My Amazing trip to Hawaii

As some of you already know, I live in Northern Utah. As the years have gone by I've noticed that every January I go through a depression of sorts. It usually lasts about a month. But I've also noticed that if I take a trip to a warm sunny place, I don't get depressed. I guess I'm one of the many who can't take the cold, gray, dreary winter days.

So these days, (if possible) I try to get away. This year I got to go to Hawaii with my sister Dolly and daughter Ashley. It was a trip that just kept evolving into something much bigger than originally planned.

Let me back up a little to where it began. Dolly owns a few properties in Hawaii. She and her family currently live in Utah also. She rents out her homes to locals, students or as vacation rentals. One of her property's is on a 1 acre lot. There are currently 11 BYU students living there having the best college experience I can imagine! But if you know anything about Hawaii, you'd know that land that size is worth it's weight in gold. So Dolly's going to turn the student rental into a Hawaii wedding all inclusive location and was planning a trip in January to set those wheels in motion. I gladly offered to tag along and assist her and she was delighted to have some company. It was going to be the perfect get a way. I didn't have to worry about the kids because my generous hubby offered to work from home and do double duty while I was away. (What a guy!)

Then Dolly asks me about having Ashley come too. She had lined up a photo shoot of the property and needed a bride model. She actually needed several brides but Dolly wanted to take Ashley because she's gorgeous, and because she needed someone to just be available for whatever her schedule dictated during our 8 day stay. Ashley happily made herself available and off we went.

Day 1

On January 26th, 2011 we spent the day traveling. We flew from SLC to Seattle, had a 5 hour layover and then flew to Honolulu. Our ride Wayne, had run out of gas on the way to pick us up, so we waited another hour for him at the airport. But we didn't mind, we were in Hawaii! Talk about a breath of fresh air. After Wayne showed up we still had about another hour drive to the North shore where we stayed with Dolly's friends Leonard and Bonnie. (Lovely people)

Dolly and Bonnie

We didn't get to their home until about midnight. By then we were all exhausted and went to bed.

The next morning we got out of bed and into bikinis and walked 5 minutes to Temple Beach. I took my nephews video camera, which takes stills also, with me since I had planned to document the whole trip for my blog. I needed to practice using it and Ashley needed to practice modeling. Or did she? The girl is a natural. She's 5'9 1/2. 1/8th Samoan, 1/4 Mexican. We think she's Sa-mo-can! Don't you? Here's a few of my favorite shots.

Ashley

After the beach we had a meeting with Mark (photographer) and Summer (stylist) to discuss the wedding photo shoot at the property. We also needed to be able to get a look at what kind of condition the homes were in and schedule the property for the photo shoot. Surprisingly it wasn't too bad for 5 guys in the apartment above the garage and 6 girls in the main house. They were all so nice and very accommodating.

Next we went to Foodland in Laie to stock up on groceries. Ashley was dying for a shaved ice so right next door was Angel's Ice Cream, Shave Ice and Smoothies. Just so you know, they are the best! A must have experience if you find yourself on the North Shore.

Small Angel's Halo shave ice

After we unloaded all the food, we were off to town to get flowers and outdoor furniture for the photo shoot as well as other miscellaneous props. We decided against the furniture but got some beautiful orchids. Since we were already in town we hit the Ala Moana Mall for new swimsuits. We totally scored! I got 2 bikinis and Ashley got a beautiful Ralph Lauren white one piece. At this point the mall was closing, so we drove back to Laie and fell into bed.