Best Vacation Ever (TM)

Aloha! It’s been well over a week since Anna, Elliot and I returned to the “mainland” from what is currently being considered in trademark courts as “the best vacation ever”. For our avid readers there is nothing more to say than we’re sorry you weren’t there. It was awesome. Epic. Unforgettable. And whatever other superlative you can throw in.

THE SET UP A 10-year reunion
730 days of planning and anticipation
16 friends + 2 infants

 

THE OUTCOME 7 days in paradise with great friends doing a little, and sometimes a lot of, the following: Scuba Diving – Golfing – Kayaking - Jeep Safari - Waterfall jumping – Surfing – Snorkeling – Rafting – Aloha Bowling – Karaoke – Grilling – Hiking - Boogie Boarding - Beach Volleyball - Rope Swinging - Sunset Watching – Sun-tanning… and to top it off, yes, an engagement.

BEST SUMMER EVER This vacation has its roots in what is widely recognized as the Best Summer Ever. In 1998, I joined 15 of some of my closest friends on a summer adventure to Hawaii to “sell” pest control in Oahu. The event has become a date-stamping moment in our lives… essentially, everything in our life happened before we went to Hawaii and after we got home from Hawaii.

Because I pined to return and because Hawaii is not as fun without the friends who were there the first time, I got the ball rolling two years ago. Also, I had been secretly trying to convince Anna to move there. As a note, this was the only one failure of the entire trip. Based not only on the fact that she married me and that she doesn’t want to live in Hawaii, I’ve concluded Anna’s judgment is not to be trusted. And now… the trip. OAHU – August 13 We hit this island hard. We arrived on Wednesday, August 13 and went right up to the Na Pali lookout. Beautiful, inspiring… windy.   That afternoon, I took a trip down memory lane by visiting my old apartment, Ala Moana Towers at 1617 Kapiolani Blvd. Later we checked into our vintage Waikiki digs near the strip. As you can see, I am not a big “spender” on hotels (more evidence forthcoming). And then strolled along Waikiki beach and had dinner while watching the sunset. Thursday morning we woke up early and took a trip to the Leeward side and hiked to the Makapuu lighthouse. And, just like on every trip, Anna and I endeavored to uncover the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Kaneke’s plate lunch in Waimanalo was a hit. In Hawaii we call these “ono grinds” or “delicious food”

From there we headed to the North Shore via Kamehameha Hwy – yes, it is the most scenic and picturesque drive in the US -- to snorkel and hit the beach. No trip to the North Shore is complete without a stop a Matsumoto’s shave ice in Haleiwa. Friday, we spent the morning shopping at the “Made in Hawaii” festival in Honolulu and then headed back up to the North Shore, this time stopping at roadside shrimp trucks. Awesome food. We spent the rest of Friday touring the Polynesian Cultural Center and enjoying the evening luau and fire/dance show. Things turned a little ugly at the Laie Inn, where $100 will get you dirty towels, cock-roaches in the bathroom, peeling paint on the wall and carpet so dirty you literally wear flip-flops when you are in the room. It was in every aspect - The. Worst. Place. we’ve ever spent a night (in the US). It doesn't say a lot about our standards but we actually have stayed in some fleabag hotels in SE Asia that make the Laie Inn look like the Plaza.  Saturday’s morning drive back to Honolulu gave us a chance to see the BYU-Hawaii campus and the Hawaiian temple. Beeeutiful. Before heading out to Kauai we visited hallowed waters of Pearl Harbor at the USS Arizona visitor center. KAUAI I’ll admit. I was a little nervous. You never really know what you’ll get after planning a huge reunion requiring a fairly substantial commitment of time, money and resources. Once we crossed the one-way bridge from Princeville to Hanalei, over the Hanalei River, something magical happened and everyone and me instantly became enamored not just with the charm of the place but also with the reality of a true vacation.

As the group began trickling in from the Airport, we dined that evening on the delicious Bubba Burgers and then went for a moonlit swim in the ocean.

 SUNDAY We toured lighthouses, hidden beaches and watched the sunset from Kee Beach. Unfortunately for us, the forest was on fire and the alluring Na Pali hike was closed the entire time.

