Will you dance with me?

I received an email forward today. Normally, I don't like forwards but I took the time to read this one and really appreciated it. Life has been somewhat stressful lately. I've been pretty sad. I have a lot of anger, I miss my Dad, I worry about a lot of things I don't have control over, and have let bad things at work control me. This email just got me thinking to help me to realize the things that are really important in life and to make sure that no matter how bad circumstances may seem that I don't let the days pass by without enjoying them. They are still a gift. We can't wait for things to be perfect in order to start enjoying life.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet... We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord..

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away..... Life is not a race Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!

How is Married Life?

So we've been back now for not quite a week yet and I've been asked, "How's married life?" about a bazillion times already. So what is it, people? Is it actually really bad and you're just not telling me?! I half expect this big rock to fall on my head... like with the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Or maybe we're on the Truman Show and people are just waiting in anticipation... I don't know. Maybe it's just idle conversation but it almost feels like they're in on a secret we don't know about yet. I did hear that the first year of marriage is the most difficult... so we'll see.

So far, it's been a lot of unpacking, organizing, cleaning, and thank you notes. We're combining our two places, so we have two places worth of stuff that we're trying to pack into one place. Luckily, Joe is kind of a minimalist so he really doesn't have much stuff. Unfortunately, I've had a while to accumulate my stuff. He doesn't complain about my stuff... except for my collection of boxes. I remember how my Marketing professor in college had told us to save our boxes and that a lot of companies try to get out of honoring their warranties by requiring the original box and packaging, etc. He told us about how he once returned a 25-year-old stereo under warranty simply because he had kept the box. Well that story really stuck with me and thus my basement is filled with empty boxes. This annoys Joe but luckily he just pokes fun and let's me continue to keep my boxes and even save new ones!

Hmm... so married life... what else? Oh, we're writing thank you cards! Thank you to everyone for the really nice presents! The wedding and honeymoon were super exciting so coming back and getting to open all of these wedding presents made the harshness of coming back a lot less severe. It was actually kind of exciting! We actually just finished writing our thank you notes... but did receive several presents without cards. So if you gave us throw pillows or a cream-colored chenille throw, let us know! We really liked them and would love to thank you for them!

So I guess married life is going well so far! We'll keep you updated as time goes on...

We're Back!

Well, we're finally back from Hawaii! Although it is nice to see familiar places and people, we are sad to leave. We had a lot of fun and will definitely remember our experiences there for a long time.

We came in Wednesday afternoon around 4 and Laura's mom kindly picked us up at the airport. After going back to her place for dinner and some present opening fun (!), we packed up our car and went back home to bed. Thursday was our first day back at work. It was definitely weird to be back - after a two and a half week vacation you almost start to forget what you used to do on a daily basis. It was a pretty easy day since we were getting settled back in and Friday should be easy as well. It seemed like a good idea to go back to work for those two days so that we would have a short week to get back in the flow of things.

Outside of work, there is definitely a lot to do. I've been trying to organize everything using Remember the Milk (http://www.rememberthemilk.com), an excellent web based task organizer with many connectors for Gmail, etc. to let you organize the tasks you have. We have also recently started using Quicken Online (http://www.quickenonline.com) to organize our finances instead of the desktop version of Quicken. That seems to be going well, but it is encouraging to know that they are still actively developing and improving it since it is still fairly new (but cheap =-)!).

So, once we finish getting unpacked and wrapping up wedding/honeymoon stuff and get through the holiday season, hopefully things will settle down and we can start enjoying married life =-)!

Our Green Home!

Okay... so I totally think it's awesome that some people are able to be completely green. How environmentally friendly! I actually like to try to recycle when I'm at home. And I just signed up for e-statements... but I think it ends there. So we get to our new house in Kona, Hawaii and I read the guest book and everyone applauds them for being so green. Which wasn't really in the advertisement for this house. I look in the corner and notice that they have a recycle bin. So I think that's what they're talking about. But then it goes so much further.

This place runs completely on solar energy. It's actually a really neat idea, until you realize that all the lights have about a 10-watt bulb in them. You didn't know that they sold 10-watt bulbs? Obviously, it is special for solar-powered houses! Oh, and of course no air conditioning. The wine that I'm currently drinking to soften myself up to the idea of staying in a green house for the next 3 days is making me hot, and the gentle breeze is not cutting it.

