Laxidaisy Day, Friday 6/27/2014

We woke up and started with our typical breakfast today.  After breakfast, we headed into town to order our Decorated Fijian Marriage Certificate, and did a little more souvenir shopping, the last of the shopping, I hope!  (Paula, we did find forks for your friend, but there were no cutlery “sets.”)  I’m sure we got way too much stuff, and we’ll be hard-pressed to get it all home, but we’ll do what we can.  

We tried to snorkel, but we’d not timed the tide properly.  So we spent the afternoon at the adult pool.  Kev was not going to give in to the family pool, as I guess he was happy just having made friends with Alvin.  

This evening, we plan to go back to the restaurant that we loved from last night.  Kev much preferred it to tonight’s “Italian Buffet” here at the resort.  Not to mention, the price was the same as the resort, but we received much more!

We watched the homemade video from Zak — and we think he did an excellent job!  I hope to take an iMovie class when we get back home, and I might be able to doctor up the video just a little bit before our family showing.  But Zak really did a good job!  I have to also mention that I’m so glad that I picked Marica to be one of our witnesses!  At one point in the video, she crosses paths with Zak, and she sticks out her tongue, smiling at the camera — something, as you all know, that I would very likely do as well.  In fact, Kev and I were getting all sappy in the background, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from sticking it out!  I’ll have to give Marida a big hug tomorrow!  

Anyway, off to dinner!…  We love you!  And we’ll be home only too soon!

Wedding Evening, Thursday 6/26/2014

Kev and I decided to look off-resort for our personal wedding reception.  We went to a quaint little place that said “Ocean Terrace” off the road, which we found when riding the $1 bus.  However, when we went inside, it was actually a private little hotel, very fancy and quaint.  Also called the Bedarra Beach Inn (BBI), and they had another name for the bar…  

I have to mention it particularly because the food was SOOOO excellent!  All of the food since we got to Fiji has been bland or salty, but this food was exquisite!  I got a chicken stuffed with cheese, chives, and bacon — it was so good!  And the veggies were perfectly cooked, al dente and yummy.  Kev reminds me that my chicken sauce also had ginger in it, which usually I don’t prefer ginger, but it complemented all the other tastes and flavors that it was perfectly enjoyable!  

Anyway, when we returned from dinner last night, we were surprised to find the curtains to our bure closed, as we had left them open.  Upon stepping inside, however, we found a very nice surprise, left for us by our butlers.  Though Zak had the night off, he was sure to have Salote leave us a nice note.  (Which explains why she ran after us to find out our plans when we left for dinner!)  

Thank you Zak and Salote!!!  :-)  

Wedding Day! Thursday 6/26/2014

Ran around town this morning to get our clothes!  We love them!  You have to wait to see them!  

The driver for the $1 bus back to the resort was the same as our first $1 bus ride.  He totally remembered us and that today was our wedding day.  He told other passengers on the bus, and wished us well when we got off.  Kev insisted that I take his picture, which the big guy that he is, I had to reseat myself to get a good picture.  But it was worth it.  He was a nice guy.  

And now, drum roll please!  We are hitched!  We will tell you that our wonderful witnesses were more than willing to take videos and pictures.  So we have both.  Homemade qualify, of course, but viewable nonetheless.  More wedding details to follow, but here’s the picture for now.  

Robinson Crusoe Island, Wednesday 6/25/2014

We woke up for an early breakfast, and the bus picked us up right on time, 5 minutes to 9:00 (not Fiji time!).  We had a nice ride out to the dock, and waited for more people to arrive.  The boat ride through to the island was rather slow, and the boat was rather full, through a lovely canal system.  But the island was right outside the canal system, in the open water, guarded by barrier reef, we could see waves breaking all around us.  

We arrived to the island, where Kev and I started with a short kayak ride out past the boats and back.  Kayaks really are quite nice, aren’t they?  We think we might buy a set for ourselves one day.  

There were several demonstrations throughout the day, including a coconut demonstration, where we learned how to husk coconuts, braid leaves to make baskets, make brooms from the fronds, etc.  We even got to try some fresh coconut and to drink some fresh coconut milk, which was surprisingly salty.

We also participated in a crab race, which was surprisingly more exciting than you’d expect!  You pick a number, drop all the crabs into the middle of a circle, which was drawn in the sand, and the first crab to make it to the designated ring wins!  I was number 3, which was the first place winner for about a third of the way through, but then he turned and took the long way out.  I lost out to Alvin’s crab, number 30…  but it’s all in good fun, and in the end, they didn’t even get the winning crabs’ numbers right.  I imagine in some venues, the audience might get very upset with that!  

