Cruising: Oasis of the Seas

At the end of August hubs and I took some time off from work and Lulu to for some much needed R&R. We did a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Royal Caribbean boat, Oasis of the Seas. Hubs is a huge fan of cruising while I usually run luke warm on the idea...mostly because I get sea sick pretty easily. Hubs was constantly reassuring me that since the Oasis of the Seas is the largest cruise ship out there that I would be fine, but true to me of course I doubted him. Turns out like most things, he was right. I made sure that I had my transderm-scop patch, but for the most part I couldn't even tell the boat was moving.

We left for Florida on a Friday night after a crazy busy day at work followed by a crazy evening of packing Lulu up and dropping her off at the dog-sitter and a frenzied/panicked packing session by the both of us. In retrospect that was incredibly poor planning which led to a lot of overpacking. NEVER.AGAIN.

The first stop on our cruise was the island of Nassau where we checked off one of my biggest bucket list items and swam with dolphins the Atlantis resort. Okay, we didn't exactly go swimming with the dolphins, but we did stand in the shallow area and play with the dolphins. Too bad they didn't let us take any pictures with our personal camera. Instead they charged a million dollars for their pictures, which means we didn't get any. Boo. While we were at Atlantis we got to go their water park and play. They have this really long lazy river with some spots with some "rapids" which was nice so that floating along didn't get too boring. We also rode this water slide that shoots you into a clear tube in one of their shark tanks. Lots of fun.

L to R: getting ready to play with the dolphins, hanging on to each others inner tubes as we float down the river like sea otters, floating through the shark tank

Our next stop was St. Thomas. We spent a little time shopping around in the downtown area which was heavily dominated by jewelry stores. We spent some time browsing the jewelry stores, but it wasn't really anything to write home about. We mostly stopped in them to get a brief reprieve from the outrageous heat. After about half an hour of window shopping we were over it and ready to head back to the boat.

The last stop on the cruise was St. Maarten, where we did a Sea Trek and I checked another item of my bucket list. At first it made me a little anxious because the helmet they put on you feels really heavy and as you go deeper and deeper into the ocean you have to continuously pop your ears due to the increased pressure. It feel really weird at first too since the water comes up just below the helmet and it's negative pressure that keeps the water out of your helmet. The tour guides help guide you along a little roped off pathway on the ocean floor. They even give you fish food so you can feed the fish...which seems really cool but is not so cool when it actually happens since the fish have sharp little teeth. I was really excited that we got to do this since I never thought I'd be able to see the fishies so close up since I'm such a weak swimmer.

All in all the cruise was a lot more fun than I had anticipated. Between all the different shows and the excursions we did there was still lots of time for lounging by the pool and napping in our room. I think we napped every single day we were on the cruise. It was so relaxing and I'm really glad that hubs planned this trip for us.

L to R: unlimited soda cups = best accessory on the boat, obligatory towel animal 

Spring Breakers: Hawaii (Part Deux)

Here we are folks! The final post in the Spring Breakers series. *WHEW* (Bet you guys didn't think I'd get through it all, huh?) Our last stop on our trip was back in Hawaii. We flew back to Hawaii from Japan so that we could have 2 precious days to spend catching up with some of my friends before we headed back home.Not to mention it really helped ease us back into pacific standard time.

We spent sometime catching up with some of my pharmacy school friends over milk teas at Taste Tea. The milk tea was just meh...but I may have a strong prejudice due to my nostalgic attachment to the tea place I frequented during pharmacy school. Regardless, it was great to have a chance to catch up with friends.

look at all that buttery, garlic-y goodness!

The next day we met up with one of my friends I used to ice skate with. We made our way to Haleiwa for the best garlic shrimp truck, Giovanni's. This place is always on our list of places we must go to while in Hawaii so I was glad we could check it off our list.

On our last night in Hawaii we had a spectacular dinner at Roy's in Waikiki with my friends from highschool and their sig others. The only thing that topped the delicious food and awesome service was the great company. We hadn't seen these friends since our wedding so there was so much to catch up on. We were so caught up in conversation that we didn't realize we were the last people there. You know you're having a good time when you shut a place down.

It's always great when we are lucky enough to meet up with friends from so many different stages in my life. I love catching up and seeing what's going on in their lives. But most of all I love that no matter how much time has passed since the last time we've seen eachother when we do finally get a chance to get together it's as if no time has passed at all.

That finally wraps up the Spring Breakers series. Thanks for bearing through all the long posts that have been far and few between. I promise I'll try to step up my blogging game.

Check out all the stops from the Spring Breakers series... Hawaii, Singapore, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara/Hakone, and Tokyo.

Spring Breakers: Tokyo

Oh boy! It's taken me soooo long to get through this vacation post that we're just about to get ready for our next trip. Blogger FAIL. Many apologizies and thanks for sticking around. Anyway...on with our last stop in Japan, Tokyo.