Okay, so here's the coolest part. Not only do we get to recycle all glass, plastic, cardboard, etc. We also get to recycle our food! There's a little compost bin for all of our food items. There's also a trash can, but out of fear that they go through our trash and find something organic, I will actually compost my food here. When using the restroom, I half expected to see one of those, "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down" signs. But luckily there wasn't. Yeah, we can still flush! But where's the shower? I see the toilet but now shower? Ummm.... it's outside. Uhh... okay. That will be interesting. It's dark right now, and I won't rag on it until I see it. But if all I see tomorrow is a little garden hose, then the neighbors better not complain about seeing me in the buff tomorrow. Oh, and if it's just a garden hose, there will definitely be another post about the green house!

So I'm guessing being green means being one with nature. I'm actually okay with bugs if I'm outside. But I really don't like them that much when I'm indoors. And seriously, there's caterpillars, flying things, and little cockroach looking things creeping/scurrying/flying all over the place here. I'm such a girl. But honestly, we paid good money for this place, so I feel like I can at least complain a little. It's actually making me nervous to sleep. I keep thinking about that movie with Claire Danes where the roach climbs up into her ear. This is our last couple days on the island, and I think it's God easing us into the idea of going home. Actually, I think it's Him encouraging us to be excited about going home. I think his plan may be working...

Okay, not actually complaining... just poking fun. We are looking forward to exploring the Kona side of the Big Island tomorrow!

A Little Pain, A Little Magic

Wow, two posts in one day! Must mean we need to catch up.... Our adventure continues on Wednesday, our last full day in Maui, where we "tried" to go snorkeling for turtles and ended up watching a magic show.

Wednesday started off as a slower chill day after recovering from the longer days before. We had heard there was a great spot for snorkeling near the condo we were staying. The only issue was that it was kind of in its own secluded area so we would need to swim there from our beach. Laura had gone out to buy a snorkel before and she had brought hers from home so we had two snorkel sets. However, the only fins we had were a set that came with the condo and they could only fit me. There was also a boogie board with the condo so we decided to take that along too.

We traveled down to the beach and started heading out to the place where the turtles were supposed to be. It actually took us a fair amount of time to get there. Laura was on the boogie board and I had the fins. As we got closer to the cove area, the current started us bringing in closer to shore. By the time we reached the cove, we were still looking down at the reef below us but we were so shallow that we got caught in a wave of waves crashing down on us! Sadly to say, Laura was thrown around by the waves and ended up cutting her foot pretty badly. A small chunk of the bottom of her foot had come off when she hit the coral and it started bleeding a bunch. So, we saw some other swimmers who were getting out of the water at these rocks nearby. She got on the boogie board and I used the fins to paddle us towards shore. At this point, we were still kind of looking for turtles but never ended up seeing any. We got to shore and then had to trek it back to our condo. It was slow going but eventually we made it and made sure to treat the cut and bandage it up. It's still healing to this day!

For the evening, we had a magic show scheduled since we had heard good things (Warren & Annabelle's) about it. We got there and had to wait a little for everyone to check in. At the very beginning they took a small group of us and put us in this room where "Annabelle" gave us "clues" for how to get out of the room. Laura figured it out before anyone else! Then we went into a cocktail room with a piano and full bar. We had ordered this package where we got an appetizer sampler, two drinks, and a dessert for like $35. Somewhat overpriced, but we were still glad we did it (we had hot dogs beforehand to fill us up!). Towards the end of the two hour cocktail "hour", the "ghost" Annabelle played some songs on the piano. I had thought it would have been a little more impressive from the way they talked it up online but that part wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. The food/drinks were pretty good though.

After the cocktail portion, we headed into the magic show. Before the show, some guy had come up to us and asked us some questions about where we were from and whether we were newlyweds, etc.. He asked us whether or not we would want to "help" Warren in his magic show. He said we wouldn't have to stand up or anything so we agreed. When we went into the show, we ended up being sitted in the first row seats in front of everyone so it was kind of cool! The magic show was really good. It was almost all sleight-of-hand but it was very well done and all throughout Warren was cracking jokes. Although many of the jokes came at the expense of some people (ourselves included!), it was very funny and very entertaining. We would definitely recommend the show!

