how we'll never forget Hawaii

Our trip to Hawaii will be one we'll never forget. However, just in case, here's my blog postings about it.

Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven

how we have one last morning

We don't want to leave Hawaii. It's been a paradise, not just for the setting but for the amazing time the three of us have spent here.

But still, reality awaits 2,000 miles away, and we need to return. But first, a final goodbye.

We woke up early to have one last meal at the Wialana Coffee House to have a final serving of the best pancakes ever.

Then we walked down to say goodbye to the pigeons.

And then, a final goodbye to the parrots.

And then, not only a final goodbye to the koi, but a big hug from Wyatt.



Then we walked down to the pier and said goodbye to the fishies that he swam with.

And, as if on cue, we looked out, and guess what we saw.



Goodbye, Hawaii.

Mahalo.

how we're leaving Hawaii with a great taste in our mouths

Today was our last full day.

And with our daily schedules changed over the weekend, it was time to get back on it.

So we headed back to the beach, playing the game where I stand in the ocean, with the water as high as Wyatt’s neck, and he runs to me from the shore and back again. That never gets old, even though what was new was the slight rainfall and slightly brisk weather. WTF, Hawaii. Indeed. WTF.

But the sun suddenly peaked out and the rain dried up, so much so that it gave us a chance to do something we wanted - renew our vows. I researched getting time at the chapel from the resort. It would have cost us $750 for a 60 minute ceremony.

But to me, all the pieces I wanted were right here right now - Hot Mama, Wyatt, Hawaii and a break in the weather.

So while sitting on the beach, with the waves crashing behind us and with Wyatt building sand castles, I took her hand and told her these words once again:

I, Steve, take you, Lisa,
To be my lawfully wedded wife,
To love and honor,
To respect and cherish,
To offer undying loyalty and endless sacrifice.
And I dedicate my life
To be an exceptional husband,
A responsible and caring parent
And forever your best friend.
I promise all of these to you unconditionally
With every breath I take.

Perfect. And free.

But then again, perfect turned to slightly unpleasant – enough so that we decided to take our talents to the pool. Wyatt and I jumped in and he rode the horsie, but it wasn’t as much fun in slightly colder weather (and slightly colder water).

And once we left the pool, we got rained on again. But it was time for a nap anyways, so it kinda worked for us.

Especially when you consider that it was a three hour nap.

Sweet.

We woke up in time to eat. Hot Mama and I decided to save our gift cards for an amazing dinner at the end of our vacation. Of course, I wanted a steak house. I would have settled for a posh restaurant.

Our concierge recommended The Cheesecake Factory.

Really?

Luckily, Hot Mama is still hip, and she knew, somehow, that Ian Schrager just opened up a restaurant in Waikiki, and that we should find it and eat there. And we did, in the rain, find standing tall and lit, Morimoto, owned and operated by an Iron Chef and residing in the Edition. Awesome.

We cashed in our Visa Gift Cards and decided to eat the Chef’s Choice, a seven serving tasting menu daily created by the Iron Chef himself.

Here’s what we ate, I think:

We began with tartar served into our mouths with tiny little shovels

That was followed with hot oiled seared sashimi with carpaccio and amberjack.

Then we had something called bagnacauda, which is Italian for "hot bath", which is olive oil heated in a porcelain jar that you dip vegetatbles and chicken in,

That was followed with chawanmushi, which is egg custard flavored with foie gras and Hudson valley duck breast.

At that point, we had an intermezzo called Kombu chai to clean the palate. It’s a tea that tastes like saltwater. Doesn’t sound delicious, but it was.

We then had five pieces of sushi, my favorite being the thai japanese red snapper.

This led up to the main dish, the surf and turf - Wagyu beef, lobster with a strong hint of garlic and peanut pork loin

We ended with soy milk pennecotta which tasted just like creme brulee, followed by a piece of pumpkin pie and gelato.

And throughout, I drank a glass of Martin Ray 2007 Pinot Noir from the Russian River.

There will always be meals we remember for various reasons. Some because of what they signified. Some because of where they were. Others because of how they tasted.

This meal will be remembered for all of them.

And Wyatt was a perfect angel throughout.

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Read Day Seven

how nobody comes out unscathed

According to Wikipedia, there are eleven volcanoes on Oahu, none active. The most famous one is Diamond Head, which is right beside us in Waikiki.

Well, there's a twelfth one that's two years old, and he erupted today. He was due.

If you have one and are vacationing here, don't do what we did.

We rented a car to check out more of the island and to attend Stacie and Kris' post wedding barbecue. We drove to this place called Pini Lookout, where we were able to look out over the south side of the island. Mark Twain called that exact spot the most beautiful view on earth. He may have been right. But I also know he never sat poolside at the Viceroy.

Wyatt loved it and didn't want to leave. We promised to show him more of Hawaii. That seemed to appease him.