After spending the night in Hakone we took the looongest bus ride ever to Tokyo. On the way there we stopped by the Mt. Fuji visitor center in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mt. Fuji herself. Unfortunately it was a very gloomy and overcast morning so we didn't get to see her and all her glory. We also made a quick pit stop along the way to get some lunch at a rest stop. I wish the food at American rest stops was this good. YUMS!

By the time we finally made it to Tokyo we visited the Edo-Tokyo museum. They had all kinds of exibits about pre-war Tokyo. Everything was very interesting especially with our tour guides explanations of things as we walked through. One of the most amazing things there was seeing all of these intricate miniature models that were created to show what life was like back then. We also enjoyed learning how much work goes into making a traditional Japanese wood block print. So much so that we ended up buying a print for ourselves.

The next day we had a free day to spend wandering the different parts of Tokyo. Our tour guides provided us with a pre-loaded suika card so that we could get around on the JR trains and subways. At first we thought it would be relatively easy to navigate their subway system since hubs and I have used subways in other countries with ease. But the Japanese subway system proved to be a lot more complicated then we anticipated so we stuck to the JR trains instead.

As you'd probably expect, we spent our free day shopping in the many different districts of Tokyo. We started in Harajuku, but since it was a week day we missed out on seeing all the colorfully dressed teenagers roaming the streets. After shopping around Harajuku we moved on to Shibuya and then Akihabara. Lastly we made our way to the department store filled Ginza district.

On our last day our tour guide took us to Asakusa where we walked up and down the many streets lined with vendors selling yummy goods and cute knick knacks. After hubs and I shared our lunch of karaage chicken and yakisoba our guide recommended that we take a stroll the Sumida River while we waited for the other tour members to finish their shopping. We were so happy that she shared this insider tip with us as we strolled along the river lined with sakura trees in full bloom. Whenever the wind would blow we were showered with the delicate blossoms falling from the trees above. It was nothing short of magical.

With that, our tour of Japan came to a close and we flew back to Hawaii for the final leg of our epic vacation.

Missed out on the other parts of this series? Check it out our posts about Hawaii, Singapore, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Nara/Hakone.

Spring Breakers: Nara and Hakone

So sorry this vacation recap is taking me forever to finish up. Little Lulu has been quite the handful. As some of you may have seen via fb or instagram, hubs broke his leg in an attempt to avoid stepping on Lulu while he was running down the stairs. Chalk ER and doctor visit bills to the growing list of expenses she's costing us. It's a good thing she's so cute! Luckily it looks like she's doing a lot better with the potty training (knock on wood).

Anyway, when we last left off we were done with Kyoto and on our way to Nara. While in Nara we visited the famous Nara deer park. This place is so full of deer it's crazy - like everywhere you turn there's deer. They even sell special senbei for tourists to feed the deer. But take caution, these deer aren't the same as the docile deer we saw at Miyajima island. The deer in Nara are super pushy and agressive. As soon as you buy your senbei be prepared to be swarmed be deer pushing and shoving their way to the front. My mom even got a nip in the butt for ignoring the deer behind her. I was so amazed to see our tour guide bravely feed a deer a senbei from her own mouth! (Man I wish I'd taken a video of that). Either way it was still fun to get to feed the deer and pet them.

While at the deer park we visited Todai-ji, a buddhist temple known for housing the daibutsu, the largest bronze statue of Buddha. There is a supporting post inside the temple with a hole in it that's the same size as the statue's nostril. It's saod that if you're able to pass through you'll ne granted enlightenment in the next life. There was quite a line of people waiting to gain enlightenment so we watched in amusement as a large white guy struggled to get through with the help of some bystanders. And then a cute little girl who quickly and easily passed through right after. I guess enlightenment is grasped easier for children than adults...food for thought, huh?

After the deer park we took a bullet train to Mishima where we had 20 minutes to stuff ourselves silly with fresh strawberries we picked with our very own hands. Strawberries in Japan are absolutely on another level compared to strawberries here in the US. The strawberries are outrageously sweet and juicy. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

With our bellies full we made our way to Hakone. On the way to our hotel we stopped by the Hakone Sekisho Checkpoint. This was a checkpoint that travelers were required to stop through on their way to Tokyo during the Edo era. It was set up to mimic the what it would have looked like during that time.
We spent the night in Hakone and partook in traditional Japanese hot springs. It was very interesting how comfortable people in Japan are with walking around and hanging out together stark naked for such a modest country. Kind of reminds me of those times I've been in the locker rooms at the gym with the asian ladies that just walk around so casually with all their goods hanging out.

After our night in Hakone we headed to our last stop in Japan, Tokyo.

