My cousin Tawni and I kept saying how we needed to take a trip together, but we never made it happen. Then on Father's Day we were chatting at our grandparent's house, and decided it was time to make it happen, so we made some plans, and in August, we went to Hawaii.
We had to go from SLC, to Las Vegas, to LA, and finally to Honolulu, but we finally made it. The trip from LA to Honolulu was a long one... literally and figuratively. I wasn't able to sit by Tawni, and I was sitting next to a 13 year old boy that TALKED my ear off the ENTIRE way! Holy cow! I was ready to just turn my ears off after that.
We took a cab to our hotel and crashed for the night.
The next day we got up and headed down for out "continental breakfast." Much to our disappointment, the breakfast consisted of... toast, a small cup of pineapple from a can, pineapple juice (probably from the same can as the pineapple), and if you knew to ask, a small croissant from the plate they hid from the view of the people.
We scarfed down our meager meal and headed off to find someone to take us the the Polynesian Cultural Center. We asked 3 cab drivers, no one knew what were talking about... They lived on this small island, and they didn't know how to find the biggest tourist attraction on it... strange.
We made our way back to the hotel, and found, to our luck, a concierge desk. The lady there was able to get us set up with a bus ride to the PCC and an entire package to get us set up for the day there. We took the bus up to the PCC and were set up with some tour guides. We had a girl from Fiji, and a guy from Ukraine as our guides.
We toured the PCC, and had lots of fun, and learned lots of stuff... then I noticed our tour guide from Ukraine was giving me the eye, soon he was approaching us and staring at me nonstop as I tried to make conversation with him... awkward... but he was a nice guy... and we are facebook friends now... ha ha... :) Later we went to a luau there in the PCC and enjoyed lots of yummy food and a little entertainment.
After eating we wandered a bit and took some pictures and then headed to the big show. It was a really cool show they put on and the dancing and such was great, we also got some yummy ice cream at intermission.
The next day we had plans for another luau that night, so we went to the beach during the day, waikiki beach. Tawni is afraid of water, so I had to urge her to get into the ocean with me, which she finally did, and we had fun and goofed off, took pictures, and got clobbered by waves when we got to close to shore. (ha ha ha)
The luau that night was good, but it was slightly disappointing after the fun night we had the day before at the PCC. The luau was on a beach though, and it was beautiful, and the food was good.
The next day we went to Pear Harbor and a flea market. Pearl Harbor was super interesting, and sad as well. I was noticing how many Japanese people were there, and I was a little surprised. The shuttle driver on the way home told us he has a lot of Japanese friends working on the island, and said that the Japanese visit a lot to pay their respects and ask forgiveness for what their ancestors did. He said they also fly over the same path they took to attack Pearl Harbor each year, and drop flowers in respect for the lives lost that day. Interesting.
By the time we were done at Pearl Harbor and the flea market, I was SO hot, SO sunburnt, SO dehydrated, and SO tired, that we went back to the hotel, went and ate dinner, and crashed. We went to bed early that night, we were bushed.
On Sunday we didn't have any plans, we mostly wanted to get some shopping in, so we went to the market area, and I bought lots of stuff for myself... and some for my family. :) Hey, it's my vacation. :)
That night we went to the pool at our hotel, and Tawni was in the pool, I was sitting on the edge, and this guy comes down. We were the only ones in the pool at the time (it was outside, but some hotel rooms were outside) and he came over and got in the hot tub behind me. I wasn't watching him, but Tawni pulled a face and told me to look at him. I turned to look and he was pulling the khaki shorts off that he had over his swimming suit. I said, "yeah, he came down with those on." Tawni said, "No, that's not the problem, it's that those are the second pair of shorts he's pulled off." I laugh and we go on talking. Then we hear laughing from the hot tub. I look and the guy is reaching across the hot tub, and I just assume he is laughing to himself at something he dropped in the hot tub. A few minutes later the laughing is louder and isn't stopping. Tanwi asks if he is alone, I say he is, she asks if he's on the phone, I say he's not. I turn and look again, and he is swimming around in circles along the edge of the hot tub laughing to himself. I just think he's weird but Tawni is scared, so we hurry in and go back to our room.