Tick. Tock.

We then headed to a beach in Lanikai, which is the part of Hawaii that Hot Mama wanted to show me - unfiltered, not touristy, just pure. It might be the most beautiful beach on earth. Mark Twain, it's your move. I challenge you to find one better.



We swam, snorkeled and played in the sand and butted heads with Wyatt's nap time, which he refused. He wanted more Hawaii.



Tick tock.

We then drove to Stacie's aunt's place in Kailua, then followed a caravan to Waikane at her cousin's place for the BBQ. And throughout, Wyatt stayed awake, overstimulated by everything he saw.

Tick tock tick tock.

Their place is amazing, a quaint open house with property that leads put to a private dock and peninsula. Wyatt was so inspired by this that he turned into an insatiable tornado. He wanted to paddle board. No, canoe. No, swim. No, take a boat. No, paddle board again. No, boogie board. Every minute, a new whim. But it wasn't his time or place yet, and he had to calm down.

Ticktockticktockticktock.



He had a tantrum. Then another. Then another. He actually demanded that we give him a time out. He refused to listen. It was now three hours past nap time, and...

KABOOM!

Ladies and gentlemen, friends, family and readers of this blog, I have faced my share of physical turmoil in my life, from torn ACLs to running a marathon with tendinitis.

I don't think either could compare to putting an overtired two-year-old into his car seat.

If we had a virgin handy, we would have sacrificed them to make our lives easier.

Twenty minutes later, after steady streams of sweat flowed down our backs, Hot Mama and I finally strapped him in and drove home, having not eaten any BBQ, stopping only to pick up some fresh Huli Huli chicken from a shop on the road. He passed out for about twenty minutes then reawoke, not happy but somewhat eased.

When we got here, we chose to pick a room without a view because if he were stuck inside, it would be a loss.

We spent the rest of the night inside with a calm volcano that was as sweet as any cupcake could be. We ordered takeout and watched TV, laughed, wrestled and played.

Do we now consider staying inside to be a loss? No.

It's merely survival. Cute, charming, cuddling survival.

Nothing in life is perfect. You just have to roll with it and make due with what you've got, even if that's Spongebob and chicken fingers in a Hilton.

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Read Day Six

how the stuff dreams are made from are found in Hawaii

We woke up this morning with our daily routine:

1. We took the elevator downstairs and wished a good morning to the penguins.

2. We then wished good morning to the koi.

3. We then got towels from the kiosk.

4. Then promptly laid them down on the white sand before we jumped into the ocean.

It gets boring after awhile, so today we spruced it up. We tried snorkeling again with Wyatt, but this time we were smart about it. Before we got on the catamaran yesterday, we noticed schools of fish by the dock. So that's where we took Wyatt, and it was instant success, which as all parents know is the main ingredient in sustaining a kid's focus. He was mesmerized by all the different fishies that took route underneath him. Hot Mama and I would trade looking down through the window of the bottom of the float with Wyatt as the other shouted in which direction the fish were. We saw a lot and, more importantly, Wyatt saw more than enough to overfill his mental Rolodex.

After that, we continued with our routine:

5. We walked over to the pool, ordered piña coladas, jumped in and then waited for them to arrive poolside, where we drank them and ordered another.

It's a hard knock life.

We ended our morning early to put Wyatt down because today was a special day: Stacie and Kris' wedding. Becky came over to babysit Wyatt, and we had to spruce up and make ourselves pretty. That's no problem for Hot Mama. She just has to pick a dress. I had to shave and shower and put on a shirt with a collar. It's an effort and a sacrifice.

We took a 30 minute cab ride to The Plantation Estates in Kailua. Upon arriving, we learned a couple of things about it:

1. It was just sold for $7,000,000.

2. President Obama and his family just vacationed there in '08 and '09.

3. It's the most beautiful setting for a wedding that I could ever imagine.

I don't think the beach was private, but I'm not sure how else you'd get there. The grounds were perfectly manicured. The waters unscathed. The house was constructed with the most beautiful wood - even in the ceilings of the canopies. It was breathtaking and jawdropping and if I weren't there to see it with my own eyes, I'd think it were a dream painted by poets, angels and Jessica Alba.




As it were, the wedding was one that those same dreams are made of. A perfect ceremony. Delicious Hawaiian food. Great conversation. New friends. Ice cream. A live webcast using only an iPhone 4 and a ustream.tv app. Ideal weather. Hot Mama downing six tequila shots.

We even found a moment for ourselves for a walk on the beach.

There's truly some amazing places in Hawaii. And with amazing places come amazing memories. I won't need this blog to recapture what these eyes have seen.

I wish everyone could be here too, just so I wouldn't have to rely on my words to do this paradise justice.