Ah, Alvin…  we’ll have to tell you about Alvin.  He’s a very precocious little boy of about 5 years, from China (Hong Kong specifically), there with his Mom, and I assume his aunt.  We actually met Alvin the day before at the Eco-Park, and were pleasantly surprised to see him again today on the Robinson Crusoe tour.  Kev was able to bond with him by showing him the beach-combing crabs, amongst other things.  

We had some lazy time at the island, where we read our books and enjoyed the sun.  After lunch, they took us out in a boat to go snorkeling.  We enjoyed the reef and the fish, though we felt the snorkel trip was too short in general.  I kept trying to convince them to take us to another spot for an encore, but to no avail.  We will definitely try to snorkel again before we leave.  

Looks like Kev's doing what Kev does best?!

Kevin, me, and little Alvin, coming back in from our snorkel.

Back on the beach, Kevin was able to catch one of the little crabs after several minutes of chasing. He then dutifully waded out into the water to give it to Alvin, forgetting at the time that his iPhone was in his pocket. I guess we won't be seeing any of the pictures he took today.

Right around sunset, they dropped off another boat full of people for the evening shows.  (We had signed up for the combo day pass and evening shows.)  We witnessed a kava ceremony, then we all drank some kava — which smells and tastes like soapy water.  However, if it’s strong enough, it’s supposed to make your lips and tongue numb.  It may also have an intoxicating and mellowing effect if you drink enough of it, which we didn’t…  

Before dinner, there was a fire walking show, where the natives walked on the hot coals which were used for the lovo — basically a pit where the food is placed to cook all day, buried underneath hot rocks and embers.  Apparently very similar to how Gene cooks potatoes when camping.  We bumped into a couple of ladies from Germany, who just couldn’t understand why they would need to walk on hot stones.  What purpose did it serve?  We couldn’t answer their question, other than the obvious:  they didn’t have rulers to measure whose cajones were bigger back then…  Or possibly it was a meditative, religious type action.  Either way, we didn’t have a definitive answer.  It might be interesting to look up one day, although I’m sure if Kevin stumbles onto the information on reddit, he will certainly let us know.  

Then the dinner buffet, which was probably very good, but the food was a little bland - but at least it wasn’t overly salty, which we have found most of the food here to be.  (Someone bring these Fijians some spices!)  My favorite food on the banquet line was the Fijian spinach, which is actually elephant leaf mixed with a few other veggies.  It was yummy and not too salty.  Unfortunately, I was absolutely put off when I saw this annoying kid open his mouth and show the disgusting mix of food inside — that kid was NOT Alvin — I suppose pregnancy can make you a bit more sensitive to these types of things…  

After dinner was the dancing and fire shows!  Awesome!!!  But after all day in the sun, we determined that the dancers had a bit more energy than we did.  They danced for probably an hour and a half, but it certainly felt like 6 hours. It was hard to keep up with all the clapping and shouting and hoo-hawing, but we tried.  We’ll add some pictures from the show, possibly tomorrow.  However, we’re rushing to catch up with our blogging, since we’re writing this a day after, and we assume that everyone wants to hear about the 26th!…

Actually, we have some videos to share, but it's taking forever to upload!...

And he sleeps again… 6/24/2014

After booking our excursions, we went to the Eco Park for some exploring and to scout out our wedding spot.  We found a perfect tree, talked to the “boss,” and we’re good to go for Thursday.  

Along the way, we made a few friends and saw a few pretty flowers.  Here are just a few pictures…

Unfortunately, after trying to catch the sunrise this morning, Kevin couldn’t help but to take some extra sleeping time…  He fell asleep at 5:00 this evening, and refused to wake up even for dinner.  He actually did wake up long enough to take a picture of a local lizard catching his dinner on our ceiling, but then quickly rolled over and went back to sleep. 

I went to the lovo dinner alone and watched the Fijian (meke) dancers afterwards.  I have to say, even more than their dancing, I love their voices and the way the harmonize!  Here are some pictures and videos of tonight’s events.  (Carlee, I have a couple of videos for you, but they were too large to share here.)

