Zipping around Moorea, Tahiti

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Written from Hawkes Bay, NZ

don't touch me

We’re 7,000 miles from home now, which means we have crossed the international date line, which translates to we are now a day ahead, which results in np and I losing our hotel lodging.  We sort of forgot this small fact.  We booked our hotel in Auckland, New Zealand for Wednesday night since we were leaving Tahiti early Wednesday morning and arrived to our hotel, realizing it was now Thursday and our reservation was for the night before.  Oops.  No refunds were given, but they still had room for us.  Ok!  Np frowns and I laugh.   It was sad leaving French Polynesia until we got on the plane earlier this morning.  It was probably 80 degrees outside but inside the plane it was easily over 90.  They were having problems with the air conditioning and could not turn it on until the plane was boarded and ready to leave.  Being punctual as we are, ahem, as Np is, we were seated way too early and sat in 95 degree heat on that plane for at least 45 minutes with no air.    Everyone was wet with sweat and we were not happy campers.  This was the first time I have said to my now husband, “don’t touch me.”  I think we’re doing good so far.

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Written from Auckland, NZ

Day 6

El Diablo.  From our bungalow deck there is a ladder that goes about 3 feet down into the water that you can climb on to get in and out of the water. Around this ladder lives a little black fish that guards the ladder viciously.  He patrols the ladder all day long and if he catches you lingering he gives your ankle the kiss of death. Okay, that’s extreme, but he got it Melissa first and I thought she was a little dramatic when she screamed. However, the next time I went down the ladder and lingered too long (about 3 seconds) I became his next victim.  We both have a circular cut in the perfect shape of his mouth that was sort of numb at first, but stung after a few minutes.  So here I am a grown man paranoid and practically running up this ladder every time I have to get out of the water. 

And then there are scooters.  We’ve heard the horror stories, newly weds/vacationers going on trips to tropical places, renting scooters against their better judgment only to have some type of inexperienced-operator-error accident. Since neither Melissa nor I own a two-wheeled vehicle of any kind except for a bicycle, we decided to go against our better judgment and rent a scooter anyway.  It’s been fun riding around all day taking in all the island has to offer. Of course we go all day with no problems and then the evening comes. We drive about 35 minutes to the other side of the island for dinner. We’ve gone all day without seeing nary a dog and with nightfall we have a stray dog chasing after us every 5 minutes, which causes us to quickly lift our legs and swerve the scooter every time they get too close for fear they might bite us.   Or even better we have to watch out for crabs with a death wish as they cross the road camouflaged in the dark.   With every little crunch we can’t help but think, what a perfectly good waste of crabmeat.  Don’t worry; we’ve actually managed to avoid hitting them, but one of these days….

Electric Blue

Room 406 (NP)

We’re grouped as a number with the hundreds of other honeymooners at the resort, but we like to think of ourselves as castaways on a deserted island…Wilson!!!! What I learned on Day 2 is that I can’t scoop 7 hours of sun on my body and not get burned. The shoulders and white chicken thighs are a little tender today. Glad we brought the aloe. Thank God it’s a little overcast today, perfect day for some snorkeling!

Here are some tips for liked-minded budget minded travelers as we attempt to stretch this honeymoon into a four-month journey. On day 2 we learned that a wastebasket makes for a great make shift fridge if you keep it filled full of ice everyday that the hotel provides for free. Yesterday, we went to the local market to get some olives, local brew, and cheese. Our make shift fridge keeps it all at the perfect temperature. With the combination of these three items and a French baguette, we had a nice little lunch for two. Oh, we can’t forget to mention we tried Lays chicken and thyme potato chips. Interesting -- is the word that probably bests describes them.  

Day 3 budget technique: we (actually I) made the most of the free hotel breakfast. They had Japanese just-add-hot-water soup packets at breakfast this morning. I brought these with a coffee cup full of rice back to the room to save for lunch…as Melissa cringed in embarrassment. Hey, even a pre-made packet of soup tastes better when eaten with the one you love.

Electric Blue (MP)

We’ve settled in nicely here.  It’s day 3 and we’ve slept more in these past few days than we have in the past month.  The best part is that we don’t care.  Usually when you are on vacation, you do care, because you want to see and do as much as possible.  Sleeping the day away makes you feel like you are wasting time.  But we have time…and I’m still pinching myself to make sure this is all real. 

