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Published: June 19th 2009
Flight to Oahu
Look out Hawaii here comes Moose and Bruce!Oahu - Hawaii Part I: Arrival
Aloha, we are in Hawaii. After leaving the domestic airport we had a little panic attack trying to find my mum ( Anne ) and my sister ( Kelly ) at the international airport. After about half an hour of wandering around, heart rate very elevated we eventually found them in the smoking area…of course!! To be honest they were freaking out just as much as us. So we all jumped in a taxi and went to our accommodation the Holiday Inn and then we’re surprised to meet more of our guests. Allan McCarthy ( friend from Oz ) and Nigel Quin ( my cousin ) were all at the hotel. Al said that we couldn’t check in until 3pm so we wandered around the town, we found Ally Kay ( my bridesmaid ) in the Hilton Hotel which was fantastic then we all went to get some lunch at a foodcourt. After we ate, the boys went off to have a beer at the Sheraton and us girls went shopping at the markets. My sister bought some lovely frangi panni jewellery and then we girls stopped at a bar for a quick drink.
Mom...Sis!
My new mom, and new sister...Anne and Kelly. Mum tried her first local Hawaiian beer called Fire Rock which she didn’t like but eventually found the winner, Longboard. So we left the pub and made our way back to the boys who were getting quite happily drunk on Mai Thai’s. We all made our way back to the hotel, checked in our luggage and then met up again for some dinner at a pub. It was quite funny that every one of us got asked for ID. The rule of thumb is if you look under 40 they will ask you. So after our meals we went outside and wandered down the main street. The Pan Pacific Festival was on and there was lots of food stalls; dancing; singing etc. There was a Japanese dancing show that Ally and Mum gate crashed. They were dancing around the stage with all of the other Japanese people who were in costume, they wearing kimonos and waving fans in the air. Once mum got tired Kelly jumped in and took over. It was a great evening; we all started to feel tired and made our way back to the hotel. When we arrived back to the hotel, we got a call
Diamondhead
Diamondhead Crater as seen from Waikiki to our room, Scott’s parents Frans & Cathy; his brother Jason and two of his friends Dean and Catherine had arrived. So we jumped out of our pyjamas and went down the road for a coffee & a quick bite to eat.
The next morning Scott and I had to go and finalise a few of our wedding plans. We needed to speak to Toni Baron our celebrant and Shelly the marriage registrar. Most of the day was consumed by running around after our tails. We did manage to squeeze in a quick lunch with everyone before having to go to the registrar’s house to sign some paperwork and take an oath. Scott and I were starting to feel the pressure, it was a good thing that we were going out that night for a few drinks. It was our Hawaiian stag/hen night. We all met at the Sportbar which was situated just around the corner of our hotel. The cook seemed to have a soft spot for my mum ;o) and all of us girls got a free drink ( thanks Crackers! ). After a couple of drinks the boys left to do their thing whilst us
All is right in the world
Big Al was concerned because every time he's been to Oahu, paper man was here...and he hadn't seen him till this night...Kelly proved all is right in the world...breathe deep Al, it's all ok now. girls started to settle in, we had a few more drinks then a quick bite to eat. Crackers ( the cook ) told us about a karaoke bar around the corner called the Smoke House, this seemed like a fab idea. We all did a hand-on-hand shake and promised we would all sing a song, and then we were escorted by Crackers around the corner. My first impression when I walked through the door was oh my god! what have we got ourselves into but after the 1st drink and Ally going up and breaking the ice everything was fine. Kelly & I got up for the first time in our lives and sung a song together. We sung B52’s Love Shack, I am not sure if it was the accumulation of alcohol and the lack of sleep but I thought we sounded pretty good. Both mums seemed to be having a good time which made me really happy. Overall I think the night was a lot of fun. Kelly, Ally & myself were the last man standing. We all got kicked out at 2am. I felt sorry for Ally has she was staying quite a few miles away and
The Girls
Ally, my mom, and Penny. it was a bit of a walk to get back to her accommodation. Kelly & I just walked around the corner :o), it took about 2 minutes to get back. We bumped into Nigel downstairs and he said the boys had just jumped into a taxi to go somewhere else. Kelly and I tried to catch up with them but they didn’t answer any of our text messages. The boys it had turned out went for a Thai meal which by all accounts was good, then went to an Irish bar which ID’d Scott’s dad (Frans) who is in his 70’s! The bar was a bit noisy and a bit smoky so the guys headed back to the sports bar. That’s where things really kicked off. There were shots galore, pool, darts and many many beers. It seemed that everyone was having a good night! Big Al even introduced Scott’s dad to Disturbed, Audioslave and Nine Inch Nails…baptism of fire into the rock world! After the bar Nigel headed back (Frans had left a bit earlier) and the rest of the boys went off to another bar. Kel & I were still up until 3am chatting when the boys all
Pen and Nige
Pen and her cousin Nigel after walking back along the beach one night. came into our room. Dean was so funny. We all were wrestling and I had to get out of the way, couldn’t get bruises 2 days before the wedding. The boys then wrestled more in the hallway, lucky they didn’t wake any of the other guests up. Then once my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.
The next morning we were all a bit sluggish. I got up just before 8am, wandered around the corner to get some breakfast at one of the many ABC stores. I woke Scott up as we had to meet his cousin Andre & his wife Elvira at 10am in the lobby. Scott and his dad went off for breakfast with Adrea & Elvira; whilst the 2 mums, Nige, Ally & myself went to the swap meet out at the football stadium. We had heard that it is a really great place to go to find bargains on the same stuff you get at the International Market downtown. So we wandered around for 3 hours in the heat of the day, roasting our little butts off. My poor mum was still a bit under the weather and I think in
Surfing!!
My brother Jay, Stu and me hired boards for an hour, we all had our own technique, and we all had a blast! future she shouldn’t touch any cocktails :p as they certainly do not agree with her. Nige got the buy of the day, he purchased this beautiful ukulele which was hand made and he actually got to speak to the man that made it. He was totally stoked with his purchase. Cathy ( Scotts mum ) & I also bought some leis for the wedding table; my mum ( Anne ) bought a Hawaiian suitcase as Qantas broke it on the way over; Ally bought a fabulous shell ring and a t-shirt. We then all jumped on the bus and made our way back to our hotel. When we got back we all met us again for dinner, it was an early night all round.
Monday morning, the day before the wedding. I think Scott & I were starting to realise what was about to happen tomorrow….eek!!! So we decided just to have a chilled out day at the beach. Ally & I sorted out the leis whilst taking in some rays then we had to drop them off at the Shorebird Restaurant where the reception was taking place. After some lunch, Mum & Kelly went off to do some
Sleeping Stukie
My Stu tries out the sleeping accomodations at Pearl Harbour. shopping whilst the rest of us went to the Tiki Bar for a quiet ale. Later on in the afternoon as we were wandering around, we bumped into Stuart & Tracy ( Scott’s friends from Ontario ) crossing a road, so we went back to the beach again, Ally & I stayed there and took photos whilst everyone else went to the Tiki Bar again for another quick drink. We made arrangements to all meet up again for dinner outside the International Market at 8pm and then we had dinner at another foodcourt. My little sis was not feeling too good so mum & her went home early, we were all not too far behind them. One last nights sleep as a boyfriend girlfriend unit....eek!
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Rob_n_Lorenza
Rob & Lorenza B
Bruce sure is a handsome guy! Keep having fun