It was a trip that started with this sunset on the beach behind our backyard, at the North Shore of Oahu…
Can it get any better… ? We awakened the next morning to the great news that my stepson and his girlfriend were engaged! He invited her that morning (her birthday!) for a walk on the beach, and when they reached a beautiful spot near some rocks overlooking the ocean, he popped the question! How cool is that, folks? We were thrilled!
Phil made margaritas at sunset to celebrate the double happy event: the birthday and the engagement… Afterwards we kept our momentum with a nice dinner at the Turtle Bay Resort. Yeap, the one from that movie, remember? 😉
So the festivities began!
The beautiful house we were fortunate to find (VRBO) and the incredible beach in our backyard….
The owners of the house have two gorgeous Golden Retrievers, quite likely the happiest dogs in the known universe! They often dropped by the beach in the morning, hung out the whole day with the regulars for occasional quick swims, then came back to lay on the sand or the cool grass in the backyard. Tough life! One of them assumed the “belly rub” position at the sight of any willing human being, and stayed like that forever. Patiently waiting…
Who could resist that belly? None of us did!
We went for long walks, marveled at nature, relaxed on the beach, and took stand-up paddleboard lessons (harder than I anticipated, folks!). The strong swimmers followed sea turtles underwater.
We were impressed by the little Go Pro camera my other stepson had. The tiny thing is a workhorse! You can take it under water, clip it to helmets, to surfboards, to bikes, and make videos or serial time frames that are amazing! Take a look at this one, of the chase of a sea turtle under water (make sure to watch to the point the turtle goes up for air, it’s beautiful). He also made several time lapses of sunsets, like this one, while some other folks were preparing to camp for the night on the beach, and lit a fire at sunset.
To close the week we had a farewell dinner at Tiki’s Grill on Waikiki, with the best Mai Tais, great food and wonderful ambiance, particularly if you arrive before sunset, as we made sure we did! 😉
UNTIL NEXT TIME, ALOHA OAHU, and MAHALO!
ONE YEAR AGO: Feijoada, the Ultimate Brazilian Feast
TWO YEARS AGO: Vegetable Milhojas
THREE YEARS AGO: Italian Bread
Bewitching Kitchen 
Uau… Que lugar lindo ! Ideal para se ficar noivo. São férias para guardar na memória e se lembrar sempre dela.
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E’ um dos nossos locais favoritos, acho que essa foi a sexta ou setima vez que fomos ate’ la’ – tres vezes com a familia, as outras so’ no’s dois. Adoramos! Mas sempre ficamos na costa norte, muito mais interessante do que Waikiki, a nao ser que a pessoa curta lojas caras e restaurantes igualmetne caros – nao e’ nosso estilo nao 😉
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What a gorgeous vacation and who wouldn’t remember an engagement setting like that. I love the dogs too. 🙂
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The dogs were amazing! Of course, they made us miss our pups a lot, we kept wondering if there was a way to take them with us, but it’s too hard and probably terribly expensive for three dogs
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Congratulations on the engagement! What a nice setting to propose, simply magical!
Now, it’s a good thing there are no taxes for excessive beauty, or your family would be broke – everyone is so gorgeous!
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Thank you! I hope they will be as happy as Phil and I are…
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Great pics, great time, glad you got some R & R into your hectic time! Congrats to the happy couple. Videos are awesome! Thanx for sharing!
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I also love the videos – he is working on a few more he made, but hasn’t posted them on youtube yet.
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Congrats to the newly engaged! What a beautiful location and truly a wonderful memory to share of their engagement! Everyone looks so happy, relaxed and totally enjoying themselves! Thanks for sharing. Hawaii is also on my long bucket list of places to go!!
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You definitely MUST go, Hawaii is a state of mind, more than a location, we feel immediately relaxed and happy once the plane lands. Island mind, all the way….
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It doesn’t get any better than this Sally! Congratulations to the new engaged, happy couple. 🙂 What a perfect place for a proposal!!!! So romantic! You and Phil look great – relaxed, happy and refreshed. Hawaii is just so good for the soul. I’m going to need to get back there soon. It’s funny, I don’t think you can just go to Hawaii once. It has a way of calling you back again and again. I’m so glad you had a good time. May the memories keep you smiling for years to come! 🙂
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You are so right! I think this was our 7th time traveling there, but we are kind of losing track 😉
It just fits us so well – the kind of activities we enjoy. Nature, beach, exercise, seafood, sushi…. and of course a little golf never hurt anyone, only my pride
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I’d be hard-pressed to think of a better place to “pop the question”. Congratulations to the happy couple and to their proud families! What a fantastic vacation for your all. Thanks for sharing so much of it with us. Aloha!
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Thank you! We are very happy, it was a wonderful surprise, no one saw that coming, not even the bride-to-be 😉
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What a perfect trip, Sally, and congratulations to the newly engaged couple. It’s a shame the trip couldn’t have been longer and here’s hoping you and Phil get to Hawaii again soon! I know how busy you’ve been and will be. That’s not really true, but I know you’ve been crazy busy. 😉
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Marcia, we did pay for all the fun once the plane landed in OK. Anyway, I will probably write a post about the lab move, it’s been two intense weeks, but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel
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Good news about the light at the end of the tunnel. You both must be breathing sighs of relief.
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Wonderful!! Barb
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Thank you, Barb!
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Sounds like you had a wonderful trip with wonderful people. I love seeing you smiling. It makes you look even prettier and happier 🙂
X, Dewi
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You are so sweet! Thank you! Hawaii does have a great effect on people, everyone seems happy over there, and you can detect a sadness at the airport when departure times come. But, all things must come to an end, and vacations are one of them! 😉
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Oh, what a happy, happy post today!! I’m ecstatic for you!! And what a romantic way to propose! I love all of these photos.. it was such a nice glimpse into the perfect trip! I have used VRBO as well… but never had the good fortune to have such cute dogs as part of the package!! I’m off to check out that camera, it’s a “must have” for bloggers I think?! xx Smidge
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OMG, you’re killin’ me here!! Between Phil’s margaritas, the golden retrievers (nothing like a golden retriever belly!) and the sunset, i don’t know which way to turn ;-). Congratulations on the very happy news of the engagement – what fun times you are having Sally – so much to celebrate lately in your family :). Enjoy…
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