Hawaiin Safari

Today we went on a hike through the Hawaiian "rainforest." There wasn't a lot of rain, no animals at all, but there were a lot of really cool plants! Daryl and I tried a strawberry guava, that wasn't very pleasant. I can see why the locals see the guava trees as pests, and are trying to rid the island of them. I also ate a flower that tastes like a mushroom, although the guide gave us the hawaiian name for it and I have no idea what it was (or how to spell it) We also saw a really cool fern that closes up when it is touched. It is called a "shy fern." We tried to get a video of it, but the lens on the camera didn't open, so the video turned out to be just black bluriness. The hike was only about a mile long, but it was tiring! We also drove around the back road of Maui, which was really twisty, and made me very car sick. I am still nauseous from it- or maybe that is just the sea water that I accidentally ingested while snorkeling on the beach this evening. Anyway, it was a beautiful drive, just make sure you take some sea-bands with you if you ever decide to do it! Here are pictures of the highlights!

We drove up this crazy road, got to the edge of a cliff, and the guide said "Well, our hike begins just on the other side of that cliff!" We all thought he was joking until he started handing out the hiking gear! We all made it down the cliff, but it was a bit scary!

Here we are in front of one of the small waterfalls that we saw on the hike. They weren't very dramatic because it hadn't rained in a while. The guide said they can be really impressive right after a heavy rainfall. I think they were beautiful even if they weren't huge.

Here we are in front of the banyan tree. Speaking of impressive, these trees are one of the most amazing things I've seen on earth. They grow downward instead of up, so their could be several places where one tree comes down to root in the ground. There could be what look like several banyan trees, and really it is just one big tree taking root in several places! They are pretty cool. Oh yeah, we climbed down the roots, too...

I let Daryl go first.

But I made it down too.

Another waterfall. This picture is really blurry, and I wish we had it taken closer up. Oh well, we are still cute

After the hike, we continued our journey around the crazy road. We stopped at Auntie Julia's Banana Bread stand and got free samples of some really great banana bread, pineapple-mango jam, and my favorite: Coconut candy! We hadn't brought our money though (for fear of losing it in the rainforest) so we couldn't purchase any to take home. I'm almost willing to drive up there myself to get some of the coconut candy!

We stopped to see the biggest blowhole on Maui. I was a little underwhelmed by it, but I think we were just too far away to get the "wow" effect.

We also stopped to look at Honolua Bay. I'd like to go back and actually go into the bay to snorkel. Our guide said that it was the best place for snorkeling if you want to see turtles, and it was only about a 15 minute drive from our hotel.

When we got back to the hotel room, we took a long nap and then headed out to the beach for some practice snorkeling and relaxing. I still don't think I am liking this snorkeling thing. Even with the tube to breathe out of, I still feel like I am drowning. I bought an underwater camera, but it is really difficult to get a good picture, because to snap a picture you have to stop swimming against the waves to take it. You end up floating away from what you want a picture of. We'll see how they turn out when the film gets developed.

We ended the day with a little grilling!

I'm sad that our week here is almost over. We only have two more full days, then on Saturday it's back to the dreaded airport.

Here's a quick video of Daryl and me dancing on our wedding night to my favorite song, Smooth Sailing sung by Ella Fitzgerald. I have more coming! Youtube takes a long time to upload and process videos, so they are slower to come than pictures.

ALOHA!!!!!

Getting here was an adventure (too much adventure even for me!) but we finally made it to Maui! We just finished our first day here, and all I have to say is wow. I have never been to a place more relaxing and laid back! It's hard to believe that getting here was so stressful! Of course I have pictures to share, as always!!! I'll post video of both Hawaii and the wedding onto YouTube soon, as well, but maybe not until we get back home because that takes more time then I wish to spend at a computer while in this beautiful place!

After almost 24 hours of traveling, we did not look out our window when we reached our hotel room (it was dark anyway) but when morning came, this is the view we woke up to! It was enough to take my breath away.

