Summer So Far...

Summer at South River so far has been like a summer should be, relaxed. Up until June, we spent most all of summer so far in California and capped it with a trip to Hawaii. We began by making the usual long but always enjoyable Phoenix to LA drive. Shortly thereafter we attended a graduation and going away party for my good friend, also named Richard. He graduated Pepperdine Law and is now living and working in fabulous Las Vegas….as a lawyer of course. While at the party we had the privilege of watching him propose to his girlfriend Kyleen, We were two of only a small group who knew he was doing it so that made it pretty fun to watch. Here is a picture below of the happy new engaged couple!

After that we visited with Megan’s family for a few days and I have to throw in the fact that while we were sleeping one morning at her house a stained glass window literally fell out of its spot in the window 20 feet up. It just plain fell and crashed all over the floor. It was the loudest most effective alarm clock I have ever heard. Odd, isn’t it? Apparently it had been sitting in the same spot for 8 years.

On the Left: Stained Glass Window that DIDN'T Fall. On the Right: Empty Blank Glass Window

This is the window after it fell to the floor, hitting a stool on the way down. Not that much damage compared to what we THOUGHT it would look like based on the loud, loud, loud crash.

Anyway, we were able to get out and go to Universal Studios Hollywood. We went on a weekday and there was literally NO ONE there. It was fun, we took some pics and they are up on our website. You can see em by clicking HERE. A few notes: It was cool to go on King Kong considering it is now damaged and who knows how it will turn out after the fire that destroyed a lot of the backlot. I now feel lucky to have seen that clocktower from Back to the Future. Sad that it had to burn up. The Simpsons ride is cool, but it got me very, very motion sick. I don't usually get motion sick but man this ride did it to me. Megan didn't feel so great after either. I don't know what it was, but we agreed we liked Back to the Future way better. Jurassic Park is still awesome. Besides the rides we saw some shows...and here is a little advice for them: Although the gag where the seat in front of you shoots water in your face is a good one, it doesn't need to be repeated FIVE TIMES during each show. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe in Citywalk and overall had a great day visiting. 

On the 22nd we were off to Hawaii. We went to Waikiki with My Dad and Jane. It was a really fun trip, despite the fact that it was only about 4 days. To start, our hotel and an AMAZING breakfast buffet. I never eat breakfast really unless it is eggs or a diet bar. These breakfasts were unbelievable. So much good stuff. I miss it just thinking about it.

Waikiki Beach and Hotels

The first night we went to a Luau at Paradise Cove. Highlights included some fun activities and the Samoan Fire Dancer. I want to put up some vids of him but that will take some time. The next day Megan and I went on a tour based on the TV show LOST on ABC. Megan and I are big LOST fans and we had a great time. Not only did we see a lot of cool places where the show is filmed but we saw tons of the beautiful island that we wouldn't have otherwise. That night we had an always amazing dinner at Ruth's Chris. It was located on the second story of a very nicely made beach walk full of cool shops. The next day we snorkeled at Hanauma Bay for a bit. It was beautiful there as expected, and we got to see some pretty nice sights in the water. That night we took a Sunset Dinner Cruise which was highlighted by fresh whole main Lobsters. I don't know about you, but I think I learned I'm not really a lobster guy. By lobster I mean a whole lobster...staring at you...those beady eyes....but I digress. The next and last day, Monday, we boarded a Multi-Million dollar boat and took it to a cove where we got to do some more snorkeling...this time in deep waters. We saw more neat fish and a few sea turtles up close and personal. We also stopped by and observed hundreds of dolphins hanging out in the bay. Waikiki was really a good time. Megan and I enjoyed ourselves, as did my Dad and Jane. I know I made the trip sound short and brief but I didn't want to bore you with all the details. I tried to highlight the main stuff for everyone. There are a bunch of pics you can take a look at if you want to by clicking HERE.

Where we Snorkeled-Hanauma Bay 

So with that trip ended our "Summer Vacation" and we headed back to Tempe so I could start a busy summer session and Megan could start her graduate program! It's going to be a rough summer and Megan's first Arizona summer so it will be interesting to see how she handles the heat! Lucky for her she is already with such a 'hot' guy that she should be OK. Alright, I tried to keep this brief and as always you can check out our website for pics at RichardandMegan.com!

-Rich