Snorkeling and Luau

We left off after Monday's adventure to the blowhole and the dinner at Sansei.  On Tuesday, we went snorkeling on a charter boat with about 40-50 other people.  After our scuba diving, I felt a little silly signing up for a snorkeling cruise since the scuba instructor kind of laughed when we said we had signed up for snorkeling.  It wasn't cheap either!  But, it was actually a very relaxing time and we had some very nice snorkeling.  We went to two different spots, but the second, Molokini, was definitely the best.  

The trip out to the spots took a little bit and Laura felt a little sick even though she took some medicine beforehand.  She also had some issues with her snorkel at the first spot and came out freezing from the water so it wasn't looking to be a good day.  However, she got a new snorkel for the second trip and warmed up so she had a much better time for the Molokini spot.  And thanks to my mom's underwater camera that she lent us, we were able to get a bunch of underwater pictures and videos!  After the second spot, the people on the boat had a great lunch waiting for us and also some yummy ice cream.  They also opened up the sail on the boat so we went sailing for the last leg of the trip.  So, although it was still pricey, it was still a great time!  I'm kind of looking forward to our snorkeling on the Big Island as well!

Later on Tuesday, we went to the Old Lahaina Luau.  Although we signed up months ago, our seats weren't as good as we thought they might be.  They still weren't bad though since we were in the center and not all the way at the back.  We arrived a little early and went to a nearby mall to pick up a few things.  It was actually a pretty cool mall (Maui is known for being commercial!) and we browsed around a little.  When we came back, we got in and were greeted with leis and Mai Tais!  I'm not sure how many Mai Tais we've had since we got to Hawaii but they've all been good so these were no exception!  They had a bunch of arts and crafts that we went around to look at and Laura got some Hawaiian dancing lessons (and I got some videos)!  After that we watched the pig being unearthed and went back to our seats to wait for our turn to get to the buffet.  The food was pretty good - a lot of variety so we ended up trying almost everything.  The dancing and everything was good as well - definitely felt like we were immersed in Hawaiian culture!

Nakalele Blowhole

On Monday, we went on a hike to the Nakalele Blowhole.  It was supposed to be this easy 30-minute hike from the parking lot to the blowhole, but since this was another unofficial hike, it was a little difficult to find the trail.  We ended up taking a different "trail" and ended up at the peak and had to rock climb down.  I'll have to admit, it was a little scary since we were so high up and the rocks weren't very stable and the lava rocks were so sharp it looked like they could easily cut into your skin.  But we eventually found it and the blowhole was that much more rewarding because of the difficulty we had in finding it.  

From my understanding, a blowhole is actually a lava tube that has an opening up top.  So the water from the ocean comes into it and the pressure is so strong that it spouts out of the top.  I don't really understand it, but it's pretty amazing to watch.  We actually saw a couple blowholes along our hike, but the Nakalele Blowhole was definitely the biggest.  It would "blow" almost every time the waves crashed... so about every 20 or 30 seconds.  Apparently how often and high the water shoots depends on the strength of the waves and this day ended up being great for it!

After seeing it, a pretty bad storm came in (probably why the waves were so good).  So our visit to the Olivine Pools was pretty muddy and not that appealing.  But the drive there was pretty interesting as a lot of rocks had fallen off of the cliffs 

 onto the road.  We also saw a lot of surfers racing to get to the good waves.  There was one little section of ocean with probably about 50 surfers taking advantage of the waves.  It was a pretty cool site to see!

We went to sushi at Sansei that night.  We were pretty hungry after our drive/hike, so we tried to get there right when it 

opened.  And a good thing we did.  Apparently they have a happy hour special and everything ordered before 6pm is 25% off for tourists, 50% off for locals.  The restaurant was packed when we got there (15 minutes after opening) and we actually got the last table!  Joe loved this sushi place.  It was a little fancy for me as we mostly got a lot of the special rolls and I normally like the simple sushi rolls... but it was still very tasty!

Scuba Diving

Sunday we went scuba diving for the first time! Well, we sort of had a pre-scuba experience a few months ago inside of the DC convention center. A travel expo had come into town and our coworker invited us to try out scuba in their blow-up pool. It was enough to pique our interest but not enough to have us go into full out certification before our honeymoon. So, we just signed up for a beginner dive to see how we would like it.

