August 14, 2012

Vacation Dreaming & A Call for Suggestions! ~ Chicago Wedding Photographer

day to day - personal

Last year we were so busy panicking that we wouldn’t have enough money to make it through our first off-season that we made sure not to spend any money beyond our budget, and as such, spent our off-season hanging out at home and getting creative for date nights when we weren’t working. This year, now that we’re realizing how truly busy and exhausting a full-time wedding season really is – we have decided we are 100% making sure we take advantage of next off-season and get our butts onto a beautiful beach somewhere as soon as the new year rolls around!!

We haven’t gone on a vacation together just the two of us since our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta 3 years ago, so we figure it is high time we take a vacation! We’ve been brainstorming ideas for the past month or so… coming up with quite a few locations we’d like to hit up (Switzerland, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and many more). After butting heads for a while trying to figure out somewhere we could agree upon – it seems we may have finally settled on heading to Hawaii with a day or two layover in San Francisco to hit up a few places we didn’t get to when we were there a couple years ago for my cousin’s wedding (and to take a break from an otherwise very long flight).

This is all in the super early “dreaming” stages… but I figure if I put it out into the universe – then you all will hold me accountable for making sure we do it, yes?! We have a lot of research to do about all of it (not to mention a LOT of money to save)… but I’m seriously getting really excited about the prospect of a real vacation away together for the first time in much too long!

So – those of you that have been to Hawaii – do you have any recommendations? We’re leaning towards going to Kauai and just exploring/vegging out the whole time, but I don’t know if that makes sense or not because we really know NOTHING about what there is to do anywhere, other than that Kauai is a very lush/natural part of the islands (right?).

Anyway – let me know if you’ve been and what tips you have for us… where we should go… what we should do!! And if you have any vacation suggestions for non-Hawaii destinations – let us know those as well! We’re totally making a list and going to do our best to hit up a new place each off-season!!!

 

And because I can’t leave a post without a photo – here is a pic of us from our last solo vacation together – on our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta!:)

 

 

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August 14, 2012 - 11:38 am

Lane Baldwin - Hi Christy! I love your blog and your work. :) My husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, and absolutely loved Kauai! We stayed at the Koa Kea (totally worth the splurge … amazing breakfasts!), went zip lining, went on a boat excursion and otherwise just RELAXED. The North Shore on Oahu is also great. You get away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki but still get to experience Oahu. Good luck planning and have so much fun! :)

August 14, 2012 - 1:16 pm

Leah Laurent - You guys can stay at our apartment in Zihua whenever you like! All we need is 2 weeks notice so we can connect the boiler (hot water is nice on vacation, believe it or not) and let my mom in law know so she can start cooking!

August 14, 2012 - 1:30 pm

Ted - Christy,

While the flights will be pricey, especially for two, I definitely recommend going to SE Asia! The food and living expenses is suuper cheap! Full course meal in Vietnam in US dollars? roughly $5. If you like beer, you can practically have 10 beers (whether they are good or not….) for $3 Hotels, are relative to US though.

August 14, 2012 - 1:40 pm

Emilia Jane - You two are so gorgeous!! Anywhere you go will be so wonderful and totally worth it. I’m so glad you’re going to get outta dodge for a break :-D

August 14, 2012 - 1:50 pm

Katie Jane - John and I went to Maui and Lanai, and loved them both. We really want to go back and hit the Big Island and Oahu next – since it’s so easy to bounce from island to island, you could probably go to Kauai and another island depending on how much time you have. (Although if you’re stopping in San Francisco, you may just want to stay put when you get to Hawaii.) We stayed at the Westin Villas on Maui – which is less expensive than the main Westin hotel – and ended up getting a great deal, which included breakfast and our rental car. Definitely go on a snorkeling trip in Hawaii – it was, by far, our favorite thing we did. Eat Hawaiian shave! Go ziplining – which we couldn’t do but I still want to. John was too tall! They wouldn’t let him do it. If you make it to Maui, the Road to Hana was amazing/terrifying. Can’t wait to see where you end up going! Y’all definitely deserve a break!