The next day we get up bright and early and head back home. Our layover in Las Vegas is supposed to be like 3 hours, but to our luck, we ask a guy at a counter a question, and the next thing we know, we are boarding a plane to SLC right then. My baggage shows up on my front porch in the middle of the night, and it didn't even cost us extra to get home 3 hours earlier. YEE HAW! :)
And that my friend, was a nutshell of Hawaii. It was fun, but now we are home again.
Now for my next trip in March, to Australia! YAY! :)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Lake Powell- June 2010
Not long after returning home from the cruise, my friend Jenny invited me and some other girls to join her family on a week long Lake Powell vacation. I had never been to Lake Powell, so I was not only excited to go on vacation with my pals again, but to experience Lake Powell.
We spent our days sleeping, eating, swimming, floating on tubes, wave running, boating, wake boarding, tubing, and in general just having a blast.
I had never tried to wake board before, so it was my first experience with it. I watch my friends try, and some succeed, and I watched Jenny's brother and his friends show us a thing or two about how it was done, but I wasn't getting up. Jenny's brother was trying to instruct us, but for some reason I couldn't get up. Later in the week Jenny's dad took us out. After trying once and not getting up, he told me how to change what I was doing just slightly, so I tried it, and I got up, I was so excited, we all were able to successfully wake board that week. My arms were sore, but it was a good sore... probably the only exercise I got all week, but I guess that's what vacations are for. :)
Thanks again Jenny. :)
We spent our days sleeping, eating, swimming, floating on tubes, wave running, boating, wake boarding, tubing, and in general just having a blast.
I had never tried to wake board before, so it was my first experience with it. I watch my friends try, and some succeed, and I watched Jenny's brother and his friends show us a thing or two about how it was done, but I wasn't getting up. Jenny's brother was trying to instruct us, but for some reason I couldn't get up. Later in the week Jenny's dad took us out. After trying once and not getting up, he told me how to change what I was doing just slightly, so I tried it, and I got up, I was so excited, we all were able to successfully wake board that week. My arms were sore, but it was a good sore... probably the only exercise I got all week, but I guess that's what vacations are for. :)
Thanks again Jenny. :)
Caribbean Cruise- April 2010
This was, so far, the biggest group we have had on our travels. There were 11 of us, and it took 3 rooms to accommodate us all.
We woke up nice and early Saturday, and made our way to the airport where we took our first flight to Atlanta, Georgia. We stayed there long enough to have some lunch and make our way to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We got into San Juan kinda late, so some of us went to bed and some went a wandered around the streets for a bit. The next morning we made our way over to the ship and climbed on board to begin our cruise.
(BTW- The computer is being weird about uploading pictures right now, I'll have to come back later and add them in, maybe...)
So we toured our ship, which happened to be the same ship we were on on our last Caribbean cruise, and just enjoyed a chilled out day.
The First day we had our first port in St. Thomas. The 3 of us who had been on the last Caribbean cruise together had been here before, but this time instead of going to St. John, we went to Water Island, and to Honeymoon Beach were we enjoyed a lovely day of swimming, tanning, playing, eating, and generally just relaxing. It was a nice little beach, we were not too crowded, and there was a lady from New York that had left the hustle and bustle of the city to set up her own little hut on these beach to sell yumm-o food to the tourists and the people on the island.
We made our way back to the stores by the ship and did a little shopping before hoping back on and getting ready for dinner. We filled up an entire large table with just our group, and people certainly took notice of the group with "All the single ladies", and several people commented on it.
As the details are beginning to fade some, due to my lack of promptness to get this posted, I'm sure I'm missing plenty of good stories, but I will just do my best.
So the same people who shared hotel rooms in San Juan, shared rooms on the ship. I didn't seem to notice the first night together, in San Juan, but once on the ship, we discovered that we had a snorer in our room. Bless her heart, she was not aware of this tendency she had, but it certainly kept us up at night, and I guess one night it finally got to me and I lost it...