When I returned to the room, our butler Zak had been by to drop off the night caps, but Kev was still snoring in bed.  I figure I’d better leave him be if he’s going to wake up on time for tomorrow’s excursion…  Perhaps when it comes to vacation, if Kevin’s not sick, then he’s tired…    what’s your home remedy for that, Lata?!  (Lata is Kev’s friend who suggested the olive leaf extract pills to keep him from getting sick while on vacation.  He’s been taking at least one a day, and has not gotten sick, so maybe they’re working, or maybe they’re not - but I’ll keep buying them!  Now, if we can work on the ‘tired’ part…)

The Resort and Grounds: Tuesday 6/24/14

One thing that Kevin noticed right away is that all the employees seem absolutely delighted to work here.  They are all so happy when they can help visitors!  

On the way to dinner, Kevin made another friend on the grounds.  He was more than willing to hang around for just the right picture.  

Last night, we went for a fancy dinner at the Ivi (pronounced Ee-vy) restaurant here at the resort.  It’s a 5-star restaurant, and the food was the best we’ve tasted so far in Fiji.  I got to wear my beautiful blue scarf from Aunt Cindi, and I’m so glad I brought it, as there was a little sprinkle on the way back to our bure after dinner.  When we arrived to the restaurant, they gave me a flower for my hair and asked which side I should wear it on?  The left if I’m still single, the right if I am taken.  To which Kevin immediately replied, “definitely on the right side.”  :-)  It gives me a nice, warm smile on the inside when he shows me in those little ways how much he loves me.  

While we were not able to connect with Saiasi to help us on our first day of shopping, we bumped into him again.  He was very worried and wanted to be sure that we had taken care of all of our needs.  Since we’ve taken care of the wedding stuffs, he offered to help us shop on another day.  We will probably take him up on that for some souvenir shopping on Friday.  Although, there are local vendors here at the resort, selling their wares; we will probably buy some stuffs for them, and finish up shopping with Saiasi on Friday.  

I have alluded to, but don’t think that I properly explained that our bure comes with a butler and butler services…  Every evening, our butler will come to check on us, bring us complimentary waters, champagne, and snacks.  He will also check if we want a night cap for later in the evening, and if so, will bring another light snack.  Our first night here, we were so exhausted, we accepted the champagne, but declined the night cap since we expected to be fast asleep.  We received some sushi with our champagne.  

Last night, the snacks were salmon on cucumber slices - yummy!  and I ate them all by myself since Kev is not a seafood enthusiast.  The night caps were a small glass of sherry, which he was able to enjoy both, since I had already had a third of the glass of champagne.  The second snack was a cracker with cheese and a caramelized fig-jam marmalade on top (Kev’s description) — all Kev’s, as my tastebuds were satisfied.  

We woke up early this morning, and I didn’t even have to twist Kev’s arm to get out of bed!  We ventured outside around 6:15 to try to catch the sunrise; however, the way we are situated on the island, we didn’t get a good view.  Furthermore, the sunset’s beautiful colors were also blocked by the clouds (it was still lightly raining).  

The bar by the beach is called the Sundowner, which leads us to believe we might get a better view of the sunset.  We’ll try tonight if we can, but we are also eager to catch the fire walking show and the typical Fijian feast.  We’ll also try to catch a sunrise on another day, even if there are a couple of mountains in the way…  It was nice to walk on the beach by our lonesomes.  

We’ve booked our two excursion days:  tomorrow’s tour is with Robinson Crusoe charter, which will take us snorkeling during the day, and give us a Fijian feast at night, along with another fire walking show and a kava ceremony; and Saturday we will spend with a river tour, which brings us to a Fijian village, and we can visit with the locals for a day.  Friday we’ll spend shopping and/or sight-seeing, and/or snorkeling around the resort, and Sunday morning we might spend at the spa, before we head back to Texas on Sunday night.  

It's a Wedding Adventure!

Monday 6/23/14

On the agenda for today:  marriage license and wedding outfit…  

We started for breakfast at 8:00, which gave us an hour to eat, buy toothbrushes and toothpaste, brush our teeth, and catch the bus. We cut it a little tight, so we left 15 minutes late for the bus.  But we found it and got on with no problem.  I was a little scared that it would get us there late, but we got to town with 10 minutes to spare.  Everyone was reminding me that we’re “on island time” now, so not to worry.  I think I did a pretty good job not over-worrying, even if I couldn’t keep myself from worrying…  Kevin might disagree, though :)

Anyway, we got to the office, and we waited for the lady to finish helping the last customer, which seemed to take an age.  The room was very small, maybe 6 x 10, and there was a counter that went down the middle, long-ways, so it was split into two 3x10 spaces.  Her desk was on one-side, and there was a bench and standing space on our side.  A few other people had come in to sit down while we were all waiting for her help.  She was finally available to help the next person, and we were definitely next.  So, while someone else stepped up to the counter, I told her that we were there for our 10:00 appointment. It was probably around 10:30 when she started helping us.  Yes, we were definitely on island time.  

