Strangers In Paradise

Wednesday greeted us with a beautiful sunrise. Nicole and I woke up and vocalized and worked on music. I made a trip to the store to pick up some more cooking supplies for a cake that Nicole is baking for Uncle Ned's birthday. While there, I walked over to the Starbucks. Now, I know what you all are thinking, "Adam, at STARBUCKS?" I go there for one very specific drink, and it is one that Starbucks doesn't have on the mainland, not to mention that there are no Peets' or good independent roasteries in the immediate vicinity of the supermarket. The drink I get is a Thai esspresso Latte, and it is basically a latte with a little condensed milk, which helps to mask Starbucks burnt espresso beans. Anyway, shortly after I made it back, we headed over the Pali to the Hilton Resort to pick up my good friend Ian's fiancee Lisa and her friend Karen. Lisa had scheduled this little vacation before Ian proposed to her, but since they are planning on getting married here on Oahu, it has morphed into a fact-finding mission. We took them back over to the Windward side of the island and showed them a potential wedding site, the Aloha Ke Akua Fishpond just a short drive (or walk) from the Takesono's house. It features a cute chapel and a view of "Chinaman's Hat" or "Mokilii" (the Little Lizard).
Lisa loved the site and decided it would be the perfect place to get married. We picked up some Vietnamese sandwiches at Ba Le in Kaneohe and headed back over to the Leeward side of the island. After dropping of Karen back at the hotel, we took Lisa over to check out the Hau Tree Lanai at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. We then dropped off Lisa for her pedicure appointment and we drove back over to Kamaina's, parked the car and walked the 3 plus miles around the base of Diamond Head Crater. That took us about an hour, and then we plunged strait into the water at Kaimana's. After soaking up some rays, we went back to Lisa and Karen's hotel room and got ready for dinner at The Willows. After a nice dinner we dropped the ladies off at their hotel and said our goodbyes. Nicole and I headed over the Pali and it was off to bed.