Happy 2013!

We rung in the new year with my parents here in Honolulu. It was so much fun to introduce P to some of our NYE and new year's day traditions. My mom made noodles, which according to Chinese belief, brings long life. We burned traditional Chinese fire crackers, which is thought to bring good luck into the new year by scaring away evil spirits. And on new year's day, we ate kinako mochi, which the Japanese believe brings luck for the new year. In 2013, we are looking forward to P's graduation from business school, our marriage, and our move to Cincinnati, where P will be working for Procter & Gamble. It's going to be a year full of changes and we are excited for the new adventures that lie ahead!

With the holidays behind us, we are now in full wedding planning mode. Our trip here to Honolulu has been crammed with many appointments and meetings. By the time we return to the east coast on the 18th, we will have most (if not all) of the big items checked off of our list. 

Wedding guests, expect to see more travel information on this blog in the coming weeks. One thing we are currently working on is reserving a block of hotel rooms at a discounted group rate. In the meantime, we advise you to start looking at vacation package prices. I still think that it may turn out to be cheaper to purchase an all-inclusive vacation package (airfare, hotel, rental car) than to purchase things a la carte. I also have a feeling that even if we are able to reserve a block of hotel rooms at a discounted rate, it may still be cheaper to buy a vacation package that includes a hotel room. 

For example, one of the discounted hotel rates we have been quoted is $150 per night. Roundtrip airfare by itself (from the east coast) may cost anywhere from $900-$1200. This means that you could be spending roughly $2000 for airfare and hotel. Keep in mind that you will need a rental car, so the total cost would be over $2000 for airfare, hotel and car rental. Compare that to the price of a vacation package. I was able to find a vacation package with round-trip travel from Pittsburgh and that included hotel and rental car, for $1500 per person. As you can see, the vacation package is a much better deal. For more information and resources, click on the "Getting to Honolulu" and "Where to Stay" tabs at the top of this blog. If you are interested in sharing a vacation condo or home feel free to email me so that I may put you in touch with other guests who have the same interests. 

Stay tuned for updates as we get closer to June!

<3,

M