Island Work

About a month ago, Steve approached me with the idea of accompanying him on a "business" trip to Hawaii. I jumped at the chance, and quickly got on the phone with my mom to see if she was available to come down and look after the kids. She agreed and plans were made.

Last Wednesday, just 2 days before our scheduled departure, the Governor of Hawaii vetoed the bill that would provide the funding for the transportation project that Steve was going there to discuss. My parents were on a plane at that point, all arrangements had been made, I had a suitcase full of new swimsuits and cute vacation clothes. Steve emailed me and said "Let's go anyway. Less work isn't necessarily a bad thing..."

We landed at 11:00am Hawaii time on Saturday. We stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach...I highly recommend it!. This was the view from our room.

We got checked in, ate a quick bite of lunch, then hit the beach. Aside from eating and sleeping, we spent pretty much the first 60 hours camped out on lounge chairs at water's edge!



We witnessed some amazing sunsets over leisurely, romantic dinners that did NOT include mac n' cheese or chicken nuggets.

(This really is a picture from our trip and not some photo off the internet!)

We ate dessert every night. Duke's "Hula Pie" was my favorite.

I tried to offset the nightly desserts by eating this every morning:

I hit the fitness center 3 times.

I read 4 books.

I got two amazing 80 minute "Lomi Lomi Ola" massages.

Steve met with a business colleague for a few hours on Tuesday, followed by a round of golf.

We met up with the colleague and his wife for dinner and ate things that I wasn't able to fully identify. I was brave and had one bite of everything. Even the cod egg sack (which I thought was a piece of mango or papaya, and didn't realize what it was until it was too late.)

Wednesday, we ventured outside of Waikiki for some sightseeing on the rest of the island.  We snorkeled at Hanauma Bay.

We stopped at various scenic points just to take in the breathtaking views.

We drove up to the North Shore, and saw where Steve's brother used to live - at water's edge. He was responsible for building the rock wall that now protects the houses from exceptionally high tides. His original little beach house has been replaced with this monstrosity.

The sand was amazing - tiny crushed shells that were so smooth and soft on the feet.

We had shaved ice at Matsumoto's (isn't it really just a snowcone? What's the difference? Tasted like ultra sweet flavored sugar water to me...not too sure what all the hype is about!)

We returned home renewed and refreshed, and a little browner than when we left. Time alone together always helps remind me of why I married Steve in the first place. He makes me laugh. We can talk about anything and everything. And it looks like there may be more "business" trips required in the future.  Not a bad place to do a little work.  I think I might be able to handle it.