Hawaii was really fantastic. There were some bumps & bruises along the way (driving 3 + hours roundtrip to the other side of Maui for a zipline adventure, asking for directions from the crew but getting lost along the way, but assured that arriving late was “ok”, only to be turned away once we got there…:( —- Flying “Go” airlines between Oahu & Maui & finding out at the airport we HAD to check our carry ons to the tune of $10 or $15 each because their overhead compartments are TINY, grossly undersized compared to any full-size plane I’d ever written. When I rec’d my turquoise & pink polka dotted carry on at the other end, of course it was brown & black & thrashed. Grrrr. Fly Hawaiian. Tickets were the EXACT same price & they compartments that can actually fit your purse!!

Other than those few hiccups, it was absolutely spectacular & I’m actually a little bummed to be back home (which never happens)!!! Usually, one of the benefits of living in Southern California is that no matter where in the world I go, I’m always happy to come back home to the sun, the affordable organic produce (compared to EVERYWHERE else I’ve traveled), the comforts of one’s own home, the stadium seats at the movie theater, you know, the creature comforts of big city but sorta suburban life. However this time for whatever reason, I wasn’t quite ready to leave beautiful Hawaii,  so I’m suffering ever-so-slightly from the post-vacation blues. Flying in on the red eye & getting no sleep, also means I’m tired & things are hazy so I probably should “take it down” for a few & then spoil you w/the juicy details & photos (btw, woe is us, we didn’t take that many)! We were always worried about having a camera or cell phone on a boat excursion, near the beach etc. PLUS my hair do was definitely a “hair don’t” the whole vacation!! My leftover extensions from the wedding were struggling at this point! However I had no time to get the furry thing removed before we darted off…soo, to say the least, I WAS a little camera shy & Halloween-looking the whole time, plus utterly ill-prepared for traversing rugged terrain & having trusty camera in tow. But I digress. There’s lots to share. There are wedding photos & video we’re still waiting on that hopefully we’ll have SOON as well. I promise for some good updates! Miss you all & love!! VB

Well, after weeks of washing 750+ moldy dishes, lugging heavy trees (yes, full-on trees & other wedding effects have COVERED our living room like a real-life Sanford & Son) & working around the clock, WE NEED A VACATION/HONEYMOON! So, what’s a wedding sticker-shocked bargain-hunting vegan bride to do?? Well, w/some crafty pre-planning & a little bit of blessings & luck thrown in, I devised  a plan to have a “dream vacation” on a dollar budget. To be more specific, we fetched accommodations for 9 nights including roundtrip airfare for us BOTH nonstop to Oahu & from Maui for about 225 dollars!- (also INCLUDING the ugly $75 fee for using our miles w/less than a 21 day advance!) I asked vegan groom to stealthily charge every conceivable  business & personal expense on miles & points cards for the past few months (that got us our airfare). I then dug up a timeshare “preview week” on Maui I’d purchased a few years back that was lost because it had EXPIRED. I called… begged, pleaded & offered the farm (well, more like 2 hours of our lives to sit through a time-share presentation while on vacation). Hey, we can suffer a high-pressure sales pitch in the name of a 7 night beach front one bedroom luxury suite on Maui!! We also wanted to see Oahu w/Honolulu & Waikiki beach, so we found inexpensive lodging for 2 nights, (About $55 a night + tax for a decent hotel!) We’re staying w/VeganGroom’s brother for 1 night…all totaling 10 days, 9 nights, Oahu & Maui for  $225 room & airfare. (Did my best to get good rental rates on cars too, there’s also the inter-island flight we purchased at $55 ea. including fees, as well…I’ll blog about that perhaps soon as well, but off to the airport now!). Hopefully we have some FABULOUS adventures ahead of us…snorkeling, zip lining, & a true luxury we’ve missed out on for months & months, some SLEEP!! Promise to keep you posted! Love ya! C