Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Our 10 Year Anniversary Trip to Kauai

Rather than bore you with a day by day travelogue of the whole trip--I give you my condensed version in the same format as our annual Christmas card.

Kauai 2009: It was the Best of Times...It Was the Worst of Times

1. I began the trip with a deep dark spray-on tan.


By the end of the trip, I had splotchy legs, albino feet and a pretty sweet “tan line” on my chest.

2. We enjoyed 7 days at the Marriott Kauai Beach Club Resort in exchange for sitting through a "90 minute" timeshare presentation.

Unbeknownst to us, 90 minutes really means 3 hours of psychological warfare.

3. We rediscovered our adventurous sides by hiking to Kipu falls where we flung ourselves into a pool of water on a rope swing.




We discovered that being adventurous increased our appetites, and we ate four square meals a day.

4. Sam and I both got lei’d in Kauai.


Unfortunately it was at church (by the Relief Society President!)

5. We took a four hour boat tour of the beautiful Na Pali coastline.




I got sea sick and spent the four hours just trying not to barf off the side of the boat.


Me in sick-town. When they pulled out the sandwiches, I had to get in the water just to avoid seeing people eat.

6. Thanks to my sis-in-law Heidi, we discovered you can get a wicked white trash apple pie a la mode at McDonald’s by ordering their fried (not baked) apple pies with an ice-cream cone on the side.


Sam rear-ended a guy in McDonald’s drive-thru on one of our trips to get this delicacy.

7. We kayaked up the Wailua river and hiked to Secret Falls.




Instead of enjoying the scenery, Sam thought we were in the Olympic time trials and made sure we passed every other kayak on the river.

8. We visited several Kauai landmarks such as Waimea Canyon, Queen’s Bath, and Spouting Horn.




We took more pleasure in visiting Kauai's eateries such as Puka Dogs, Jo Jo’s Shave Ice and Scotty’s BBQ.

9. We rekindled our romance by taking long walks on the beach at night.


We then extinguished that flame by both collapsing into our separate double beds in the hotel room.

10. For the red eye flight home, I took a Benadryl and an Ambien and slept like a baby.

I have no recollection of getting off the plane or riding home from the airport with Sam’s parents. His family is now staging a drug intervention for me.

31 comments:

Amy M. said...

First of all, cute swimsuits and you look great in them!
Second of all, that seasickness is the worst thing ever. I have had it on several occasions in Hawaii. So awful.
Third of all, funny about the separate beds. I can see Micah and I doing that. Fun that you went on a trip without your kids. We need to do that.
Fourth of all, wise choice to drug yourself to sleep on the red-eye home. I did not catch a wink. Rather, I held a squirmy baby, was miserably uncomfortable, and froze my butt off.

lindsey said...

First off, you're hot. I'm saying that as one girl to another who recognizes the hotness of other women while happily married to her (hot) husband. Great swimsuits. Great vacation clothes. Great pictures.

Second of all, you went to CHURCH while you were on vacation??? I am such a bad person. Get me more than 50 miles from home and I'm a hot dog ready for the burning fires of hell.

Pandy said...

Your trip mimicked the one Mark and I took with some friends several long years ago. One exception....There was no romance. We almost divorced over that kayak trip. It's a long story.

I can't believe you've been married 10 years. I remember your wedding so clearly. Good for you for celebrating the right way.

Hop reentry hasn't been too hard!

Linda said...

Hilarious, just like the Christmas cards! And I second it - Brooke you look adorable in all the shots - so does Sam. Aren't you glad you didn't travel "light" now? All those cute wardrobe changes!
Glad you had a good time and ate well!! It's hard to "mess up" Hawaii!

Liz said...

That looks so fun...you guys were so adventerous! Brooke, you look WAAAY skinny in your swimsuit pic. I couldn't be more jealous!

Linde said...

Looks like you had sooo much fun! We've only been married 3 1/2 years and want to do something like that!! :)

So glad you had a fun time.

Amy said...

So fun! And I agree with your mom. You're outfits are great. Here's to another 10 years!

alexandra said...

This was so very funny. I feel a little weird leaving comments on your blog since I totally do not know you, but I cannot resist when you make me laugh so hard.

I have heard that the 90 min presentation is really terrible--from my dad, who cannot be talked into buying soda if there is a water cup around. It really must be bad. It looks like it was worth it, though!

Jill T said...

Yes, cute suits! Looks like a great trip. Every trip is made better with lots of eating, don't you think? I'm glad you had a fun time.

Carolyn said...

OHHH... I miss Kauai. My favorite place on earth... and we sat through that terrible timeshare presentation. Awful! and all we got out of it was a marriot sweatshirt! So not worth it. Really cute swimsuits! and I would like video of your olympic qualifing kayaking race! Good one Sam!

Did you hit the Kalapaki Beach Hut... best hamburgers and fries on the Island. If not you'll have to go back!

Jessica said...

Love the pink and brown polka dot suit! Looks like tons of fun. Separate beds = hilarious!

Brandi said...

Looks like fun. I'll never know. My husband works to dang much! And when he's not at work he is "Huntin". Just kidding! Let's get together and have a BBQ. I am dying to see the light in Sammies room.

Jen and her men said...

I want to know about your deal with Marriott. Can I find that online somewhere? I know the timeshare presentation stinks, but I would do it to go there again!

Heidi Parker said...

Anyone who can dine regularly at McD's and look hot in a swimsuit ought to be shot. You even looked good in sick-town! You need to post a full-length photo of you in that brown/pink swimsuit-I want to know what I'm stealing when I come to Utah in Aug.
I loved seeing all the sites you hit! I missed a lot of them on our trip. I guess that means I have to go back (minus Marriott's mental water-boarding).
And though I can't speak for the entire Harkness clan, I fully support drug-induced inflight slumber. Nothing short of a controlled narcotic helps me sleep in coach. It's the double beds on an anniversary trip that concern me most.

