The Grand Tour...Day 11 in Honolulu

[charly77]

A very early start this morning as we were renewing our wedding vows!

When we were planning this trip this was our focus, initially we thought it would happen in Vegas so we looked into some options. However one day whilst I was reading the reviews of our hotel in Hawaii and someone had reviewed about their vow renewal!

Now that we have been to Hawaii we certainly know that one day we will be back to visit but at the time of booking we believed we may never get the opportunity to go back so to us this was the perfect plan. In all honesty what would be better than renewing our vows on a stunning beach in the sunshine…?

I contacted the hotel and arranged the renewal at their sister hotel ‘Outrigger on the Reef’ as the day they offered the renewal suited us more. They were very helpful. We chose not to tell our family and friends and kept it private, between the four of us.

We chose to have a blue and white clothing colour theme and the boys opted for Hawaiian style shirts! If you remember I had started at Slimming world 3 weeks before we set off on our travels and I had lost half a stone so I felt quite good in my dress. DD chose denim shorts, a white vest and blue/white kimono type top.

DH and I set off early as we were in search of Leis as advised by the lovely lady who checked us in yesterday. Unfortunately the kiosk where the fresh ones were made did not open until 9am and we were due at The Reef for 7.45am, so instead we opted for silk ones from an ABC store! We also bought the kids a shell lei each to wear. In hindsight not only was this the cheaper option but we were able to keep the Leis (we now have them hanging up at home).

We eventually arrive at The Reef, it took us slightly longer to walk then expected so it was a rather hasty stroll! The view on the beach was mind blowing, an impressive backdrop of Diamond Head surrounded by the crystal clear sea where we were to have our ceremony. It was just perfect.

There were 10 couples participating but in all honestly it didn’t feel like we were sharing the beach with anyone else, it was a beautiful service and made us all feel very special. There were many tears, all happy of course! The service was read first in Hawaiian then English, there was also a ukulele playing whilst a lady danced as the waves lapped quietly in the background. The words of the service meant so much to us, it was all about how far our relationship had come and what we had battled to still be together. Although we know that, to have it emphasised was wonderful.

We were individually blessed and had a certificate issued before having some professional photographs taken. It was certainly one of the best things we have ever done, in fact I think I enjoyed this more than my actual wedding day.

I don't really like having my photo taken but DH captured this one and I absolutely love it so I have to share with you...

Think it summarises just how happy we were

We took a leisurely stroll back to our hotel along the beach, the weather was really warming up and we were looking forward to exploring the area but first we needed breakfast! We just stopped at the ABC by the hotel and grabbed muffins, fresh fruit and coffee and took it up to our room whilst we got changed into our swimmers! It was time to hit Waikiki Beach!

As we came down in the lift a kind Australian couple gave the kids their lilo as they were leaving today, it was very kind of them. We stayed on the beach for a few hours, taking in the hustle and bustle of the surfers and boat rides, it was just as we imagined. The beach was really clean which was nice, the only downfall was the price they charged for sunbed hire it was around $50 for 2 beds and an umbrella! However we grabbed a spot under a palm tree, which was fine for us.

As it began to heat up we decided to pop to the shops to keep cool, first stop was Subway for lunch at Waikiki Beach walk, I experienced my first salad which was nice. During our shopping experience we were astounded to find that the tax was only 4.7%! So effectively this could prove to be very dangerous!

Our challenge was that we had limited our bag space as we had to pay per bag for our flight so ideally we only wanted to take 3 cases back on our return flight to save a few bucks… So it looks like we may possibly be taking an extra bag back…!

We didn’t find the shopping to be any more expensive then San Francisco or LA, although we were told that Hawaii was one of the most expensive states. Again we looked for a ring but nothing suitable…at least I had a Lei

We found a burger place which offered a cocktail happy hour so we chilled out here for a while whilst DS hung out in a ‘The Ukulele Store’ having a free ukulele lesson.

We spent the rest of the afternoon around the pool chilling, we shared a few more cocktails (as you do) as it was a special day! My favourite was the Lava Flow!

Whilst the kids showered and got changed, DH and I did some laundry…boring I know! That evening we walked up to the Hilton Village and sat on the beach watching the sunset before the firework show which the hotel presents on a Friday night.

It was so nice, a genuine hang out for the locals who set up BBQs and played ukuleles which was lovely to listen to. The stars were so clear, we could have sat there all night appreciating Mother Nature’s contribution.

We headed back to Kalakaua Ave towards our hotel, as everyone was hungry we thought we’d see if there was availability in The Cheesecake Factory. It was heaving! We had about a 40 minute wait which wasn’t horrific and as everyone was excited about eating here we thought we’d just wait.

I don’t think the menu has ever changed! We spotted our favourites which all but me ordered! I really fancied fish tacos so ordered those for a change, the funny thing here was I was expecting an exotic fish, my ideal would have been Mahi Mahi. The waiter was so excited to tell me what the fish was, I think he must have been quite disappointed with my reaction…Atlantic cod! I did laugh. Anyway the food was lovely as usual, service was ok but it was very busy. We shared two pieces of cheesecake, oreo and a chocolatey caramel one, both good! The food was slightly pricier than normal but we did expect that and had allowed for it.

We headed back to the hotel still buzzing after our superb first day in Hawaii, up early tomorrow for a Pearl Harbour Tour…

Steps today; 11,233

Floors climbed; 5

*Tip of the day *Don’t forget to inform your credit card company that you are abroad*

[Disney Wishing]

Perfect sounding day with beautiful photographs. Congratulations on the renewal!

[TracyW]

Aw, brilliant day, congratulations!

[Melbatb]

What a lovely day! How nice to share such a special day together!

[Jake71]

Congratulations on the vow renewal, that's in our plans for September - although not in Hawaii, it's looking like Laguna Beach for us. Hawaii looks as gorgeous as I thought it would though.

[WileyCoyote]

What a perfect day , that just all seems so lovely - the ceremony sounds so beautiful
Great day on the beach and some great food too - Perfect !

[fillmore]

Fabulous idea to have your renewal ceremony in such a beautiful place.

[charly77]

Thank you everyone! It was so lovely and makes me smile every time I think about it

[k4ti3-x]

What a beautiful setting for your vow renewal congratulations!

[charly77]

Originally Posted by k4ti3-x

What a beautiful setting for your vow renewal congratulations!

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Thank you