Countdown: Vegas to South of the Border: A Wedding in HAWAII (no, not mine!)

What is it about swaying palm trees, soft ocean breezes, turquoise water, and soft sandy beaches that just screams out “Paradise!”

That feeling is never more pronounced than when you get on a plane leaving one of the most desolate places on earth (the Mojave Desert) and exit six hours later into unimaginable beauty and richness- Hawaii.

For us desert dwellers, the experience is essentially sensory overload. All this greenery, all this color. Air that is soft, warm, and moist. To go from 7% humidity to 90% in just a few hours is almost more than the human body can handle.

Another happy couple!

So what brought us to Hawaii in July you ask?

It was all due to the largess of my nephew Jamison, oldest son of my only brother (Joe Bill). He and his fiancée live in Vegas, but wanted a low-key wedding on a Hawaiian beach, after which they would continue on to Japan for their honeymoon. Of course he wanted his favorite uncle (me) to give the wedding talk, so he flew Shirley and me out to Oahu, as well as his parents. Joe & Rhonda.

Expensive? Maybe. But still less than hosting the 150 or so attendees at the usual Vegas Witness wedding. Attendance at the beach wedding? 14.

The beach/jungle setting looked oddly familiar, and no wonder. “Jurassic Park” and the TV series “Lost” were both filmed in the vicinity, as well as a number of other shows.

So I hustled up and got legal to perform weddings in Hawaii. (Note to readers: If anyone out there is planning on getting married in Hawaii and you need someone to give the wedding talk, my schedule is open.)

Shirley at Diamond Head

Jamison & Jesse- Pre-Wedding

We arrived Saturday, July 25 after a 6 hour direct flight from Vegas on Hawaiian Air.

(Hawaiians refer to Las Vegas as the “9th Island” because almost everyone has a relative who lives there, and it’s their favorite vacation destination.)

Two hours later we were on Waikiki Beach and swimming in the warm Pacific. The 115 degree heat we left behind in Vegas was only a distant memory.

Sunday Shirley and I got up early and rode the bus out to Diamond Head where we climbed to the top and survey the magnificent views. Then we rested up for the 4 PM wedding which was taking place over on the windward side of Oahu, more rural and far less populated than Honolulu.

Everything went smooth with the wedding and the meal at Jill’s (Jamison’s wife) uncle’s house, which sat on a hill overlooking the ocean. No heat or air necessary- the ocean breezes blow all the time. I particularly admired the neighbor’s mango tree which was loaded with (sadly still green) mangos.

Rob, Joe, Jamison & Jesse

After that it was time to check into our beach bungalow in the small town of Waimanalo. The following week would prove to be incredibly fun, and was over all too soon.

I'll just let the pictures do the talking.