Well, well....where do I begin???First of all, our vacation to Hawaii (despite everything you have heard or will read below) was AMAZING. It was the best trip that I have ever been on. We had a great time and I will remember it forever!!! The trip started off on an "adventurous" note. We were flying direct to Honolulu from Chicago. So, after we ate our meal, I popped two Tylenol PM, had a glass of wine and said "See you in Honolulu" to Kevin. Somewhere over Colorado, Kevin is hitting me saying, "Gina...Gina...get up." All I heard the pilot say was something about Los Angeles. So, I said to Kevin, "We're over Los Angeles, so what...why did you wake me up for that?" Kevin goes, "We are not 'over' Los Angeles...we are landing in Los Angeles." Um...what? It turns out that we had a major water leak on board. They didn't think it was a problem, but it's hard to tell what the water has gotten into and he didn't want to get over the ocean for 5 hours and then have a problem. So, we were going to land and have the maintenance crew fix it or get us a new plane. Fine, whatever. Well, it wasn't that easy. We had enough fuel on board to make it Honolulu....so we were landing with 5 extra hours of fuel on board. The pilot said that, as a precaution, the fire department would be meeting our flight. ..so, we should not be alarmed. Sure enough, as we landed, the entire runway was filled with fire equipment and foam trucks. We were fine and they were able to fix the leak in 2 hours. Also, we got to see the California wildfires when we landed.
From Honolulu, we took the small plane over to Lanai. Once we got to the hotel room, we were in for our first of many surprises. Because Kevin was a "two time winner" he was given a suite at the Four Seasons. Holy crap...it was huge and totally amazing!!! I will post pictures on our Kodak site and paste the link here when I get them ready. They also had a bottle of wine in the room with a really nice note saying congratulations on his big win and on the birth of Charlotte. We arrived on Saturday night and our first event wasn't until Monday night, so we had some time to relax and get settled in. Some good friends of ours, Chris and Kathy, were on vacation in Maui..so, they took the ferry over to Lanai on Sunday and spent the day with us.
During the day on Monday, we had to check in at the Cisco Hospitality desk and confirm all our activities. Most importantly, we needed to make dinner reservations for Tuesday night, the night they call the "dine around." You can go to any restaurant at the resort at Manele Bay or you can go up to the other Four Seasons resort, The Lodge and dine there. We were excited to do this because Wednesday was our wedding anniversary, so this could be our dinner. Well, when we checked in at the desk, we were told..."You don't need to make dinner reservations for Tuesday night...John Chambers (the CEO of Cisco) and his wife have invited you to dine with them. Kevin and the other two "two time winners" and their guests were all going to be eating with him. What a great surprise..and totally nerve-wracking at the same time! We were very excited. Then, Kevin went over to the golf desk to confirm his tee times when he discovered his next surprise, he would be golfing 9 holes with John Chambers on Wednesday! Wow...
Monday night, we had our first event..a luau where we got to mingle and meet everyone. They had a buffet of Hawaiian food set up for us. It was a really nice event and it was a beautiful night. I got to meet the other people from Chicago, which was great because we got to hang out all week.
And....then, Tuesday came along. Kevin was golfing and I had a spa appointment (both sponsored events). After my appointment, I went back to our room that overlooked the pool. I went out on the balcony and noticed everyone kind of looking up at the sky and pointing. I saw a huge cloud that I thought was a storm cloud. I figured I better get down to the pool and get a few minutes of sun before this storm came in. I wanted to have a little bit of a tan for our big dinner! I grabbed my beach bag and threw a cover up over my bathing suit and headed down to the pool. At the pool, I was told that the cloud was actually from a brushfire on the island. They said, "It looks much worse than it is." So, I found a chair and started working on my tan. The wind that day was incredible...everything was blowing away. Not 30 minutes later...the fire alarms were going off and the staff was informing us that the hotel was being evacuated and we were to head down to the beach. On the way to the beach, I kept calling Kevin...I called him 6 times to no avail. I assumed that in accordance with proper golf etiquette, he had turned off his cell phone. What I didn't know was that the fire department had gone to the golf course and started evacuating them too. I finally