The next morning we were chatting at breakfast and the topic somehow came up, of snoring, and this is when we learned that the snorer didn't even know she snored. Later that day I approached 2 other girls in the group, and they asked me about how I had yelled at people the night before... I looked at them for a second to gauge their seriousness, and seeing that they meant it, ask "I did?" They looked at each other and started laughing. Apparently in my sleep I shouted, "STOP SNORING!" To my great relief the girl snoring was wearing ear plugs and never heard it, but the other two girls in the room now thought I was off my rocker, although they were glad I said what they were thinking... I pleaded my case to them, and they soon were laughing at me too, but I guess I'm going to have to control my thoughts in my sleep a little more since high emotion tends to bring out sleep talking.
Our second day on the cruise we were in Dominica, were we split up into 3 different groups and each took a different hike to different waterfalls in the rain forest. We couldn't all agree on the same hike, we we all went where we wanted too, which is a great thing about having such a large group, it's easier to break off when we each have different ideas of what we wanna do.
It was a fun hike, and we got to swim in the pool under the waterfall, which was really cold, but I enjoyed it. Then we hiked back out and headed back to the ship, stopping to do a little shopping before getting back on.
The third day we were in Barbados were we took a catamaran out and got to snorkel with fish at one stop, and sea turtles at another. It was cool to be that close to them, but it did scare one of our friends, and she headed back in to get away from the fish. After snorkeling we played on a beach and the guys that took us out gave us lunch and back in we went. One of the guys was a huge flirt and kept hitting on my friend and I, it was pretty funny.
The fourth day we were in St. Lucia and we took a bus up to the rain forest, and there we were split into 2 groups (because of our size) and we got to zip-line through the rain forest. Our guides were Melanie and Faron, who were a lot of fun, but they didn't get along with each other too well... But it was a good time. :)
The Fifth day, we were in St. Kitts, we decided there wasn't a lot to do there, so some girls went to a couple of beaches, and other, including myself, stayed on the ship and just relaxed and enjoyed the day.
The Sixth day we were in St.Maarten, we had been here the fist cruise as well, but instead of snorkeling here like we had before, we took a ferry over to another part of the island and hit some flea markets and then the beach before heading back again.
The next day were back in San Juan, and since it was Sunday some of us made our way to a church and got there part way through sacrament meeting. It was fast Sunday so we listen to the testimonies in Spanish, and afterward were greeted my several friendly members hoping to help us understand the meetings since they would all be in Spanish. There were some missionaries there that day, but they were afraid of us, a bunch of girls, since they haven't talked to girls much for awhile... ha ha ha... but eventually they came to assist us in translation. It was a nice day and we went back to the hotel to get other girls, and put our stuff away. We then made our way to the San Juan Fort to check it out. Some of us stopped to eat at a cute little bistro first, and then, regenerated, made our way to the fort.
It was a windy day, but it was cool because so many people were out flying kites on the grass by the fort. WE walked around to the entrance and commented on the fact that someone was going to end up getting clothes lined by one of the kites, and then on the way out of the fort, one kite attacked my friends Jenny and Kristianne, so we had to save them... it was sad cause the string hurt them, but it was sort of funny too... glad it wasn't worse. The next morning we headed home bright and early, and got home late... only to be greeted by snow! Poo! We enjoy a nice sunny vacation and come home to that? It's hard enough to come home as it is, but that makes it worse... But I lived. :)
Okay, sorry, that was the short version... Maybe more pictures to come...
We woke up nice and early Saturday, and made our way to the airport where we took our first flight to Atlanta, Georgia. We stayed there long enough to have some lunch and make our way to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We got into San Juan kinda late, so some of us went to bed and some went a wandered around the streets for a bit. The next morning we made our way over to the ship and climbed on board to begin our cruise.
(BTW- The computer is being weird about uploading pictures right now, I'll have to come back later and add them in, maybe...)
So we toured our ship, which happened to be the same ship we were on on our last Caribbean cruise, and just enjoyed a chilled out day.
The First day we had our first port in St. Thomas. The 3 of us who had been on the last Caribbean cruise together had been here before, but this time instead of going to St. John, we went to Water Island, and to Honeymoon Beach were we enjoyed a lovely day of swimming, tanning, playing, eating, and generally just relaxing. It was a nice little beach, we were not too crowded, and there was a lady from New York that had left the hustle and bustle of the city to set up her own little hut on these beach to sell yumm-o food to the tourists and the people on the island.