We are in a little bungalow over the water with a view that’s endless and spectacular.  We can dive in the water from our balcony and see marine life from the floor of the living room.  How did we pick our honeymoon spot, you ask?  A picture.  We saw a picture online and couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing it would be to be in an over the water bungalow and then researched this until we found the right one.  Interesting enough, there are only a handful of places in the world where you can entertain this idea.    And they are not overrated.  They are amazing in all the ways one could imagine if you are looking to do nothing but relax and see 360° of beauty.

Since it’s French Polynesia, everything is French.  There is nothing short of sexy when it comes to French things.  The language, fare, music, wine….Np and I listen to French for Travelers so we can pretend we fit right in.   Thanks to Angie and her love of French, I had a few words down pat already.   The weather is a balmy 85° at all times and in the evenings, it’s that amazing feeling where you can’t feel any kind of temperate against your skin.  I love that.  The food here has been incredible, particularly the fish, so we’re sticking to that.   We get free breakfast, usually picnic on fun French things like cheese and brioche for lunch, and then head out for dinner either here at the resort or in town.  It’s pricey here, so Np likes to steal food from breakfast to bring back to the room.  Today it was rice in a coffee mug!  Ah, married life.  It’s all about to get more interesting I reckon. ;)

Oh, and the fish here are electric blue.

(Written from the island of Moorea, in Tahiti/French Polynesia)

because you asked...

...here are the vows that many of you asked for because you couldn't hear them.


But first off, we had the most amazing wedding day which deserves a post of it's own.  we hope to do so in the next few days but right now...we are at LAX waiting to depart to Tahiti!  And this is the first time nathaniel and i have sat down for more than 15 minutes in the past few weeks.  our adventure starts here so keep checking back for updates from us.  since we'll be gone for 4 months, we made sure to get one last In & Out Burger too.


VOWS--


(melissa)

My dearest NP:

Here I am standing next to you in a white dress, just like the first day you met me.  How lucky I am that you decided to pursue me after that day with such perseverance and ambition.  I know that I wasn’t easy to capture, that I put up all my walls, and pretended I didn’t want to be noticed.  But God told you otherwise and eventually my walls came down, slowly, surely, steadily.  You showed me love in a different form, tender, patient, unselfish, unwarranted, and never ceasing.   A dream I didn’t know became realized and I could not wait to spend the rest of my life with you.  This is where it all began and now I’m overflowing with the thought of you and I. 

You let me dream…you make me dream, and I promise to nurture your passions and stand by your dreams as you stand by mine.

I want to grow with you, not just grow old with you but grow in my faith, wisdom, and love and I promise to seek this will all my heart.

I want to be accepted and understood and I promise to accept you the way you are and love you no less.

I want our family to be complete & whole, one without voids and brokenness and so I promise to fight for this, by your side and with God in the center.

I want to be loved with everything you have, and I promise to love you the same way in return. 

I want to be your wife now and without end and today I make you this promise.

And so my love, I give you all that I have, all that I am, today and forevermore.

And to quote one of my favorite books: Today I give you the keys to my kingdom.

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(nathaniel)

Chapter 1

Today begins the greatest love story ever told, the story of us. Our story, begins with a guy, that’s me, who meets a beautiful girl, that’s you. At first, the guy likes the girl, then guy loves the guy girl, and then the guy falls completely for the girl.  

Melissa, you look so beautiful, I’m so excited to begin our lives and our story together. I’m excited to unite our families together today and perhaps in about 7 hours from now we'll start one of our own.  I believe that I did not encounter you by chance, but that God put you in my life for a reason because he knew that I needed you as much as you needed me.

Melissa, you have a tender heart, but don’t worry; your heart can trust me.  I want to make a promise to you today; God, our friends and family are our witnesses, I want to promise that as your husband, I will cherish you, I will ALWAYS be faithful to you, I will protect you, and I will always love you, I am a man of my word.

Our story begins today, it’ll be full adventure, twists and turns, love, romance, tears and laughter, but it’s a story you just can’t stop reading, it’s good from beginning to end.