Good morning from sopping wet Ocala, Florida!
Rain bands from Tropical Storm Isaac are streaming across Ocala today and it is wet and dreary. To my southeastern friends out there, I hope you’re staying safe!
A Big Week
You better believe I am monitoring Isaac like it’s my job because I have some exciting travel planned in the upcoming two weeks. I am leaving on Friday for my friend Leah’s bachelorette party in New Orleans which will put our little gang right in the area that Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to hit. Yikes.
Assuming it’s safe and that Tropical Storm Isaac doesn’t do too much damage, our weekend in Louisiana is ON!
I cannot wait to be reunited with these girls!
Since we’re spread out all over the country (Chicago, NYC, Boston, Washington, D.C., Orlando) we haven’t had a chance to get everyone together since 2010. We’re way overdue and I cannot wait to party it up!
As if that trip isn’t enough to get excited about, Ryan and I have an incredible vacation planned immediately after my trip to New Orleans.
We’re heading to Hawaii!!!
Sadie will be staying with my sister. She is stoked… even though she is blissfully unaware of our impending separation at the moment. She loves Leslie and likes forcing her cuddle face-to-face.
Back to Hawaii…
I was invited to Oahu on a press trip in January and couldn’t go, but I stayed in touch with the Oahu Visitor’s Bureau and jumped at the chance to attend another press trip next week. I receive a bunch of press releases every day, but this was – by far – the coolest opportunity that has come my way through the blog. I was blown away and am incredibly grateful and excited.
Ryan and I have never flown anywhere on a just-the-two-of-us special vacation. All of our trips together have been within driving distance (Atlanta, Jekyll Island) and lasted about three days. We planned to go to St. Lucia for our honeymoon, but that was canceled at the last minute due to a hurricane so we had 48 hours to plan a honeymoon and ended up going on a “Tour of Florida.” (We had a blast, by the way!)
Anyway, when I was invited to Oahu, I freaked out and pitched the idea to Ryan, saying it would be the perfect opportunity for us to enjoy our first long vacation together since my airfare and hotel costs would be covered and we’d simply have to pay for Ryan’s plane ticket, food and certain activities outside of the press trip. Ryan didn’t need much convincing and we will be spending next week on the beautiful beaches of Hawaii!
This trip is all I’ve been thinking about for a couple of weeks now and the two of us are beyond excited! If any of you have been to Oahu and Waikiki Beach and have any restaurant or activity recommendations, please, please share! We are going to be there three days before the press trip officially begins and want to make sure we hit the hot spots.
Workout
I suppose I should cover today’s workout and breakfast now, huh?
I hit the gym for week two of phase three of Tina’s Best Body Boot Camp. The workout was essentially the same as last Monday’s workout and targeted the whole body with strength exercises with some active recovery cardio and core exercises thrown in the mix. A great workout!
Breakfast
Breakfast this morning was a delicious batch of peanut butter pancakes!
I used whole wheat flour in place of the regular flour in my original recipe and they turned out great.
Anytime you combine peanut butter and pancakes, I’m a happy girl!
Questions of the Morning
- Have you ever gone on a long vacation with your significant other? Where did you go?
- Have you ever been to Hawaii? If yes, please share any recommendations!
P.S. The Fashion page was updated this morning.
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We did a sunset catamaran cruise: http://waikikibeachsailing.com/schedule.html
It was a great deal and rum runners were included. Tons of fun!
We also rented a Jeep and drove around the island – if you want to do the USS Arizona, go really early as it gets very crowded. We did the USS Missouri instead because it was much less busy (and you could still see the Arizona from that ship).
The Dole Pineapple Plantation was a ton of fun (there is a train ride that goes around the plantation which was cheesy but fun).
Oh! How exciting! My husband and I have been to Hawaii twice– the second time for our wedding last December. It is a magical place.
We spend the most time on Maui & Kauai– but also visited The Big Island and Oahu on our trips.
Waikiki is awesome and a must do… but also get out of the city and see nature.
The North Shore is amazing. We had amazing shrimp at one of the “shrimp trucks.” Watch surfing, see sea turtles, explore!
The “revealed” series of books is a great resource to discover the islands– ie “Oahu Revealed”. I would read the book ahead of time and bookmark the stuff you want to see the most– don’t try to do it all! Make sure you leave enough time just to relax!
I can’t wait to read about it….
Julie Wunder
How exciting! You guys are going to have a blast!! My boyfriend and I were just on a two-week trip to Europe in May/June. It’s so nice to just escape & get away from your day-to-day with your significant other 🙂 Enjoy
My fiance and I have not had a “real” vacation either. Just a couple of weekend trips to near by states and a weekend cruise. I’m glad to know we are not the only ones 🙂 Have fun! Look forward to seeing your recap!
I am forced to work in Oahu every few years and am consequently pretty familiar with this island. Go to the Polynesian Culture Center! Really, I cannot recommend this enough. You can go for a half day or full day (this includes a luau). Oh, and look for bogo coupons otherwise it can be kind of expensive!
Hi Julie,
I was in Oahu in February and I HIGHLY recommend that you take a hike up to the top of Diamond Head Crater. The view is absolutely breath taking and you will be blown away by the views of the crater, the ocean, and Waikiki all at once! Have a great trip! 🙂
I recently returned from my honeymoon in St. Lucia! Where were you planning to stay? It was an amazing trip and I really recommend going if you’re ever able to.
anse chastanet! 🙂 i’m still sad we missed it.
I went to Bali with my bf for 9 days and it was amazing! We are hoping to do a big Europe trip next year in June/July! I’ve already bookmarked all your tips you gave when you went hehehe. Sounds like a blast- you guys will have an awesome time 🙂
So jealous that you are going to Hawaii! 🙂 My husband and I just got back from our honeymoon in Antigua and I’m already ready to go back or to travel somewhere else tropical.
How exciting!My husband and I just got back from our second trip to Hawaii together last month.
Hi Julie, I just sent you an email of some fun things to do in Hawaii Hope you have the best time there! 🙂
Seriously Hawaii is magical! Keith spent our honeymoon in Maui for 11 days and then last year we went back for another 14 days….it is like no other place in the world! 🙂
I can’t believe I missed this post on Hawaii..shame on me..lol. I work for an airline and have been to Hawaii 13 times on vacay..nbr 14 will be in Oct.. You got some wicked suggestions above… I know I’ll repeat, but I’ll throw mine in too.. There is a huge flea market across from pearl Harbour on wed,sat,sun.. Lots of stuff there. Defiantly rent a car and see the north shore, it’s amazing and worth every minute. Eat at Dukes for sure and a restaurant on Lewers st called The Yardhouse..appetizers half price in the afternoon.. The chopped salad is amazingggg..
I could go on and on, but I will finish saying I can’t wait to read the blog and see the Hawaii pics! I won’t miss a single one of those!
Enjoy paradise!
I think you would LOVE hiking up Diamondhead! It’s really easy to get to from Waikiki Beach (which, by the way, is one of my most favorite places in the world. I have so many good memories from there.)
Also, Duke’s…I think it’s at the Outrigger Hotel (not positive…) but it’s right on the beach and at sunset it’s so beautiful and blissful. There’s also a restaurant where you cook your own seafood/meat on this huge grill. It’s really fun but unfortunately I can’t remember the name of it.
Have a safe trip! Can’t wait to read all about it!