The pavilion for our wedding reception is officially booked as of this evening. It kinda physically hurt me to pay $150 for a concrete slab with picnic tables and a roof, but I guess we get $50 of that back if we "leave the pavilion in the condition it was found in" and as long as our crazy wedding party (our parents) don't make some kind of scene or get drunk or crazy (nobody will be drinking). I shouldn't worry too much about the price, since this is literally the most we are paying for anything for our wedding, period end of story. The officiant of the wedding is doing the wedding for free, Levus' mom is a photographer (and has done weddings before) and will be our wedding photographer, and we don't need a permit to have a wedding at Bellows, just permission from the commander or something. The only other purchases we will have is our food for the reception and my flowers. My plan is to save a lot of money with food by purchasing local fruits and veggies for our wedding fiesta! I got pretty down about the wedding today (again) because I feel like I was being a Bridezilla (Levus insists that I was not) because I wanted to 'have it my way' about the location. I stopped and thought about it a little more and I really don't think where we get married or anything about our wedding will really matter in the end. As long as I get to marry the guy I will be the happiest little girl around! Levus kept trying to convince me that we will do anything I want to do, and I kept trying to convince him that our wedding didn't matter and I would be just as happy to marry him in a cardboard box. Really though, spending exorbitant amounts of money on anything, especially a one day event that is supposed to be about love and is now a highly commercialized industry. I'm sure many people that read this will disagree with me, and I don't have a problem with the big weddings and spending a lot of time and money on a special day where you commence your live together and show others your promise to one another; that's just not me.
While I was on the phone I tried to book a campsite at Bellows for the weekend of Christmas. It is on a Sunday this year and I had suggested that we should go camping then because we both love outdoors and that would be a great way to spend our vacation. I also figured that even though Christmas is my favorite holiday to celebrate because I like to be cheery and attend holiday gatherings, spread love, give gifts and decorate my home, I also get pretty fed up with people by the time Christmas rolls around. Getting "out of town" (not that there is such a thing on a tiny island like Oahu) might be a good vacation of the stress of holiday grouches and traffic. People always get so grouchy at stores around Christmas, and the traffic turns in to an even bigger mess! Anyway, when I attempted to reserve the day the woman replied in a very thick Hawaiian accent, "Oh, camping in rainy season, yah? That's not a very good idea, yah? Is very windy then and rainy, you'll be holding on to your tent the whole time, yah?" I kinda laughed and replied, "Yeah well... it was our first rainy season on the island and we weren't sure but we thought we wanted to get away." She convinced me not to book a reservation and also told me that if we change our mind they definitely WON'T be booking all of their campsites out in December (which is uncommon because EVERYTHING at Bellows seems to book quickly) so if we decide to go we can go ahead and pretty much just show up when we want to camp. We were a little bit disappointed about not being able to camp. I also asked her if there were any cabins available and she said they were all booked, but if I kept calling I could probably find something to open up between now and December. Levus isn't a big fan of Christmas and likes the idea of staying somewhere else, but I'm also concerned about the fact that we aren't sure where we will be living in December if we aren't approved for base housing yet. We only have the condo through the end of November.
What is your favorite Christmastime holiday activity? Does your family have a special holiday tradition?
The lady at Bellows is right - camping in a tent in December is probably going to be wet. And windy. Do keep calling back because a cabin may very well open up. You can also check on cabins/cottages down at White Plains. Greatlifehawaii.com should have info on that!
ReplyDeleteYou can't beat Costco for great fruits and veggies in large quantities. Their pineapple is usually perfect. You might have to hit the local grocery stores for mangoes or papaya. Or you can try the Farmers' Market at Kapiolani Community College on Saturdays for yummy fruits and veggies. Same for flowers.
The waves on the North Shore are usually cranking around Christmas time so we usually head up there if we can peel the kids away from their new toys. One year, I left the kids (big and small) at home and went up by myself for a bit just to enjoy the quiet after a crazy morning.
Then, for New Years' Eve, we go down to Honolulu Hale, check out the lights and wreaths and giant Mr. and Mrs. Claus after eating dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. It's been a tradition with some friends of ours for several years now. Then we'd go back to a friend's house and light off fireworks. But this was the last year to do that so I'm not sure what they'll do this year. I'm going to miss that - it's one of my favorite parts of the year.
You can also check out VRBO.com (vacation rental by owner) for places to stay. I've found some great places on there - on Oahu and other islands!