August 14, 2012 - 1:55 pm

Sara - I vote for Hanalei Bay in Kauai! We stayed at the Surfboard House and it was amazing. Hanalei Bay is where lots of The Descendants was filmed, so you can watch that for inspiration. I have San Francisco ideas, too :)

August 14, 2012 - 2:05 pm

Tabitha - Christy – One way friends of mine have gotten to see Hawaii more affordably is to stay on a cruise ship at night and do outings during the day to the islands. They said you can save a lot of money boarding on a boat than on the islands. Just thought I’d offer that little tip

August 14, 2012 - 2:28 pm

Lauren Wakefield - This is just great. You guys deserve a vacay. Gary has lots of suggestions for Hawaii. I’ll make sure he comments. And..I love your shout out to the universe. :)

August 14, 2012 - 2:35 pm

Ann Oleinik - OMG, Christy, you have to go to Kauai. I can’t even put into words how it feels to be there, but it is simply magical. I’ve been twice, and it is simply my favorite place on earth. The north shore is a lush paradise – go surfing in Hanalei Bay, Explore the Napali Coast, and definitely save up for a helicopter tour of the island. It’s worth every penny.

August 14, 2012 - 2:41 pm

Elissa - You definitely deserve some R&R! Hawaii is gorgeous, and honestly, I think you could probably be happy just hanging out on that gorgeous beach all day :)

August 14, 2012 - 3:37 pm

Gary Truelock - I have not been to Kauai but I have been to Maui. It was a spectacular trip. I don’t think you can go wrong with any island you pick. But I can only speak to Maui. The beaches are amazing. The food is amazing. Mama’s Fish House is still the best seafood restaurant I have ever been too. You can do everything or nothing. You can always visit other islands while you are there. Not sure of the cost for that. I do know this, wherever you go in Hawaii, you are going to have a fantastic time.

August 14, 2012 - 4:00 pm

Lauren (PB&G) - I’ve never been to Hawaii, but if I ever do get there, I absolutely have go to the volcano park. That and I NEED to see the waterfall that was in Jurassic Park.

August 14, 2012 - 4:45 pm

Amanda Miller - I did a Hawaiian cruise to a few islands and it was amazing, but I really think for ultimate relaxation picking one main place is the way to go! Go zip lining! Some of the best zip lining I have ever done was in Hawaii!

August 14, 2012 - 4:47 pm

Lana - We went to the Big Island and Oahu, and I’m not exactly a beach person, so keep that in mind. Our favorite part by far was spending a day hiking in the volcano park. Second favorite, driving around Oahu (which you can do in a few hours). Beautiful views, let me tell you. And snorkeling?! That scared the shit out of me. Fish. Ew. One of them swam straight at me, I swear. I freaked out and went straight for shore. They can smell fear. Oh, an LA! You should visit LA!

August 14, 2012 - 11:34 pm

Megan - If you’re planning for this to be a once in a lifetime trip, I definitely recommend going to Oahu for 2-3 days so you can see Pearl Harbor. Diamond Head Crater is also cool, and it costs $1 to climb. $1! We also went to Maui and loved it. We stayed on Kaanapaali Beach, which was a great beach and also offered opportunities for excursions. Oh, and eat pineapple upside down cake while you’re there!!

August 15, 2012 - 3:15 am

LeolaK - So awesome! I haven’t been to Hawaii but it’s definitely on my list. To add to your list…BARCELONA!!! I can’t wait till I can go back there…simply gorgeous..scenery..all of it…and YUMMY/GREAT food!

August 16, 2012 - 5:18 pm

Margaret - Layover in SF – YES! Would love to see you if you do that :) We are planning a trip to Hawaii next year, so we will have to compare notes. Good luck vacation planning!!

August 17, 2012 - 5:35 pm

Jenissa - Hawaii is BEAUTIFUL. We went to Maui and loved it. I would go back in a heartbeat if it wasn’t such a long flight (time zones) and expensive to get there. We biked down Haleakala, everything was gorgeous. I have heard good things about Kauai as well. If we went back and had more time I would love to see Pearl Harbor. Make sure you allow enjoy time to enjoy it all as it takes a day on both ends to recover jet lag in my opinion. San Fran is a great stop though too….we had our layover there but didn’t leave the airport that trip. Enjoy and happy planning!

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