sun rise.
Five Years Ago Today ❤
Aloha Kakahiaka or Good Morning, I was learning because the Surfrider changes out the elevator mats according to time of day! 😉
This was our breakfast view from The Veranda, looks pretty quiet.
It was but we surfed it anyway and then played at the beach in front of the hotel.
Sooo…. you go down this trail and come out…
here… WHOA! Waimea Bay!
These dudes were worried about the “Lil’ Brah” going in.
YES!!! … Oh! Maybe not…
They to see when the wave is coming in and then the juuuuump…
You have to love girl power!
It works better with out the shirt … lol!
A quiet day at Waimea.
Back up the trail and the view from mid-way up the trail.
The view from the top.
Waimea from the car…
on the way to Sunset Beach.
We enjoyed a great dinner at Duke’s Waikiki…
said Aloha to Diamondhead and The Moana Surfrider and headed to the airport.
Five Years Ago Today ❤
Good Morning Diamondhead!
Not nearly as big as Lahaina’s Banyan Tree but still impressive!
Across from the Surfrider is the International Marketplace, both it and Waikiki Town Center are built on land that was owned by Queen Emma Kaleleonalani, a humanitarian beloved by her people. She joined her husband King Kamehameha IV in a personal crusade to stem the decline of native Hawaiians.
Today, we are headed out to the North Shore, Baby!
This is called, “A Lesson in Patience”.
After spending a few hours there we went over to Ehukai Beach Park, aka the one… the only… the very quiet 😉 Bonzai Pipeline!
Learned a new word on this trip… Vog!
While not a whole lot of respiratory fun, the vog does make for some very cool pictures.
Driving back in five o’clock traffic I can’t help but think, this is a pretty sweet view if you’re stuck in traffic.
Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu, these are a must for me… heeheehee! I can’t wait to go check out the new one in Waikiki!
I bow down to the gods of surf!
The view from our room at night.
Five Years Ago Today ❤
I hope y’all didn’t think we were done! We just got married there is a honeymoon to be had! 😉
It broke my heart to leave Maui.
It was hard to believe we were leaving.
Out of the places I have traveled, only Maui had made me want to leave Texas.
Aloha Maui ❤
Hey, I’ve been here before, only for an hour or so on the way to Maui.
Aloha O’ahu!
Since it was out Honeymoon I spent more than I would normally spend on a hotel. I wanted to stay somewhere that had history, it was a toss-up between The Royal Hawaiian Princess of the Westin Moana Surfrider and The First Lady of Waikiki won.
When I reserved the room the online questionnaire asked if there was anything special about our visit. I indicated we had never been to O’ahu and that we were going to stay there for our honey moon. The front desk asked us to wait for a few minutes while they finished with our suite, I replied that I didn’t think I’d booked a suite and they said they had upgraded us! WOOHOO! The Bell Captain came forward and said he wanted to take us to our room, when we got into the elevator he pushed the button with the PH on it! They upgraded us to The Nalu Suite 2109, he explained that the only other one like it, is the one the owner stays in right next to it! I don’t normally post pictures of the interior of a hotel room but THIS was off the hook!
Our living area.
The from our living room windows.
They aren’t kidding when they call it a Westin Heavenly Bed! I’ve never slept so good.
The Lanai.
I could see the Royal Hawaiian Princess looking down from the Lanai.
THIS magnificent view was straight off the front of our Lanai.
Have I mentioned I love Hawaii?
We spent a good portion of the day on in The Banyan Court…
and lovin’ Waikiki!
Five Years Ago Today ❤
My maternal grandparents eloped, my parents eloped too; I have always been adamant that I would not get married in a courthouse, my fear was if I did, my daughter (should I have one), would elope as well. I did not break the cycle but I would not have wanted to be married any other way. ❤
This is The Old Lahaina Courthouse, isn’t it cute? It was built-in 1859, during the reign of Kamehameha the VI.
I did not get married there!!! I worked with a wedding coordinator online, we decided we were going to get married in South Maui; however, the previous weekend at the Hyatt there were weddings everywhere: the Great Lawn, the waterfall, the gazebo and the beach. Jack and I began to ask the locals if we should move our ceremony to West Maui, everyone responded the same way, they asked where we currently were going to be married and then they all recommended we stay with our original location. It was probably an hour drive to get there but when you live in Texas an hour drive is next door, so that wasn’t a problem; when it got scary, was when the road dropped down to one lane and the edge of the road was on my side. Passing oncoming traffic was very precarious. We pulled up to a wall, that is overgrown with vegetation and my initial thought was, “Uh-oh, what did I do?”; then I walked through the opening and knew THIS was where we were meant to be married! We were Maui’d in Makena Cove (Secret Beach), in a traditional Hawaiian Ceremony by Rev. Alalani Hill.
We dined at Sonz at the Hyatt Regency Ka’anapali after the ceremony, yes, that’s where we were staying but I did look into several places and it was highly recommended. It was an excellent choice, the wait staff was amazing, because it was not busy they really went out of their way to make everything very special.
You did catch that I said we eloped, right? Five years ago today smart phones were not as popular as they are now and I personally did not buy my first iPhone until the month after we got back. So these are the pictures that our family and friends back home woke up to in their email in boxes.
I must say we do have really great senses of humor but I was surprised at how many people thought we were kidding, so what if we had already been together for thirteen years and engaged for eight! I always said I wanted a long engagement. 😀
This is the picture that went out with the formal announcement when we got home.
❤At this point I would like to thank Sheree Giegling, she made it all happen and is by far an excellent wedding coordinator. I contacted her two weeks before the date and she managed everything so that we had a perfect day, she even managed to pull off getting the “mainland” flowers I wanted for my bouquet. 😉 The day before the wedding she called and asked what I was doing, when I replied, “I am about to snorkel off the coast of Lana’i”, she cracked up laughing and said I was the calmest bride she ever worked with. I had complete faith in her and for good reason too, it was the perfect day.
❤I would also like to thank Rev. Alalani Hill for falling in love with us, the way we did with her; we will always treasure your words and you have truly touched our soul.
❤Last but not least, to the woman who stopped us in the hallway of the Hyatt, asked if we were getting married, if my Mom was there and when I replied that she was not said, “Well come here and give me a hug! You need a hug from a Mom on your wedding day!” When I told my mother she wept tears of happiness, said your actions meant the world to her and because of how much they meant should she ever get the opportunity to she will do the same. Thank you!
Five Years Ago Today ❤
This was the amazing view we had while we ate breakfast!
Since we had already set up some activities for the next couple of days, we decided to do what you do on vacation, relax and roam around the resort. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Ka’anapali, which is definitely a fun place to stay. I got much more of a kick out of this cool swinging bridge that goes over the pool, than Jack did… heeheehee!
There were so many beautiful pieces of art everywhere, since the resort is quite large and there are so many pieces; it’s a wonderful museum to wander at your leisure. Oh look! It is me! 😉
We decided a beach stroll, sounded perfect.
I fell in love with this little HonuDragon.
Black Rock Ka’anapali
Outside of Whaler’s Village, wondering which way the wind blows.
This really is paradise!
We found all sorts of treasures while exploring the Hyatt.
This beautiful woman was how I knew which hall led to our room.
Does anyone ever get tired of these sunsets?!?
Lahaina Laura 