For the dives, we actually had to arrive at 6 AM and since it was about an hour away we had to leave at 5 AM and wake up at 4:30 AM! We actually woke up around 4:57 AM but we ended up making it in time anyway. We met our instructor, Bobby, of Maui Sun Divers, at a Starbucks so that we could fill up on carbs before our trip. He was definitely a character but we got along well and he helped to ease Laura's "concerns" about scuba diving. One benefit was that it would just be the two of us in the class and we would be going into the water off the beach instead of off of a boat. So, both of those led to more close, personal instruction that helped both of us.

We got to the beach around 6:30 AM - Bobby says he always tries to be the first diver there to avoid the rush. We got all changed into the wet suits, fins, mask, etc. and Bobby took the time to explain a bunch of little concepts to us such as how to get the water out of your mask underwater. Laura was freezing most of the time since we changed into the wet suits early on and then went and soaked them in the showers. So, while Bobby was talking to us we were standing outside at 6:30 AM in dripping wetsuits.

But, no worries, soon we were off to our first dive! Bobby helped us both into the water where we put on our fins and started getting used to breathing through the regulator. Laura was a little freaked out at this point since we were half in the water and half out of it but soon we were completely underwater. For the rest of the dive we stayed completely underwater and never rose to the surface. We saw a bunch of coral and fish and were able to practice equalizing the pressure in our ears and getting the water out of our masks underwater. The whole dive was about 40 minutes and then we came out to take a break.

The lesson was actually two dives so we came out to switch tanks and get some water. At this point, all of the other dive shops had come out to do their first (and probably only) dive so we were ahead of the game. We refueled and then headed back out, going out a different way. We were used to swimming and breathing underwater now so we were able to enjoy the scenery some more. For most of both dives, Bobby kept us within arm's reach so that we would feel safe. Towards the end of the second dive, he let us swim more on our own since we were used to it more at that point. On a couple of occasions, he also took pictures of us with his underwater camera. We also got to see some sea turtles up close!

After the dive, we got out of our wetsuits and packed everything back up. We had the option of buying the underwater film from Bobby for $50. Although this was a rip-off, we felt we should since it was our honeymoon and our first real scuba diving experience! The film is at Costco (Maui Costco!) right now but we should have the images soon on both print and CD. We both had a lot of fun and were glad that we got the close, personal instruction from Bobby. We may not end up doing scuba diving again (Laura still isn't sold!) but it was still a great time!

Maui

Saturday was our first full day in Maui (here is our Google Maui Map)! When we arrived, we had a few hours before check-in so we went to grab some lunch at a nearby place recommended by our book. Sadly, the place was no longer there so instead we just went to a random place that served pineapple hamburgers! They were pretty good. Afterwards we got some fried ice cream which left us feeling a little stuffed.



After driving for about an hour (Hawaii is a lot of driving!), we tried to check in to our condo early but it wasn't ready yet and was actually going to be ready an hour later than we expected it to be. That, along with the old look of the condos from the outside did not put us in a great mood since we did not know what kind of place it would be on the inside. So, we checked in our bags and changed into our swimsuits and went down to the nearby beach. One of the great perks of the condo vs. the B&B in Kauai is that the condo is right on the beach!


We went down to the beach and relaxed in the sun. Laura saw some people pointing to the ocean and went over to look at some sea turtles that had come up close to the shore! She even got to touch one (even though later we discovered you're not supposed to!). We continued to read a bunch - I was reading the Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov for a second time and Laura was reading a book by James Patterson that we picked at the airport. When our condo was ready, we went to check in!


The condo is actually pretty cool. Although there's nothing super special about it, it does have a nice view of the ocean and its location is much more convenient than in Kauai. The owners seem super concerned about the place though so there are little notes about what to do and not to do all over the place. Laura made a joke that she was surprised there weren't plastic covers over the couch cushions! We went to get some takeout which was pretty good and then went to bed since we had to wake up at 4:30 AM for scuba diving!

