the Honeymoon

I think Hawaii was the perfect place to spend our Honeymoon. We only got bumped off one flight on our way there and that was just because we refused to take the early 6am flight… its our honeymoon… who wants to wake up early :)

We had to take in some of the more traditional sites, like Pearl Harbor. We didn’t even go into the museum. Jake was happy to just have his picture taken by some of the main sites and be on our way. This ended up being perfect because the line was stretched out the door and around the building.


We then went to Hanama Bay which was probably one of the coolest parts of the trip. We snorkeled the whole length of the bay and saw every kind of fish you could imagine. The weather was bit touch and go with the fierce wind the waves would come in and knock us into the coral reef. We were a bloody mess by the end of the day but I think it was well worth the scars.

Before you can even go into this preserved bay you have to watch this stupid movie that talks about not stepping on the reef. Jake left singing along to the song that they played mostly for the kids. Don’t worry that during several moments of our snorkeling I would look up and see Jake hoping across the coral with his flippers pointing up and then diving off the reef into the deep water… I guess the movie didn’t really hit home for him.

Next day we went to explore more of the island. We went to the Dole Plantation which was really fun to walk around. We even went through this cool maze. After we were done exploring the plantation we enjoyed a bread bowl and some of the most amazing pineapple ice cream I have ever had.

We then went to Goat Island, a place that Jakes Dad recommended to us. We talked to some fisherman as we watched some old people (naturalists I imagine) walk out to the island on the coral reef. They made it look easy enough so we thought we would try it. I thought we for sure were going to die. Are feet were cut up and I was exhausted by the end of it. I insisted on taking the camera with us so poor Jake had to hold the camera up while keeping his balance on the reef. I am amazed we made it without destroying the camera.


Only later did I find out from a friend of Jakes that is native to that island that Goat Island happens to be one of the most shark infested waters known to the island.

To end the perfect honeymoon we had a romantic dinner on top of a rotating view restaurant. As we were sitting there having an extremely over priced dinner I told Jake the only thing that was missing from the whole trip was seeing some whales… sure enough I look out into the ocean and two whales leap out of the water and blow water out of their spout. I really couldn’t believe that everything turned out that perfect.


Well I married the best guy a girl could ever ask for and we started our married life off just perfectly with this amazing trip. I’m so lucky to get to spend so many more adventures with the guy I love so much.

Rome Slideshow

Rome Jan 2007

Another one of our crazy trips! We left out of ATL and had a wonderful white cloud landing in Rome. Again we had to sleep on the plane and then spent the day walking all of Rome and back on the plane that night to go home.

This was probably the trip we felt the poorest on. American Express was not everywhere we wanted to be… and every shop we went to wouldn’t accept anything but cash, so we had just a little money to live off of for the day. First stop of the day was the Vatican. Talk about a breath taking view.

Here is the Swiss Guard lower ranking. We would see all levels walking around the Vatican. Some you could tell were important just by the way the strut their stuff :)

This is Saint Peters sculpture. We must have arrived just on time because the line wasn’t bad at all, but when we left it was insanely long.

Here is the Gallery of Maps and some of the sculptures that we had the chance to look at through the tour.

San Pieetro’s Dome in the Vatican Laocoon and misc sculptures along the way...

The Sistine Chapel with the focus of God Creates Adam by Michelangelo. Probably the most amazing room of all. We just sat forever just taking in all the stories depicted around us. They had gaurds going around telling people to not take pictures so I had Austin watch for a guard as I knelt down in the crowd and started snapping shots. I was so hungry at this point that I couldn’t steady my hand. I was surprised they came out as well as they did and even more surprised I didn’t get caught.

Here is the staircase at the Vatican museum. We probably had our best meal there and I had been keeping my blood sugar up by just eating Peanut Butter M&M’s from my pocket all morning so anything was delicious at this point.

The Trevi Fountains... you throw a coin in a make a wish :)

The Colosseum was probably one of my favorite parts. We came out from the subway and their it was. How much history happened there and how many fights and deaths happened with so many spectators. The sun was setting and it was an amazing highlight.

The Arch of Constantine right outside of the Colosseum

The Monument Vittorio Emanuele just down the street from the Colosseum. You pass some amazing history along the way but this blog would be too long if I included it all. At the monument all of a sudden cops just started to march in and vans of cops drove in blocking the area off. I can’t believe I didn’t freak out but Austin and I just stood around taking in the sites when a big Immigration Rights Protestors came marching through the streets with their signs and shouting in Italian. Thank goodness they just stayed friendly and just passed on through.

On the flight back we were stuck in ATL for about 8 hours just walking from gate to gate trying to catch any flight back home. Nothing was available and when I get stressed I don’t eat so Austin left to get food and he got to the point of exhaustion where he didn’t’ care and everything was funny to him. So I’m having a breakdown and he is in 7th heaven with his mini hamburger meal he found in the airport!

Bristol & The End of the Trip

After a night in Bristol which seems to be mostly a blur we took off to Oxford and I think that’s when the exahstion was taking over Austin a bit. We probably drove around for 2 hours just trying to find a parking spot. This all for me wanting to see some of the places where Harry Potter was filmed. Come to find out most of those places are blocked off to the public or they were already closed by the time we arrived. It still was an amazing experience and so fun to just walk around the campus and see all the sites… here are a few of them:
Our last day was spent touring the sites of England. Here is a few famous ones you will probably recognize.











The Guard at the Gate






oh and we can't forget some of our Harry Potter Moments. We walked FOREVER to find platform 9 3/4.. when we decided to give up we came across it.:




















Well thats our crazy adventure to England

The End...

City of Bath

We then went to the city of Bath and took a tour of the Roman baths there. The heat was incredible and the water must have been wonderful to swim in.



Here I am touching the water : )

Here is me actually drinking the water… and if it wasn’t for the fact we were in a fancy restaurant I probably would have spit it out!!!! The thought just turns my stomach even now.

Here is Austin in front of the medical baths and they were right across from where the royalty would take their bath. I guess the monks were in charge of the medical bath and they would put the sick people in it to help them heal from their ailments.

England 5/26/07

What an amazing adventure! An 8 hour flight from ATL to London and I swear it felt twice that on the return. Austin and I rented a car and I am embarrassed to say I did not have the guts to drive and decided to stick to being the backseat driver for Austin “no you’re going the wrong way…get on the left” LOL! I think roundabouts were probably the most difficult part but Austin of course thought they were “fun”.

First stop Stonehenge and it was so peaceful there. Jake teases me now and says I’m one of those funny naturalist that finds my answers at Stonehenge, trust me it was nothing like that but everyone stayed relatively quite and just really took in the view.

England Slideshow

Faces and Places

I thought I would recap some of the crazy adventures I've been on !
Rome
England
Hawaii
Brazil
Oregon