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Read Day Five

how i learned first hand what kina'ole means

Today began at a more appropriate but still somewhat out of control 5am. We decided an hour later to take a walk along the beach to watch the sun rise. Sadly, it was a little too cloudy to see it, but that's okay. We wound up sitting on the pier and watch two fishermen get an early start on their day. Of course, we had to leave when Wyatt demanded that it was "Wyatt's turn" as he threw himself onto the sand in protest. I believe this is how the Groton fisherman got his start.



Still, we had a nice walk, each step better than the last, and as we turned around, we realized we traveled probably 75 yards. But that wasn't the point. It was nice quiet time together, doing nothing but being together. And we didn't have to spend any money doing that. I'm sure Hilton is on it to change that.



After another amazing pancake dinner, we headed back to the room to put on our bathing suits and try something different - snorkeling. We borrowed a float with a clear bottom for Wyatt to lay on and see all the fishies beneath him. Hot Mama and I rented our gear and swam out. Honestly, it could have gone better, between Wyatt's indifference and frustration and my toe getting cut on some coral, but that's okay. We wound up back on shore and just played in the sand and the ocean, sans equipment. He was happy. That made us happy. And sunburned. But happy nonetheless.



To mix things up, we returned our gear and headed to the pool, where we met this young girl who helped Wyatt with his swimming. He was infatuated with her, and rightly so. She was charming and paid attention to him. An hour later, we felt he was just about done, and as we left the pool, he called out to her, "Girl! Girl!" Sweet boy.

Now it was nap time. Usually, this comes with an argument, sometimes in epic proportions. But, after walking on the beach, snorkeling and swimming in both ocean and pool and being up for seven hours, we saw a different side of Wyatt. One where he practically passed out while eating his PB&J, much like we all did in college after a late night that ends with an egg sandwich from Dunkin' Donuts. He was completely punch drunk. He called out to Hot Mama, "Bed!" and then proceeded to climb into his pack-and-play. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a first, an unprecedented occurance, one that will be written about in the annals of history as an upset the likes of David over Goliath, Lyle Lovett marrying Julia Roberts and the Super Bowl victory of the 2008 New York Football Giants couldn't even come close to matching. I had tears in my eyes. I'm thinking of having some coins minted to commemorate it.



We had hired a babysitter to watch Wyatt during the wedding, and decided to give her a dry run today while Hot Mama and I went snorkeling for reals. Her name was Becky, a local college student, and her job was to sit there and watch this lump of exhaustion do nothing for three hours. They both did their parts.

We hired a catamaran to take us out to the deeper part of the ocean, and jumped in. Hot Mama had snorkeled before; I hadn't. It took me five minutes or so to learn how to tread and, more importantly, learn how to regulate my breathing. She thought this was hilarious. I don't doubt her. I probably looked like a plastic bag stuck on a tree during a hurricane. I'm very clumsy when learning something new, but once I catch on, look out.

I took to it.

Maybe too much.

We were snorkeling for turtles. They'd quickly show up above water to get some air and then disappear back down, so you'd have to be quick to see them. Also, for some reason, the water we were in was a little murky, so finding them was even more difficult. Anyways, our guide saw one nearby, and I decided to go down deep to find him. I held my breath and headed downward (see, I told you I'm gangbusters after I get the idea). I'm looking around, my eyes darting in front of me, when all of a sudden, I'm shocked by this monstrous turtle that cuts me off from the side. Honestly, it was about the size of two manhole covers. It scared the crap out of me - not just the size, not that it would attack me, but that it just swam in front of me and I wasn't prepared for that and its size. I swam away quickly, like a lightning bolt, made a u-turn and headed for air.

Of course, Hot Mama saw this too, and thought that this was even funnier than before, especially since she witnessed the entire thing unfolding, like the turtle swimming towards me and our paths passing. She said she never saw me move so quickly from fear like that, and it was a comedy show. I bet.

(For the record, she said she would have reacted the same way. The sucker was a monster).

After finishing off our snorkeling by eating a one-foot hot dog (don't ask), we went back to the room, where Wyatt had just woken up and was flirting with Becky until we arrived, at which point he turned into shy guy. It's his game. He's still working out the kinks.

We decided to spend the rest of the day exploring Waikiki, taking a one-mile walk with the stroller down the shopping center to the International Market, which was basically a glorified Chinatown. Nothing special at all, especially to Hot Mama, who came here as a 13-year-old and had a completely different opinion of it then. We ate dinner at Duke's, which is the sister restaurant of Sunnyside, our favorite haunt in North Lake Tahoe. Then, with very tired legs, we trudged back to our resort for some ice cream that Wyatt thought would look better on his shirt.

At this point, we were exhausted, as you are from reading this, but it wasn't over. There was one more thing left to do, one more thing that perfectly tied the entire day together. We sat on the beach, curled up together, stared out into the ocean and watched a fireworks show.

Now that's a finale.