Already forgot all the other stuff we did during our epic spring break vacay? Check out our posts on Hawaii, Singapore, Hiroshima, and Kyoto.

Care Package Love

This afternoon while hubs and I were snuggling with Lulu watching a DVD we had a special delivery...or shall I say Lulu had a special delivery.

My parents sent a package full of goodies for Lulu. My mom even made a special little card to welcome the newest member of our family. What a spoiled little fur-baby we have.

*Le sigh* I remember when we were the ones who got the care packages. LOL.

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to wish all the mommies out there a most wonderful mother's day. You're all in charge of one of the most important jobs in the world.

Unfortunately I'm not able to celebrate with my mom due to the expansive ocean between us. But my thoughts and love are with her. Raising me, especially through my terrible teens, cannot have been an easy feat. Nonetheless, she has always been there to support me through it all. And I am lucky to have had such an amazing mom who let me be myself and make my own mistakes while gently guiding me down the right path in life. Now that I'm officially an adult and out on my own we have grown to be great friends. My life wouldn't be what it is today without her.  I am forever grateful.

So cheers to all you mothers out there. I hope to one day be inducted into your elite group and hope to be even half the mother my mom is to me.

Spring Breakers: Kyoto

Sorry for the delay in posting the next in the Spring Breakers series. We've had our hands full here with the newest addition to our family. Let's just say it's been less than a month since we brought Lulu home and we've gone through almost 2 whole bottles of Natures Miracle: Stain and Odor Remover (aka: best investment when bringing home a new puppy). Not to mention the fact that after the first week we spent over $100 and have yet to find a pen that can keep her contained while we're away at work.

After taking the bullet train to Kyoto we met up with our JTB tour group from Hawaii. We had a pretty small group of just barely 15 people including us and my parents which was nice since we got to know each other and get pretty chummy over the duration of the trip.

Our first stop in Kyoto was Kinkaku-ji, the 3 story pavillion that's covered with gold leafing. It was so pretty with the calm lake reflecting the golden pavillion. The gardens there are so beautiful and imaculately taken care of. There's even a very old tree that's pruned to perfection to look like a boat. It actually used to be a bonsai tree at one point.

top row: beautiful kimonos at Nishijin textile factory
bottom row L to R: what we started with, our finished products (hub's on the left and mine on the right)

Next we visited Nishijin textile factory where they make some fo the finest silk kimonos in Kyoto. While we were there we got to see a fashion show with some of the different kimonos they make. Then we tried our hand at making traditional Japanese sweets. We cut and roll out our mochi before filling them with different flavored sweet beans. It was a lot harder to do then I had anticipated, but it was a lot of fun to see the outcomes of everyone's efforts.

We then headed to Kiyomizu-dera which is a buddhist temple known for their huge veranda with a panoramic view of the area. At one time people used to jump off the veranda, and it was said that if you survived the fall you'd be blessed. Also located at this temple are three fountains that you can drink from. They say that depending on which fountain you choose to drink from you'll be granted health, longevity, or sucess. Unfortunately the line was pretty long so we didn't get a chance to take a sip...boo.

L to R: sakura tree in full bloom on Sannen Zaka, Inoda's ice coffee

Near the temple is the famous shopping street, Sannen Zaka. They had all kinds of delightful candy and sweets shops and stores selling all kinds of nicknacks. While we were there I stopped by the popular coffee shop, Inoda Coffee Co. for a super yummy ice coffee that was as strong and sweet as Vietnamese ice coffee. I wish we had more time to spend there, it looked like they had a nice restaurant area over looking a beautiful garden.

L to R: beautiful cherry blossom tree in the rock garden, reflecting pond, bamboo grove

Later that night we went to Kodai-ji, which is a buddhist temple that stays open after dark during spring. They illuminate several different area throughout the temple and the scenery is nothing short of breathtaking. Our photos don't even come close to doing the scene justice. It was absolutely awe inspiring.

The next day our tour guide surprised us with an impromptu stop at Fushimi Inari-taisha. Remember that scene in Memoirs of a Geisha where the little girl is running through hundreds of torii gates? (Yeah,  me neither. We had to promptly rewatch that movie when we got home). That's what this shrine is famous for...hundreds upon hundreds of torii gates all lined up through the mountains. We only had time to go through the first set, but it was enough to get a taste and snap some great pictures.

counterclockwise from the top: sake barrels, Kyoto water perfect for making sake,
cheers for free sake tasting

From there, we headed to a sake brewery. The guide told us that Kyoto was known for their good water, which is it was an ideal location for making sake. We even got to taste 3 different types of sake. Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm not much of a drinker so I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the sake.

Then we were off to Nara and Hakone. I'll save those details for another post.

Missed out on the earlier Spring Breakers posts? Check out our stops in Hawaii, Singapore, and Hiroshima