 

MONDAY One of my favorite things to do in the world is to dive; even better is diving with friends. The dive wasn’t great, but doing ninja stunts in our wetsuit on the beach was.

 

Anna and I kayaked the lazy Hanalei river against the backdrop of Kauai’s world’s-wettest-spot mountains.

On Monday night we got some fresh fish and burgers, fired up the grill (and the tiki torches) and served up da kine ono grinds.

Afterward we headed to Tahiti Nui and brought the house down with some karaoke, including my old standby “you don’t bring me flowers” duet. Oh yeah… I can sing Streisand.

TUESDAY Today was a textbook day of waterfall jumping and viewing. It ended with a stunning sunset in Waimea Canyon overlooking the Na Pali coastline.

WEDNESDAY A little breakfast out on the lanai followed by a vigorous trek out along the pacific coast to catch a view of the Na Pali cliffs descending straight into the water via a Zodiac raft.

THURSDAY It wasn't all play...here we are hard at work. Kidding. This is the fantasy football draft. The Blackberry on the table is Pete calling in from the mainland with his picks.

After three active days, we were all ready for some rest and relaxation at Hanelei beach, including some volleyball, surfing and boogie boarding.

 

That evening we went Aloha Bowling at the only alley on the island. I scored a 184 on my second game and took home the coveted “Lihue Bowling Game Towel”.

 

While everyone else was bowling, Debbie and Seth went off and got engaged! We all celebrated the news at Dukes Canoe Club.

FRIDAY, more surfing, beach volleyball and hanging out. In the afternoon we played the venerated Princeville Course, ranked as the #1 course in Hawaii and #20 in the US. I hadn’t played golf in 2 years. I lost at least 13 balls and pulled others out of numerous water hazards. I didn’t even bother keeping score.

On Saturday we hit the Hanalei farmers market and then began saying our goodbyes. By good fortune, Anna and I got bumped from our 2pm flight to Oahu and were awarded not only with some extra time to hit dinner with the remaining friends on the island that evening but also with $400 for the trouble. In an odd twist of luck, given that we flew over on frequent flyer miles, we actually made money on the trip. We treated our friends at dinner.

That evening we hooked up with the Monahans – a.k.a.the best family in Hawaii – who hosted us for the evening and the following day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then… after 12 blissful days on an island I used to call home, we bid a (honestly) tearful goodbye to the beautiful Hawaii and our wonderful friends. (sorry no picture of the weeping). 

  

Back to life, back to reality...

Don't we look so happy...that's because we're in paradise!

Yes, I did just quote '90s band En Vogue in my blog title...that's how bad it is. Ryan, Elliot and I returned on Monday from an awesome 12 days in Hawaii. If it had not been for the fact that we didn't have Ollie with us and that he was returning from "Camp Grandma" in the northwoods of Minnesota on Tuesday, we might not have come home. I think I saw a tear in Ryan's eye as we boarded the plane.

Ryan will write all about our trip in another post but just for the record, it was pretty amazing.

Being away from Oliver for 19 days was really hard. I missed him so much! He didn't seem to miss us which definitely made it easier. By all accounts he had a blast at Ryan's parents' house with his 4 year old cousin Macy. He keeps talking about her and asking to go to Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater, MN. Kathy/Grandma H. says that he and Macy absolutely adored that playground and would have spent all day everyday there if they could have. But, alas, they had to take breaks from Teddy Bear Park to go to the Children's Museum and to go swimming with Grandpa and play in the sandbox and swings in their backyard.

Oliver learned some new tricks while he was in Minnesota, too. Unfortunately none is food-related (I had half hoped that we would discover that all his feeding problems were related to poor-parenting and that under the influence of his more experience grandparents he would learn to enjoy eating). He learned to climb out of his crib. AHHH!!!!!! After climbing out of his crib six or seven times last night I finally lowered the crib rail because I realized that while he wasn't going to stop trying to climb out, if the rail is down at least he wouldn't hurt himself if he falls. He is basically a monkey so I don't think he would biff it, but better safe than sorry. Anyway, last night was a total disaster in terms of getting him to bed. After repeatedly firmly placing him back in his bed, giving him "consequences" for repeatedly disobeying my directive to stay in bed, he ended up in our bed at midnight where he finally fell asleep. So I'm really looking forward to this new challenge of getting him to sleep in his own bed! Kathy laughs because Ollie was such an easy baby, it's payback time now.

