Day Five: Chillin

Thursday turned into our "chill out" day. La was feeling even worse than yesterday. Our day started out with a Hilton Grand Vacations sales pitch (b/c the "free gift" saved us couple hundred bucks on excursions). Our salesperson ended up being really nice and the meeting was much more tolerable than we anticipated. After that we grabbed a bite to eat and headed up to a pool on the resort. It was really nice but we didn't last long due to sprinkling rain and Lauren feeling badly. After laying around (Chip slept) for the latter half of the afternoon we wandered around the Kings Shops. All-in-all Thursday was slow and lazy, which was nice.

Day Four: Beach 69 and Luau

Wednesday we slept in a little and hung around the condo relaxing. Once we finally got going we packed up the Jeep and headed toward Beach 69 (which was highly recommended by numerous locals). The beach was absolutely gorgeous and could not have been more perfect. The water was crystal clear, fish were everywhere, and we had our own stretch of sand. Unfortunately Lauren started to feel a little sick so we went back to the resort and picked up some meds then laid by the pool. Later that night we went to a Luau put on by the Marriot Waikoloa Beach Resort. The set up was a little "Disney-land-ic" but the food was good and the dancing was entertaining. Once again however, Lauren's throat began to hurt so we left and were in bed before 10. Overall it was a very good day and we found a new favorite beach.

Day Three, Part Two: Dinner at KPC

Tuesday night we ate dinner at Kamuela Provision Company on the Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort. The restaurant was recommended by mom and dad Klas and we also happened to meet the Executive Chef Charles at the airport in Kona. He set us up with a table on the water, some free appetizers, and two glasses of champagne. Our waiter, Chi, then hooked us up with two free deserts. All the perks made this $36 a plate restaurant much more feasible and worth the price. We had the best seat in the house and were able to enjoy the sun set over the Pacific.

Day Three, Part One: Waipio Valley

Day Three started at 6:30 AM... We woke up, debated a little about the proper attire, and then headed out the door for a 1.5 hour drive for a horseback ride through Waipio Valley. Once we arrived at Na'alapa Stables , we hopped into a Shuttle van with our tour gude, Keoni, to travel a mile down the road (did I mention it was a 1,000 feet drop?). Once down in the valley, we were assigned horses: Lauren was given Sunny, a sweet blonde, yet sometimes moody, horse; and Chip was given Big Black, a tall, dark, and handsome steed (seems like they matched us pretty well, huh?) ... then we were off to the trails. After 1.5 hours of sightseeing and trekking through the valley, we went to Jolene's Kau Kau Korner in the town of Honokaa. We also picked up a sweet new collar for Capers to add to her already robust collection (don't tell her, we want it to be a surprise). A picture of her sporting her new apparel will be uploaded upon our return to the mainland.

Day Two: Relax, Adjust, Get Sunburnt

Monday we woke up around 9 AM fully rested and ready to begin our week on the Big Island. We ate breakfast at the King's Club overlooking one of two golf courses on our resort. We then went to "A bay" just off the resort which allowed us to truly appreciate the beauty of the island. The near private beach had great snorkeling, awesome views, and the weather could not have been better. We saw a number of fish including the state fish of Hawai'i the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (pictured below). Our final event of the afternoon was falling asleep by the pool near our condo (Chip had his back toward the sun and got burned). We then went to the grocery store and cooked dinner in our unit before falling asleep so we could get up early for our Horseback ride Tuesday.

Day One: Arrival / Check-In

We arrived at the Kona, HI airport at 4:30 Sunday afternoon (10:30 ET). We picked up our rental car (Jeep Wrangler) and then went to the resort for check-in. After going to the wrong place we eventual found our resort and were able to get in and settled. Our suite is awesome and will be a great home away from home when we aren't in the water this week. After getting settled we went out for dinner and crashed (we'd been awake for 24 stright hours).

Wedding Weekend Wrap

After a four year relationship, we tied the knot on July 23, 2010. Thanks to our amazing family and friends, we had the best weekend of our lives.

As Chip's sister cleverly stated, "Lauren's 'Hunt' for love has finally ended, and a little 'Klas' has come to the Hunt family."

To brief you all on the weekend, the festivities began Thursday morning for both of us. Chip and the guys enjoyed a Captain's Choice golf tournament, while Lauren and the girls spent brunch at Mary's Cottage in downtown Greenville. Thursday afternoon everyone came together for a chaotic rehearsal at St. Mary Magdelene Church (we won't point any fingers) followed by a lovely rehearsal dinner at Trio Cafe. Dinner was accompanied with toasts, tears, laughs, and an amazing slideshow put together by Uncle Jay and Aunt Jen. Following that we decided it would be a good idea to get some 'Tiger in the Tank' (can be dangerous). Lauren's better judgement led her back to the hotel after only one drink. However, Kristin decided that meant those of us remaining should take shots of Tequila. I won't elaborate on how that went but Kristin and Jay will be glad to fill you in. Friday (wedding day!) began with a pool party and lunch for the guys while the girls were pampered and beautified. The wedding ceremony was beautiful (thanks Father Theo) and went smoothly (for 90 minutes...). The bridal party and our parents then loaded up on the trolley and headed to the Westin Poinsett for the reception. Once the reception began it went by in a blur, but everything was beautiful and everything we could have hoped for. We hope everyone had a great time and made use of the open bar.

Saturday we stopped by to see both families before packing for our honeymoon. A short rest later we awoke (4 am) and were on our way to the Big Island of Hawaii.

Thanks again to all that participated and supported us on our special day. We know many people traveled a long way to be there for us, and we can't thank you enough. A special thanks to our parents for making it possible, and to our bridal party for being so awesome throughout it all! We love you all so much!