I have been waiting anxiously since last weekend when Dane told me "We're going away next weekend and I'm not telling you where, but it involves an airplane and resort-wear."
Well then.
I was on pins and needles all week and finally Friday morning arrived and I could. not. wait. to get in the car and head toward the airport. In typical Dane fashion, he wasn't giving any hints.
Then, he uploaded this photo to
Instagram with the caption "She has no idea we're about to hike mountains all weekend #
surprisetrip" and I darn near had a heart attack.
Mountains? Hikes? No thank you.
Luckily, it was only about 20 minutes later that we actually checked in and I knew we were Lanai bound. Specifically, The Four Seasons Resort. Hello relaxation, untouched beaches, and private villa.
I was so freaking excited to unplug for an entire weekend--and it definitely did not disappoint. I wasn't as active on my social channels as I usually am (and some of you may have noticed!), and I can honestly say it is completely refreshing.
Now, are you ready for photo overload? Okay, good.
Because our trip started out by boarding a tiny plane. Yes, we've all been on tiny planes. But I could reach out and touch our pilot and was surrounded by windows. Not normal.
View from my seat. Yes, it's beautiful, but I was already daydreaming about what type of drink I was going to have. Small planes=not my gig.
Arrival at the Four Seasons consisted of pineapple drinks, fresh flower leis and a tour to your luxury room. YES PLEASE. The luxury treatment didn't stop until we left Sunday night. A-to-the-freaking-men.
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| Our room included a private terrace with outdoor seating and was attached to the spa suite. Heck Yeah! |
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Our weekend in a complete nutshell included:
Visiting the shooting range
Relaxing on the beach
Exploring a completely untouched beach. Yes, think computer desktop background.
Off-roading to Garden of the Gods. And when I saw off-roading, I literally mean the Jeep we had rented was up on two wheels may times. See those boulders? Yeah.
Waking up at 4AM to catch the sunrise over Shipwreck Beach! Waking up was NOT FUN (those Four Seasons beds are top notch), but we loved the peace and quiet of catching such a beautiful moment together.
If you were wondering, yes, that is actually a shipwreck. You can read all about it
here. And yes, we were actually alone. All of our photos are taken using a
JOBY Gorilla Pod--it's the best thing we've ever purchased--and our camera's self-timer. We spend a lot of time on adventures by ourselves and no one wants to continually look at solely landscape photos, am I right? Buy yourselves a JOBY, you won't regret it.
We also spent a lot of time lounging at the pools.
And going out to eat. We're both eaters, so finding cool restaurants is always a top priority.
Above all, it was so wonderful to just spend quality time together. Talking, laughing and enjoying one another's company. Too often, we take advantage of having each other around all the time and neglect to stop and enjoy all the small moments--and living in Hawaii :) I am so thankful to have a guy who goes above and beyond every single day.
Here's to a lifetime of love, surprises and this guy. I am so incredibly lucky.
How was your weekend?