Long story short, we got all of our information.  There was another woman there who actually worked at the resort where we’re staying, and she volunteered to try to help us find an officiant for the wedding.  She led us upstairs to meet another helpful local who would coordinate an officiant or us once we could tell them when and where.  As we kept talking, the woman who took us upstairs, whose name was Mila (pronounced Me-la) learned that we were heading into town to shop for wedding outfits. She immediately offered to take us around and help us shop.   

(Since we were a little late getting to town, we weren’t able to meet up with the guy that we’d made arrangements with yesterday.)

We found a pocket-sula for Kevin at the first store we stopped at.  A sula is a sort of Fijian skirt and is traditional formal wear in Fiji.  Unfortunately, the fabric that we liked was not long enough to make the rest of our wedding clothes.  So Mila took us to several other stores.  Again, there were several fabrics that we liked, but there was never enough material.  We finally found a pretty material, and there was exactly enough for our needs.  

Mila and Me at the Seamstress's

Next we went to a seamstress.  They took our measurements, we picked out the style of clothing that we wanted, and we can pick it up Thursday morning!  Mila and her friend Kaely would not take lunch nor refreshing beverages as thank yous. They spent probably 2.5 hours out of their day to help us, and wanted literally nothing in return. Eventually I did force a $10 tip into her hand.  We gave our many vinakas, and we went on our way.  Shortly after, I realized that we’d never be able to find the shop again!  So we retraced our steps to find Mila, got directions to the shop, and were on our way again.  

Now, we had to find some clothes for at least 1 more day.  (Remember, our luggage is still
MIA)…  We stopped at one of the shops where we had gone to look at their fabrics.  Kev found a bathingsuit, some underwear, and a couple of breezy Hawaiian-syle tops to wear.  I found a sundress with sleeves, and they’re making another one for me and delivering it to the hotel tomorrow afternoon. 

Of note is how incredibly inexpensive everything was. The material we purchased for the clothes was ~$40 Fijian, and the cost to have the clothes hand made was another ~$40. Exchange rate is roughly 2 Fijian dollars to every $1 US, so we spent about $40 total to have our entire wedding wardrobe custom made. The other clothes we bought came out to ~$80 US for 2 full outfits for Kevin and 2 dresses for me, including one that’s custom made. Can’t beat the prices, but bring cash. Not every shop can process credit cards, and the ones that do tend to tack on an extra 5% for paying by card.

Kev's stylin' new threads!

By this time, we’re exhausted, and I was lacking energy and fading fast.  So we made our way to a highly recommended Indian restaurant around the corner.  The food was pretty salty.  And it takes a lot for me to call food salty…  Kevin had a few bites, but couldn’t finish because he bit into a morsel of salt.  I ate on, and we took the bus back to the Outrigger when we finished.  We bumped into Mila again on the way back.  We had actually bumped into her twice since we separated.  Kev says he’s convinced that there are really only 7 Fijians, and it’s all smoke and mirrors…  but if we keep walking around through town, we’ll keep bumping into them!

We didn’t take the $1 bus back to the hotel, but the express bus, which actually cost $1.85 per person…  We checked with Reception for our luggage, and no updates.  

On the way back to our room, we bumped into Sak, one of our butlers.  We asked if he would mind being one our witnesses for our wedding, and he said yes!  He will also work on finding us another female witness (we need 2 witnesses).  We need to sign a form so that he can be excused from work for the wedding, but should be no problem.  

When we got to our room, I walked half-way in and then screamed!  I noticed our luggage sitting by the front door!  I was so happy!!!  (I didn’t mention that we had looked for bathing suits during our excursion, but we were only able to find sizes up to 12, and those were for little triangle 2-pieces.  I had been pretty bummed that I would not be able to find a suitable substitute swimsuit for our wedding vacation.)  But now that our luggage is here, I don’t have to find a swimsuit!  Yay!  We were so happy, Kevin made me take a picture with our bags.  I had never been so happy to receive my own belongings!  :-)

Thanking the Luggage Gods and Goddesses!