I was trying to find a Hawaiian word to describe this entire day, and I learned one - kina’ole. It means to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to the right person, for the right reason, with the right feeling.

Today was purely kina'ole with my two favorite peeps.

I'll never forget it.

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Read Day Four

how Hawaii has a different meaning for everyone

The morning for us began at 4am, two and a half hours before the sun came up. For Wyatt, that was 7am and that was sleeping in. For the rest of the hotel, it was what it was. Good thing Disney never sleeps.

Before we left for a morning runs, Hot Mama looked outside and said, "It looks like rain clouds". Wyatt responded with, "It looks like rainbows".

He was right.

Hot Mama and I got our runs in while Wyatt played on the beach. Then we left the resort and walked to a breakfast place across the street, where we ate the best pancakes ever. Seriously. There had to be crack in the batter cuz i couldn't stop myself. The total bill was just $22, which was just $3 more than one Continental breakfast at the resort. And I'm betting there's no crack in those croellers.

We spent the morning in the pool with the intent purely to keep Wyatt up until noon and get him on Hawaii time. Mission accomplished. Dude went balls out for eight straight hours, getting everything he could out of his thirty pound body of energy.

Three hours later, he awoke with him demanding that we take him to Hawaii. But we're already here, big guy.

I want to go to Hawaii!

We figured out that, for him, Hawaii was outside: the pool, the ocean, the beach, the restaurants. The hotel was home for the time being. Don't blame him. He kinda right about that.

We decided to take him for a walk around the village, where he threw tantrums in a toy store, two souvenir shops and a surfing clothes retailer. Good times had by all. But we were just buying time for the luau.

Wyatt was mesmerized by the three escalators we had to ride to the rooftop for the party. We sat at a table where he had a clear view of the stage. We then ate a mediocre buffet and an indifferent show, and halfway through, he looks at us with tired eyes and says, "I want to go home".

No sweat. We agree.

So we begin our descent, down all three escalators that are how lit up in a crescent, and he looked up at them and says, "Rainbows!"

Again, he's all right.

I didn't mention this originally, but it deserves a note just because I find it hilarious. The Hilton Hawaiian Village obviously hosts conventions, and this weekend is no different. Right now, in Waikiki, we're in the middle of Pest World 2010.

Pest World.

It's exactly what you're thinking: the finest pest and termite exterminators from around the country to meet, greet, share ideas, get drunk and sing Bon Jovi songs. And just like the insects they kill, they come from all walks of life. It's truly a scene.

Of course, I had to google Pest World. And here's the thing: it isn't new. This is actually the 77th year that Pest World has been in existance. That blows my mind. For 77 years, people have been meeting to share ideas about infestation, and the best they can do to kill a mice is cheese set within a guillotine. WTF.

Anyways, more power to them. Everyone deserves a moment in the sun, to blow off some steam, to go from capturing cockroaches to chasing cougars. It's fun for the rest of us to watch.

Okay, just me.

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Read Day Three

how Waikiki became Wykiki

Hot Mama and I were looking forward to this Hawaii trip for many reasons. First, obviously, was to see Stacie and Kris get married. Second was to chill out on the warm sand and hotter waters. And third was to experience the joy of this paradise through Wyatt's eyes. We knew he'd love it, just by checking out videos on YouTube and by how quickly he learned to speak dolphin.

What we weren't looking forward to was the five hour flight. The last time we flew back from New York, he couldn't sit still, and we became "those poor people". Mortifying stuff. I list months off my life because of that flight.

But we found out that our boy's grown up since the last time we flew, and he behaved like a stud - calm, cool and collected - and even had time for a nap. I've never felt more prouder and relieved. And I might have earned those months back.

The resort is great. I took Wyatt for a walk around and he marveled at the koi and the macaw. But he was just in wonder of the place. He could have seen a pigeon and still have dropped his jaw. Everywhere he looked, something marvelous caught his eye. But it was time to stop sightseeing and time to get wet.



We went back to the room and took off his clothes and diaper. Of course, we didn't check to see if his diaper was full. It wasn't. In fact, it was completely empty. That's because his poop landed on my big toe. And on my flip flop. And on my ankle. And a touch on the carpet. He crapdusted me. Mahalo, I told him. He laughed and responded, "I funny!" Yeah, a regular Gallagher.

We then swam in the pool four hours while Hot Mama and I downed some heavenly piña coladas. You might be thinking: Were we getting drunk while our kid who couldn't swim on his own was in the pool with us? No. Not true. He was in a float suit. Everyone wins.

The day ended with us trying to keep Wyatt up as late as we could to get him on Hawaii time. He crashed superhumanly at 7pm. That's a thirteen hour day with flying, swimming, pooping on dad's toe, hanging with exotic pets and fish and giving us Dutch ovens while cuddling. Dude was a baller today.

Can't wait for tomorrow.

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Read Day Two