Indiana Jones and the Wailua Waterfall

Wailua Waterfall is a fantastic waterfall! The guidebook said it is higher than Niagara Falls, just with a lot less water. I saw Niagara Falls with my family when I was younger and I don't really remember it since it was about 25 years ago, but I would probably disagree with the authors of the guidebook. Niagara Falls seems way higher. Nonetheless, the Wailua Waterfall is still gorgeous and higher than anything I've seen in a while.

Apparently this attraction is pretty busy during the high season, but since we're visiting in October, there were only about 5 other people visiting the waterfall when we went. So we got a great view!

Pat, our innkeeper, told us that if we were going to visit the waterfall, then we should hike down to it and walk behind it. I'm not sure exactly how we appear to others, but apparently Pat thinks we are Indiana Jones! So his directions are pretty much to walk past the overlook and the chain link fence, past the signs that say "Danger - No Trespassing," and over the hog link fence. Apparently this is a hike for the locals and definitely not state-sanctioned. But crazily enough, we follow his directions. After hopping the fence, we come to a very steep and muddy hill. Perhaps this would have been easier if it hadn't poured all morning... because now it is pretty much a mudslide. We have almost zero traction and are sliding down, grabbing onto any tree roots we can find. We eventually make it to the bottom (in one piece!) and we forget the rest of the directions. Apparently we were supposed to go across the water to the other side and walk around on this path. But since I have the memory of a goldfish, I of course suggest that we go the other way around. Lots of slippery rocks, freezing cold water, and broken logs... but eventually we make it! And boy is it worth it. It's absolutely spectacular!

I think the crazy trip down to the base made this waterfall one of my absolute favorite things in Kauai. It was completely exhilarating! It is absolutely amazing what God has created here for us. This must be one of his ways of telling us that He loves us!

Farewell, Dilly Dally

Well today was our farewell to our Kauai B&B and onto our Maui condo. The Dilly Dally B&B was definitely a great experience and we would highly recommend it. I think one of the things we liked about it the most was the little perks that were there for us. On arrival, we had a whole basket of goodies waiting for us in our room (which we still have!). Every night we had some little chocolate treats waiting for us on our bed. Every morning there would be a delicious breakfast waiting outside for us and Pat would come out and talk about the food and where everyone was going for the day. Although we learned to double any time estimate he gave (!), it was still great having our own personal native to help us around the island.


Other perks such as snorkel gear, beach gear, suntan lotion and bug spray, an ice machine and water cooler, coffee maker, microwave, plates and utensils, fresh fruit, and a great view whenever we wanted it were just some of the niceties we found when staying at the Dilly Dally. It was also really nice to have a beautiful pool right outside our door. And having our own A/C unit was great for those humid nights when the fans weren't enough. Although we didn't take advantage of them, there were also multiple TVs and DVDs in our room in case we had stayed a little longer.



The only major downside of the Dilly Dally was its location. It took almost 20 minutes to get to a major road so even going for dinner was like half an hour just to get there. Our trips to the north and south shores were at least an hour, sometimes more. Although it was nice that the car rental company gave us a Subaru, driving definitely got old after a while (see my previous article about driving in Kauai). But, in some ways the location was nice since it was very far out of the way, quiet, and almost zero concern for crime (the owners would leave the doors open and unlocked and their keys in their cars).


Staying at the Dilly Dally was a great experience that we won't forget. Although it is kind of nice to have our own place on Maui that is close to civilization, we will definitely miss all of the little perks and yummy breakfasts at our home away from home on Kauai.

Helicopter Ride

So a helicopter is really cool, because it can go straight up!  It can go around in circles and do dips and get really close to the sides of mountains and waterfalls.  It can even spin and I think it can almost go upside down.  It's all windows pretty much, so you can see pretty much everything!  All of this is really cool... unless you get carsick, seasick, and airsick.  I get all three!  So I'm not sure why I was so eager to go on the helicopter ride.  

It was really cool because we could see the Na Pali Coast, fly into Waimea Canyon, 

spin circles in Mount Wai'ale'ale (the wettest spot on earth... where you're completely surrounded by tons of waterfalls), and pretty much see the whole island in about an hour... but I'll have to admit I was pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day.  

But when you have a place like the Dilly Dally to which you get to come back, I'd say being out of commission isn't half bad!

  

Funny, sad, or amusing?