got in touch with Kevin and told him that the hotel was evacuated and to meet me on the beach. No one on the shuttle knew that the hotel had been evacuated. This is when the mass confusion started. All of the 200 Cisco employees and guests were on the beach along with the Four Seasons staff awaiting further instruction. The staff was great, they got us water and a few snacks. I only had breakfast that day and we were well past lunchtime. Kevin had a cookie from his lunch at the golf course that he let me have...what a gentleman. After a few hours, we were informed that the fire was spreading rapidly because of the wind. It had already jumped two roads and was headed straight for the hotel. There were rumors that we were going to be evacuated to Maui on boats. This is when my planning mode kicked in. I had a beach bag with a few random things and a bathing suit on. I thought..."What can I not get on Maui that I need right away." My medication... A senior VP was telling us an update when I asked him if we would be allowed to go back for necessary medication.. He asked if I needed it right them and I said, no..but I will need it if we get evacuated to Maui. Sure enough, not 10 minutes later, the fire department and Cisco made the decision to evacuate us. That same VP found me and brought me to a hotel employee who went back to our room to get it for me. Others did not think to do the same thing, so I was glad I at least had that...everything else we could figure out. We figured at this point, the hotel was doomed. We figured all of our belongings were gone. All of it was replaceable, we were safe and that was all that mattered. I felt bad for those people who didn't have their id's or passports with them. 100 of the 200 employees were from other countries and were worried about getting back home without their passports. We were put onto shuttles and taken to the harbor to board boats. Because we were waiting for the employee to get back with my medication, we were on one of the last shuttles and, in turn, one of the last boats. Boats were already gone on the way to Maui when we boarded our boat. As we were about to leave, the CEO informed us that the fire department said the wind shifted and they were confident they could defend the hotel. They let us off the boats and recalled the other boats that had already left. We went back to the hotel and...Cisco's hospitable nature kicked in and they opened two bars in the lobby for us. We weren't allowed to go back to our rooms yet. I'm not sure it was the best idea to provide alcohol to people who had not eaten in hours, had been out in the sun and who may possibly need to evacuate again, but what do I know. I opted for Diet Coke instead. We were allowed to go back to our rooms and we were thrilled. Needless to say, our dinner was canceled...so we were disappointed, but what can you do?? They set up an impromptu buffet for us to eat and we ended up having a fun time that night despite the day.
On Wednesday, Kevin golfed his 9 holes with the CEO. He had a great time and I was so proud of him! What a rare opportunity! That night, we had the recognition dinner. It was cocktail attire so we were all dressed up. There was "special entertainment" that night that they were trying to keep a secret. Well, it's a small island and if they wanted to keep it a secret, they should have told Jewel to stay off the beach. So, we ate dinner and Jewel played for us. It was a really nice night.
Thursday was our "Concert Under the Stars" at the Manele Golf Course. Kevin and I had found out the night before that the band was the Goo Goo Dolls and we were sworn to secrecy. It got out anyway...but I am proud to say we didn't say a word. People heard them doing their sound check. After breakfast, Kevin and I went back to the room and we saw a letter to us under the door. Another surprise...Kevin and I and the other two time winners were invited to a special meet and great with the band backstage before the show. We got to meet the Goo Goo Dolls and get our pictures taken with them. If anyone k
nows Kevin, you know there couldn't be a better surprise then getting to meet a band backstage! The concert was amazing. They had lounge chairs set up and little candlelight tables for every couple. They gave you picnic baskets that contained our dinners and we were allowed to select a bottle of wine to share. It was stunning...I have pictures that you can see...I can't fully describe it.
All in all, it was a once in a lifetime trip that we will never forget!!!
On another note...Charlotte had a great time visiting with her grandparents. Every time we called, she was laughing and screeching in the background. We were soooo glad to see her on Sunday. I don't think I let her go for hours after I finally got to hold her again. She just smiled at both Kevin and I... I was glad to get away, but I was even happier to come home to her!
Today, Charlotte had her 6 month doctors appointment. She weighed 16 lbs and 12 oz. She was 27 inches long. She was in perfect health...just a little eczema. She did have to get 3 shots and she let us know that she didn't like that one bit. She cried and cried. But she is doing much better now!
Sorry for the long post, but it has been a week! Happy Thanksgiving everyone...travel safe!!!!
During the day on Monday, we had to check in at the Cisco Hospitality desk and confirm all our activities. Most importantly, we needed to make dinner reservations for Tuesday night, the night they call the "dine around." You can go to any restaurant at the resort at Manele Bay or you can go up to the other Four Seasons resort, The Lodge and dine there. We were excited to do this because Wednesday was our wedding anniversary, so this could be our dinner. Well, when we checked in at the desk, we were told..."You don't need to make dinner reservations for Tuesday night...John Chambers (the CEO of Cisco) and his wife have invited you to dine with them. Kevin and the other two "two time winners" and their guests were all going to be eating with him. What a great surprise..and totally nerve-wracking at the same time! We were very excited. Then, Kevin went over to the golf desk to confirm his tee times when he discovered his next surprise, he would be golfing 9 holes with John Chambers on Wednesday! Wow...