Before we left, I went up to New York for the Brennan family shindig (more about that in a previous post) and met up with my dear friends Emily and Katie and their children. I wanted to post some pictures of that visit here.

Emily, Davey, Elliot and me on Abby's GORGEOUS roof deck. She has the most amazing (and huge!) roof deck. It is such a peaceful refuge in the city.

Emily getting to know Elliot
Thanks to Charlie, who decided to arrive a few days late, we got to hang out with Katie on her due date! We can't wait to meet him...another trip to NYC might be in the works.

Brennan Family Fiesta

This weekend I headed up to New York for a family gathering of sorts. I don't want to call it a reunion, because that suggests a much more organized event than what occurred this past weekend on the Jersey Shore, but the basic components were accounted for: food and family.

My mom comes from a family of 11 children, so we grew up with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. Before my grandparents moved to Florida we would get to see our cousins at least a few times during the summer and at most holidays. Since they moved we've had fewer opportunities to get together. Our second cousin (or is it our first cousin once removed?) was getting married this weekend so that was the excuse we needed to get everyone together again. None of my first cousins actually went to the wedding, but the aunts and uncles did and then afterwards we had a big party at my Uncle Patrick's house.

The next day we headed to Monmouth Park to watch the horse races, specifically a memorial race that was held in honor of my grandmother and our cousin Bonnie who both died this year. The Brennans are a big horse racing family but I haven't been to the races in years. My grandfather and Aunt Nancy are both equine veterinarians, my Uncle Brian is a trainer and Uncle Pat used to be a trainer, too. When I was little and totally horse crazy I used to beg Uncle Pat to take me to work with him. It was so fun to watch the horses train in the early morning hours. I was convinced I would become a jockey and win the Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately I developed an allergy to horses and weighed more than the average jockey by the time I was in 5th grade. Oh well, another dream dashed by cruel fate.

After the races we went back to Uncle Pat's for more food (steak and lobstah), watched the Olympics, played some bocce, and listened to Irish music. Good times!

Uncle Brian attempts to explain the racing program...I'm still confused Cousins Lauren, Katie and Beau

Mikey and Aunt Gayle Aunt Maureen and Uncle Brian tuck into lunch at the racetrack
Uncle Bernie picked some winners
Aunt Nancy

Connie got buried at the beach by her adoring cousins
Shannon and Connie
Tegan demonstrating the "jaguar hold" on Elliot
Hands down the cutest cousin: Lola Brennan
Poppop

Poppop with some of the ladies
cousins at the beach

Backyard Pictures

Ollie usually doesn't like holding his baby brother so I'm glad that I got this picture where at least one of them looks happy. Elliot looks a little worried that Ollie might drop him. Oliver complains that Elliot is "fuhddy" meaning "heavy". Oliver can't say the "h" sound, instead he says "f" so we have a lot of interpreting to do.
Here he is offering a graham cracker to Elliot.
According to Oliver, Elliot has three states, "crying", "night night" and "eyes Oh-pen." Here he is pointing out that Elliot's eyes are, in fact, "Oh-pen"
Looking mischievous because he's about to spit out that apple juice...he has really gotten into a phase of loving to spit things out. It is gross AND annoying. He spits out his food into the toilet (budding bulimia??) but he just likes to see it swim like fishies in the toilet.
OK, in case you think he might be seizing in this picture, he's actually rolling his eyes. Where did he pick this up??? I thought this behavior wasn't supposed to start until his teen years.

Oliver's silliest smile.

I am just in love with Elliot these days. He is in such a cute stage. Yes, he is still spitting up like crazy but doesn't cry quite so much and he's perfected the cutest open mouth grin. I just adore that smile!