Not bad for a 2nd day on the island!  And Kevin and I are able to settle in to our bure with a little smile, reflecting on our wedding adventure!  

(FYI - Kevin and I are collaborating on the blog.  I write the first version, and then Kev sprinkles it with more details and thoughts.  :-)

Local flora

I forgot to post this...

Not sure what it's called, but I want to buy a flora book and figure it out!  Gorgeous!

And because the local flowers are what got us here -- ask Kev if you don't know the story -- I definitely plan on painting a few of them.  I brought my artsy-fartsy stuffs, which were NOT in my checked luggage!

At the Airport, Kevin steps up AND gets his first bit of marriage advice!

I know, the 3rd post, and we haven't even left town yet!...  but I have to share while I can!...

Kevin is being so awesome!  I don't even have to remind him that I'm pregnant, and he's offering to carry my bags all over the airport, my PINK and brown bag!  (I had already told him he was in charge of transporting the checked luggage, to which he whole-heartedly agreed!)

So as soon as we got here, we scoped out a place to eat.  It is dinner-time, after all...  Not much to choose from, we ended up at the Saxon Pub, at the opposite end of the airport from our gate.  But he was a trooper, carried my bag, and absolutely didn't care that I made him traverse there and back!

(I shout let you know that Kevin says I'm definitely growing accustomed to pulling the "I'm pregnant!" card to get what I want.  I realized how valuable the play is when we first used it at the Toadies concert and got VIP seats -- and I'm 4 months in!  I only have 5 more months to use it as an excuse!)

While at the Saxon Pub, Kevin ordered our food while I held the table.  We fiddled with electronic devices, and when I'd settled down, I asked him about our number and when our food would be ready, and was he listening to the numbers.  No, he wasn't, but our number was 76.  And, as if on cue, the guy gets on the intercom, "Number 76!"  The guy sitting next to us had just previously taken out his earbuds and was witnessing my uncanny timing.  He laughed and wondered why I had even beat around the bush in urging him to get our food, instead of just asking him to get our food.  It was hilarious.  When Kevin came back to the table with more food, he continued on with the advice, and even invited the man he was sharing his table with into the conversation.  The both of them had been happily married (to their wives, not each other) for 27 / 28 years, and both had 3 children.  I found it amusing that they wished to impart advice onto Kevin, learning that we were on our way to Fiji to get married...  Some of their gems included:

You can either be right, or you can be happy.

The 2 most important words to learn when you get married are:  Yes, dear.

Her methods will somehow keep you sane.

And not much of a gem, but the man was pretty adamant to share it with Kevin:  

They all look different, but they're all wired the same.

Now Kevin is wondering if he will spend the week receiving loads of unsolicited advice.  I would laugh at him, but I imagine there's a possibility that I might receive the same.  

On our way!

Made it to the Austin airport! Watching Kevin run around like mad to pack is very interesting, a good study of ADHD...

The excitement is building!... we'll be there in 2 tomorrows!

Love you!

Leaving today!

Yay! We leave for Fiji today!

Now if only I could wake Kevin up so that he can start packing! (So far, the only thing he has packed is his snorkeling gear, and only because it's in my bag!)

The day before

Leaving for Fiji tomorrow evening...  I'm so excited to go!  And so unmotivated to pack - for that, I blame Sebastian (17.5 weeks pregnant)!  That said, I've packed more than Kevin at this point!  And I'm doing laundry right now, so I can pack those last few things.  Toiletries and whatnot can wait for tomorrow.

We ran errands today:  got my engagement ring buffed so it's nice and clean and matches the wedding band, which I absolutely can't wait to wear!  And we got new snorkel gear at Kev's insistence; the sets are actually pretty nice, short fins, and a bag to carry it all in.

I plan on bringing the kindle to Fiji.  Kev and I are about three-quarters of the way through Ireland, but I think we're going to leave the great big book here to finish when we get back.  I need to figure out what we're going to read to Sebastian while we're in Fiji.  I figure one of the classics, since they're already on my kindle:  Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, or maybe the Jungle Book?  I'm open to suggestions...

Tomorrow will be a long day, traveling to Fiji:  3 hours to LA, 3 hour layover, and an 11 hour flight to Fiji.  We arrive at 6am.  Hopefully we'll sleep on the plane, but I hope to get some movies transferred over onto my hard drive just in case.  (And we bought a headphone splitter so we can both listen.)

Anyhoo, we'll type next when in Fiji!