We made our way back to the stores by the ship and did a little shopping before hoping back on and getting ready for dinner. We filled up an entire large table with just our group, and people certainly took notice of the group with "All the single ladies", and several people commented on it.
As the details are beginning to fade some, due to my lack of promptness to get this posted, I'm sure I'm missing plenty of good stories, but I will just do my best.
So the same people who shared hotel rooms in San Juan, shared rooms on the ship. I didn't seem to notice the first night together, in San Juan, but once on the ship, we discovered that we had a snorer in our room. Bless her heart, she was not aware of this tendency she had, but it certainly kept us up at night, and I guess one night it finally got to me and I lost it...
The next morning we were chatting at breakfast and the topic somehow came up, of snoring, and this is when we learned that the snorer didn't even know she snored. Later that day I approached 2 other girls in the group, and they asked me about how I had yelled at people the night before... I looked at them for a second to gauge their seriousness, and seeing that they meant it, ask "I did?" They looked at each other and started laughing. Apparently in my sleep I shouted, "STOP SNORING!" To my great relief the girl snoring was wearing ear plugs and never heard it, but the other two girls in the room now thought I was off my rocker, although they were glad I said what they were thinking... I pleaded my case to them, and they soon were laughing at me too, but I guess I'm going to have to control my thoughts in my sleep a little more since high emotion tends to bring out sleep talking.
Our second day on the cruise we were in Dominica, were we split up into 3 different groups and each took a different hike to different waterfalls in the rain forest. We couldn't all agree on the same hike, we we all went where we wanted too, which is a great thing about having such a large group, it's easier to break off when we each have different ideas of what we wanna do.
It was a fun hike, and we got to swim in the pool under the waterfall, which was really cold, but I enjoyed it. Then we hiked back out and headed back to the ship, stopping to do a little shopping before getting back on.
The third day we were in Barbados were we took a catamaran out and got to snorkel with fish at one stop, and sea turtles at another. It was cool to be that close to them, but it did scare one of our friends, and she headed back in to get away from the fish. After snorkeling we played on a beach and the guys that took us out gave us lunch and back in we went. One of the guys was a huge flirt and kept hitting on my friend and I, it was pretty funny.
The fourth day we were in St. Lucia and we took a bus up to the rain forest, and there we were split into 2 groups (because of our size) and we got to zip-line through the rain forest. Our guides were Melanie and Faron, who were a lot of fun, but they didn't get along with each other too well... But it was a good time. :)
The Fifth day, we were in St. Kitts, we decided there wasn't a lot to do there, so some girls went to a couple of beaches, and other, including myself, stayed on the ship and just relaxed and enjoyed the day.
The Sixth day we were in St.Maarten, we had been here the fist cruise as well, but instead of snorkeling here like we had before, we took a ferry over to another part of the island and hit some flea markets and then the beach before heading back again.
The next day were back in San Juan, and since it was Sunday some of us made our way to a church and got there part way through sacrament meeting. It was fast Sunday so we listen to the testimonies in Spanish, and afterward were greeted my several friendly members hoping to help us understand the meetings since they would all be in Spanish. There were some missionaries there that day, but they were afraid of us, a bunch of girls, since they haven't talked to girls much for awhile... ha ha ha... but eventually they came to assist us in translation. It was a nice day and we went back to the hotel to get other girls, and put our stuff away. We then made our way to the San Juan Fort to check it out. Some of us stopped to eat at a cute little bistro first, and then, regenerated, made our way to the fort.
It was a windy day, but it was cool because so many people were out flying kites on the grass by the fort. WE walked around to the entrance and commented on the fact that someone was going to end up getting clothes lined by one of the kites, and then on the way out of the fort, one kite attacked my friends Jenny and Kristianne, so we had to save them... it was sad cause the string hurt them, but it was sort of funny too... glad it wasn't worse. The next morning we headed home bright and early, and got home late... only to be greeted by snow! Poo! We enjoy a nice sunny vacation and come home to that? It's hard enough to come home as it is, but that makes it worse... But I lived. :)
Okay, sorry, that was the short version... Maybe more pictures to come...
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