Breakfast at an overpriced buffet

Koi pond.
There are several of these throughout the resort, and there are scheduled times when children can feed them. It is really fun to watch the kids interact with these giant fish! They're curious about them, but also kinda scared of their big mouths.

Making a lei. This was actually very informative! I absolutely loved the flowers we used to make them.

Sitting in the pool area with my finished lei

Relaxing on the beach! There are no shells on this beach, but we walked along and collected bits of dead coral instead. It's a nice beach, but still no comparison to Florida's beaches!
Listening t o musicians with my "virgin" pina colada
Sunset

Tomorrow it is hula lessons and shopping at Whaler's Village! We're also going to go grocery shopping to make use of our HUGE kitchen in the hotel room, and stop eating at overpriced buffets!!!!

Wedding Post #2

Here are some pictures of the reception. I don't have any pictures of the ceremony, because I had left our digital camera in our bag rather than giving it to someone to get pictures. There were lots of pictures taken, I just don't have them right now! I did not wear my gown to the reception because Jonah decided that it was just too uncomfortable. Instead I wore a white skirt and blouse, which I think was fine because the reception was so laid back.

Here is the cake! The bottom layer was Yellow (Daryl's favorite) and the top was Chocolate (my favorite) I thought it would look nice outside, but I don't think the caterer's were happy about having it outside rather than inside.

The cake topper almost didn't make it in time for the wedding! It arrived literally moments before the rehearsal dinner on Friday! It has mine and Daryl's initials. The flowers weren't supposed to be on the cake; it was just supposed to be plain and we were going to add daisies to it when it was being set up, but they decided to pipe roses on at the last minute. Didn't really go with the other decorations, but it was still pretty. The brown piping also started to melt, as it had also been on display during lunch.Cutting the cake. Daryl looks so into it, doesn't he?

Feeding Daryl the first bite. I am not sure why I don't have a picture of Daryl giving me a bite. I guess I eat too quickly. It was really delicious and moist!

Our wishing well invited guests to write down well-wishes for our new life, as well as to take a wish that we had created. In the middle of the table were our sand ceremony vases and information on our photographer's website, where she will be posting all the images from the wedding.
The tables looked wonderful. I had wanted just pink ribbon on the tables, but we ran out and had matching brown, so we added that to the centerpieces to even it out. The favors were "butterfly kisses" chocolate boxes, filled with homemade chocolates in the shapes of butterflies and chocolate kisses, and a donation in honor of our guests to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Everyone eating dinner. The menu was a big hit. I was thrilled that every one liked the choices, because I wasn't sure if every body would like the buffet.
Dancing!!!!!!
There are no pictures of Daryl and me dancing together because our camera was being used to take video. The other guests seemed to enjoy themselves as much as we did!

Loreto and Sheree. Loreto was also our DJ. He did a great job, and I was so happy to have a friend do it because we were able to keep it informal, yet entertaining for every one. Lo really is a great DJ!

Will and Heather

Noah and Grandma
Noah and "Great" Aunt Kay

Wedding post #1

Well, the weekend of our wedding has come to a close. Even though there were some snags, the whole thing went fairly smoothly, and was exactly how Daryl and I wanted it! It was very small and simple with our closest friends and family. It was a very special day for us.

Here are some pictures of the rehearsal dinner. We had BBQ at the community hall in our condo complex, and then did a quick run through of the ceremony. It really gave everyone a chance to sit down and talk, which is something our families haven't had the chance to do. Some of them were meeting each other for the first time

Noah and Grandma

After dinner, we all went out to look at the sunset

Soooo busy!

Wow have I been busy the last couple of months!!!

Everything is going well with the baby! He never stops moving, and if you're lucky he'll put on a belly dance show for you! I start working part time next week, and boy do I need the break! I'll post pictures later, when I'm not so busy!