So here we are in Hawaii and we just have to take surfing lessons because this is supposedly the best place in the world to surf.  I was probably dragging Joe along on this adventure as he wasn't really looking forward to it.  But in the end, I think he actually liked surfing better than me (although I liked it too!).  

With the help of our great instructor, Alvin, and some nice waves, both Joe and I were actually able to paddle, catch some waves and stand up!  Success!  

So we're out in the ocean chilling and I see Alvin talking to Joe... apparently Joe's playing with his ring, and Alvin just wants to tell him to make sure to keep his fingers together so that his ring doesn't accidentally slip off when he's paddling.  Then he proceeds to tell us about this guy who was taking surfing lessons and lost his wedding ring!  Alvin ran to get a snorkel to try to find the ring and the guy actually tells him not to worry about it... he's had the ring for 40 years.  Haha... are you catching onto the next story yet?  

Okay... so now you're anticipating this part.  Yep... no doubt, the very next wave that Joe surfs and I see him jump off of his surf board with this look of dread on his face.  And then he shouts, "My ring fell off!"  Actually, I thought he was kidding at first, but then this look of fear glazed over him.  Later he said it was fear that I'd be upset.  Ha... me?  upset?  Are you joking me?!  At least the other guy got to wear his ring for 40 years... we've only had ours for 4 days!  Luckily, our fast acting instructor and his girlfriend were on the hunt and actually FOUND the ring!!  Yay!  So the buddy ring is not lost!  For now... at least.

Driving in Kauai

For all of our fun adventures in Kauai, we also spend an amazing time riding in our car.  Luckily, it's a pretty good car, so no complaints there.  However, it does sometimes take forever to get from one place to another.  

The place we're staying is on the east coast which means that we're not super close to either the north or south shores, which is where we spent most of our time the past two days.  To get to the north shore on Tuesday, it took about an hour to get out to where we needed to be for hiking.  Even from hiking back into the nearest major town it took about 20 minutes each way.  Today, we went to a lookout towards the west shore and then to the south shore.  To go to the lookout near the west shore, it took about 2 hours.  We then drove to the south shore for surfing and after dinner made it back to our place after about half an hour.

Although none of those trips seem that bad, half of them were made at nighttime.  Sort of like NJ doesn't have any left turns, Kauai doesn't seem to have any street lights.  So, it is pitch black around you unless there is another car coming from the opposite direction to blind you with their highbeams.  It doesn't help that almost all of the roads are one lane each way either.  Although this isn't that bad, it does get annoying for traffic and at nighttime you have to pay that much more attention to what you're doing so you don't drift into the oncoming lane of traffic.

Nighttime Driving in Kauai

One last part about driving in Kauai.  For whatever reason, some of the bridges can only hold one lane of traffic at a time (one way) and therefore cannot have two lanes of traffic at a time.  This means that these one lane bridges act as their own stop signs (or traffic lights) at times.  Other times it seems like these bridges are just accidents waiting to happen.  You have to pay extra close attention when approaching one of them since you don't want to get stuck halfway and find out that another car is barreling down on you from the other side.  One of the bridges we saw spanned like 3 turns so you had to look across the river to make sure nobody was coming before you attempted the first leg of the bridge.  To me, this seems a little ridiculous - please just build a bridge that can support two lanes of traffic.

However different from DC driving it may be, at least the scenery is beautiful!

Kauai

On Monday we arrived at Kauai!  We will be here until Saturday so we'll have about 5 days to enjoy our first Hawaiian island.  We've created a Google Map with all of the places we've gone or intend to go:

Kauai Google Map

The plane ride wasn't too bad.  Our previous experience with United was terrible so we didn't have high hopes for US Airways either.  Luckily, it wasn't unbearable and 

we got to Kauai safe and sound.  The main part we disliked about the plane ride was that you had to pay extra for the food or drink.  A water or soda was $2 and a snack or lunch was $7.  So, next time we'll remember to bring more of our own food!

We rented our car without any problems and are now staying at the Dilly Dally!

The Buddies Blog!

Hello everyone,

While we were uploading pictures from our honeymoon, we decided it might be cool to start a blog as well!  This way we can share our adventures not only through pictures but words as well!  We hope to continue the blog after we get back but we'll see how it goes.  And don't worry, we're still getting out of the house and having fun!