Ashley said...

Fantastic post. Did Sam really hit someone with the rental car? That's hilarious. You are super skinny and have been lying about it. Great tan too! Cute outfits--I like the camo pants, the shell necklace, the brown bracelet with your swimsuits, the shiny shirt in the first picture and your church outfit. The rope swing looks like a ton of fun. Totally a bachelor-eque thing to do. Your hotel pool area looks divine. I want to go back so bad! Or at least eat 4 squares without kids for a few days. That's the life.

sheryl said...

I saw your post and for some reason I can't stop thinking about the song Lady Godiva! :)

Her long blonde hair
Hangin' down around her knees
All the cats who dig striptease
Prayin' for a little breeze.

LOL

You do both look great! And as always you are so funny!

Lorzzz said...

Way to go Brooke! You are in amazing shape and all your pictures look great! Your trip sounded like a blast and I love all the adventurous stuff you did. That drop into the water looked HIGH!

The Mostess said...

I know you're not talking to me, because I condensed my 2 week trip into 3 posts, not 14. Day by day, blow by blow...bo-ring!! This is much better.

YOU ARE SO CUTE AND SKINNY!! Why do I feel like we're real friends?? I know we're not, but it feels that way.

Your trip looked amazing!

I want one of those ghetto pies from Mickey D's

Rope swing...so adventurous!

We always get stuck with twin beds....

I want to hear more about the trashy couples using the pool in an unnatural and tacky manner!

alexandra said...

I just have to get this off my chest. The photo of you in sick town reminds me of the youngest brother on Arrested Development when he becomes distressed--the way he holds his arm up at that same angle and turns his head with a worried look. Ok thats it.

jrushing said...

Happy 10th! It looks like you had fun! minus-the seasick part! Just so you feel better...I have lost my cookies on a boat with many natives gawking at the crazy puking lady! Fun stuff!

brooke said...

Lindsey--it was our first time going to church on vacation. I insisted because the only advice I remember from our wedding sealer was that we should go to church on vacation. Since it was our 10 year anniversary--we went! Sam was ticked and refused to pack decent church clothes so he wore cargo pants and a casual shirt. Whatevs--he was there.

Alexandra--I totally get the Buster reference!

AShley--yes, Sam did hit a surfer dude with the rental car--no damage--no problem.

Heidi--the pink and brown swimsuit was a score from a traveling show that came through Costco--keep a look out at your Costco!

All--In full disclosure, I'm not skinny, I just sorted through photos to find a decent one of me in a swimsuit--there were some doozies.

Anonymous said...

Great story! Great ideas!!

Mandee said...

1. Aaron said "how come they didn't invite us!"

B. I totally understand the psychological warefare- that's how we ended up with a place in Park City.

And lastly, I need that trip real bad.

Marni Bown said...

That is hilarious. Just you saying that makes me want a puka dog. mmm love the rear ended thing.

JENNIE! said...

i love kauai, looks likes you too had a fabulous time, minus the seasickness:)

Sam said...

Brooke told me that I was not allowed to post a comment until there were at least 25 comments since I have a "chilling effect" on the commentary.

I did rear end some guy in the McDonald's drive thru. Fortunately, the Ford Focus has a very forgiving front bumber that absorbed the impact w/o leaving any marks on the other vehicle. War Surfer Dude.

The other highlights that did not make Brooke's list: being asked by hotel staff if we were on our honeymoon, rolling up Brooke's car window on her pinkie, making chit chat with another Steelers fan at Kauai Pasta, enjoying scintilating conversation over every meal (i.e., dead silence), and sex on the beach. Oh wait, that last one didn't happen.

I can't wait to see things at the twenty year mark. Mahalo.

gwen said...

Cute pics. Looks like a great trip! Word of warning..the shirt in the first pic (the GAP purple one) DO NOT WASH IT! I just washed mine today and it shrunk bigtime...and I really loved it cuz it was long. And are those Big Stars? Love em! We should just shop together! :-)

suzi said...

ha ha ... we had seperate beds as well on our trip to Hawaii and it was awesome!

I wish I would have thought of the spray on tan, but somehow I'm not sure I could pull it off as well as you did. Instead I just had the opportunity to show off my whiteness to the world.

Stephanie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stephanie said...

Loved seeing all your pictures--I love that lush, green island and would love to escape the snow right now to be there! Secret falls was a great place loved all the chickens walking around. JoJo's shaved ice was yummy! MMM... As for Queens bath, it wasn't quite so calm when we went in the Fall--the guys jumped into it between sets of huge crashing waves and barely managed to climb out of the pool fast enough to escape the next big set of waves that would have dragged them over the rocks and sucked them back into the ocean's abyss. ;D Lol. In other words, I'm jealous--Ha!!! We went to church while we were there and loved it...one brother got up and gave a talk and said that as he was on the way to church he was tempted not to go because the waves looked so good. :D He said it in such a calm, layed back way, as only an islander can,that you knew he meant every word. ;) ha! It was awesome...even the bad memories of Kauai were good for me. Well, after extensive therapy, I can laugh at them now, anyway. Wink.

Steph

You BOW Girls said...

Okay, I am a regular reader, and lurker. I love your sense of humor and your Bachelor posts!!!

My husband and I are about to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and we're trying to figure out a way to go on a fun trip....on a budget! I have heard about these timeshare presentations, but have always been afraid to go! Can you share how you found this one, and how it all worked???? THANK YOU!
Erin