Monday night, we had our first event..a luau where we got to mingle and meet everyone. They had a buffet of Hawaiian food set up for us. It was a really nice event and it was a beautiful night. I got to meet the other people from Chicago, which was great because we got to hang out all week.And....then, Tuesday came along. Kevin was golfing and I had a spa appointment (both sponsored events). After my appointment, I went back to our room that overlooked the pool. I went out on the balcony and noticed everyone kind of looking up at the sky and pointing. I saw a huge cloud that I thought was a storm cloud. I figured I better get down to the pool and get a few minutes of sun before this storm came in. I wanted to have a little bit of a tan for our big dinner! I grabbed my beach bag and threw a cover up over my bathing suit and headed down to the pool. At the pool, I was told that the cloud was actually from a brushfire on the island. They said, "It looks much worse than it is." So, I found a chair and started working on my tan. The wind that day was incredible...everything was blowing away. Not 30 minutes later...the fire alarms were going off and the staff was informing us that the hotel was being evacuated and we were to head down to the beach. On the way to the beach, I kept calling Kevin...I called him 6 times to no avail. I assumed that in accordance with proper golf etiquette, he had turned off his cell phone. What I didn't know was that the fire department had gone to the golf course and started evacuating them too. I finally
got in touch with Kevin and told him that the hotel was evacuated and to meet me on the beach. No one on the shuttle knew that the hotel had been evacuated. This is when the mass confusion started. All of the 200 Cisco employees and guests were on the beach along with the Four Seasons staff awaiting further instruction. The staff was great, they got us water and a few snacks. I only had breakfast that day and we were well past lunchtime. Kevin had a cookie from his lunch at the golf course that he let me have...what a gentleman. After a few hours, we were informed that the fire was spreading rapidly because of the wind. It had already jumped two roads and was headed straight for the hotel. There were rumors that we were going to be evacuated to Maui on boats. This is when my planning mode kicked in. I had a beach bag with a few random things and a bathing suit on. I thought..."What can I not get on Maui that I need right away." My medication... A senior VP was telling us an update when I asked him if we would be allowed to go back for necessary medication.. He asked if I needed it right them and I said, no..but I will need it if we get evacuated to Maui. Sure enough, not 10 minutes later, the fire department and Cisco made the decision to evacuate us. That same VP found me and brought me to a hotel employee who went back to our room to get it for me. Others did not think to do the same thing, so I was glad I at least had that...everything else we could figure out. We figured at this point, the hotel was doomed. We figured all of our belongings were gone. All of it was replaceable, we were safe and that was all that mattered. I felt bad for those people who didn't have their id's or passports with them. 100 of the 200 employees were from other countries and were worried about getting back home without their passports. We were put onto shuttles and taken to the harbor to board boats. Because we were waiting for the employee to get back with my medication, we were on one of the last shuttles and, in turn, one of the last boats. Boats were already gone on the way to Maui when we boarded our boat. As we were about to leave, the CEO informed us that the fire department said the wind shifted and they were confident they could defend the hotel. They let us off the boats and recalled the other boats that had already left. We went back to the hotel and...Cisco's hospitable nature kicked in and they opened two bars in the lobby for us. We weren't allowed to go back to our rooms yet. I'm not sure it was the best idea to provide alcohol to people who had not eaten in hours, had been out in the sun and who may possibly need to evacuate again, but what do I know. I opted for Diet Coke instead. We were allowed to go back to our rooms and we were thrilled. Needless to say, our dinner was canceled...so we were disappointed, but what can you do?? They set up an impromptu buffet for us to eat and we ended up having a fun time that night despite the day.On Wednesday, Kevin golfed his 9 holes with the CEO. He had a great time and I was so proud of him! What a rare opportunity! That night, we had the recognition dinner. It was cocktail attire so we were all dressed up. There was "special entertainment" that night that they were trying to keep a secret. Well, it's a small island and if they wanted to keep it a secret, they should have told Jewel to stay off the beach. So, we ate dinner and Jewel played for us. It was a really nice night.
Thursday was our "Concert Under the Stars" at the Manele Golf Course. Kevin and I had found out the night before that the band was the Goo Goo Dolls and we were sworn to secrecy. It got out anyway...but I am proud to say we didn't say a word. People heard them doing their sound check. After breakfast, Kevin and I went back to the room and we saw a letter to us under the door. Another surprise...Kevin and I and the other two time winners were invited to a special meet and great with the band backstage before the show. We got to meet the Goo Goo Dolls and get our pictures taken with them. If anyone k
nows Kevin, you know there couldn't be a better surprise then getting to meet a band backstage! The concert was amazing. They had lounge chairs set up and little candlelight tables for every couple. They gave you picnic baskets that contained our dinners and we were allowed to select a bottle of wine to share. It was stunning...I have pictures that you can see...I can't fully describe it.All in all, it was a once in a lifetime trip that we will never forget!!!
On another note...Charlotte had a great time visiting with her grandparents. Every time we called, she was laughing and screeching in the background. We were soooo glad to see her on Sunday. I don't think I let her go for hours after I finally got to hold her again. She just smiled at both Kevin and I... I was glad to get away, but I was even happier to come home to her!
Today, Charlotte had her 6 month doctors appointment. She weighed 16 lbs and 12 oz. She was 27 inches long. She was in perfect health...just a little eczema. She did have to get 3 shots and she let us know that she didn't like that one bit. She cried and cried. But she is doing much better now!
Sorry for the long post, but it has been a week! Happy Thanksgiving everyone...travel safe!!!!
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