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Regan and I have been together since January 2001.
The night we met, he told his roommate he was going to marry me.
It only took him six years to tell me the same thing.
This is our life, and I wouldn't change a thing.

where and when he proposed. English Bay, Vancouver, Canada. Sunset on December 6, 2006:
 

Our Travels
We do love to travel, hence the destination wedding! We try to take at least one foreign trip a year.
This may have to end when the bambinos start popping though! Links to each trip below.

Hawaii - Aug 2007          Mexico - June 2007          Mexico - Dec 2005
Costa Rica - May 2004     Greece - Feb 2003        Mexico - May 2002 

Hawaii - August 2007
extended photoslideshow here

Kona, The Big Island. This was for a friend's wedding.
For the the first 2 days we stayed at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay. Price was $199 per night for a deluxe view room. It faced towards the golf course with some view of the water. Very comfortable beds. Keep in mind the hallways echo something terrible, and you will hear the traffic in your room. We had an end unit, so didn't affect us much. Food was decent. At the cafe at least it was not overpriced. You can watch manta rays swimming/feeding at night along the shore, which was very cool. There is a shuttle that runs to nearby beaches and into Kona. Its a long trek though, so only stay here if you have your own car, or don't want to move around much. One night we went into Kona and ate at Basil's. The food was so-so and overpriced.  We are spoiled with better and cheaper Italian at home I guess.  There was not alot to do in Kona itself, so we didn't spend much time there. It was beautiful

Sheraton coastline                                                                                           chillaxing by the pool

For the remainder of the week, we stayed along the Kohala Coast. The Kohala Coast is where all the big resorts are, along with the most beautiful beaches on the Big Island. We stayed in a private house on a cliff overlooking 69 Beach, near Pauko, called Kohola View.  It was stunning. 3 detached structures, including a main cabin great room with a living room, dining room, kitchen. 3 main bedrooms and a den that could be converted. There was an infinity pool and attached hot tub. Amazing sunsets everynight. It was a short walk down the cliff to a very swimmable beach with a reef. Lots of turtles and fishes to see just by walking in. The owners provide all the amenities you could think of.
We did not do alot of sightseeing since we were there for a wedding, but we did take a snorkeling trip with Red Sail sports. All you can eat food and drink included, plus 2 hours of snorkeling on a state of the art catamaran. Our friends work for them, so we got a great rate.

          Kohola View                                                                                          infinity pool and view

sunset from house                                                                                    sunset from house
 

Mexico - June 2007
Puerto Morelos, Mexico. This was our wedding trip. We didn't do a heck of alot of sightseeing this time around, with all the planning needed.
visit www.locogringo.com or www.vivapuertomorelos.com for more information on the area.



We stayed at Villas Playasol - 2 bedroom condos or 4 bedroom villas right on the beach. the complex has a pool, all units have A/C, full kitchens and washing machines. They were also in the process of building a brick courtyard for sunbathing and bbqing. Highly recommend it.
www.villasplayasol.com. Talk to CeCe - the best building manager evah (and she is from NH).
 
there are lots of photos and reviews of this trip in my Married Bio

Mexico - December 2005
extended photoslideshow here
Isla Mujeres, Mexico. I have dubbed this our happy place. Probably the most peaceful week we have spent together.
visit www.isla-mujeres.net or www.islamujeres.info for more information.

We stayed at Sabina's Apartments for two days. It is located in town, about 2 blocks from the beach. Rooms started at $35 p/n.  It was clean and comfortable, but the sliding glass door did not lock completely (it was a stick in the door system). Even though the entrance to the apartment complex was gated, we did not feel fully comfortable with this. We also negotiated a  great deal at a hotel directly on Playa Norte, with A/C, so we opted to move.
If its your first time, I recommend you try to get a hotel/apartment on Playa Norte. The sand is to die for, and the sunset gets more amazing every day.

For the remainder of the week, we stayed at Cabanas Maria del Mar. I highly recommed them. Ask for the tower rooms (the newer ones adjacent to the restaurant). It was low season, directly after a horrendous hurricane, so we managed to snag $50 p/n with A/C. I think regularly these rooms are over $100.

        Our room at Maria del Mar                                                                             The view from our room to the beach


Must sees/dos: rent a golf cart and toodle around the island. Its so much fun! Head to Pt. Sur to see the lizards, and check out the seashell house
Tix'n'chix; go to Playa Tiburon and try the local delicacy - - its a hot paste coated on fresh seafood and open air grilled.  served with tortillas and rice
Pirate's cemetary; look for the infamous pirate Mundaca's grave
Ohm; the best bar in town. Art deco design and spiffy beer taps at alot of the tables. Wear bug repellent -the mosquitoes loved to bite me under the table!
Beach Bars; there are plenty. Find one with happy hour and preferably some live music and watch the amazing sunsets.
snorkeling; ask at any hotel or along the dock and you can find someone to take you. The regular spots are only about 10 minutes offshore, and have a natural current, so you don't even need to paddle most of the time! We saw some great nemos, and even a docile (non carnivorous) shark. It should cost around $25 p/p. Don't bother with the Garrafon Park at the south end of the island. It was dirty, rough and not alot of fish.

The rocky south point of Isla.                                                                                                                                  Sunset on the south west side of the island
 
Regan driving our golf cart                                                                            some of the decor on Playa Norte


Sunset on Playa Norte                                                                One night at Ohm                                                      Sunset (redux) on Playa Norte
   
Costa Rica - May 2004
extended photoslideshow here
Regan surprised me with a trip to Costa Rica for my birthday - he planned it all himself, and I didn't know until our connecting flight where we were headed!
Some of the friendliest people in the world live in Costa Rica. Go there and enjoy them! This trip was planned using the Costa Rica Lonely Planet guide.
The bus system in CR is amazing - large A/C travel buses connect almost all the major towns with San Jose and eachother. Take advantage of them.
Over 12 days we visited Arenal, Manuel Antonio and Matapalo Beach. We found a great B&B just outside San Jose in a suburb called Alajuela, where we spent the first and last night.  Its closer to the airport, and more relaxing.  The owners (Maria and Jose - aren't they all?) were very hospitable - they provided breakfast, tried hard to teach us some local slang, and then helped with our bus transport. They have two properties, try to get into one of the rooms at their home as opposed to the hotel.

 
Arenal: a must see. The most active volcano in Central America is right there. On a clear night, you can just sit and watch lava spurt down the sides.
We stayed in a random hotel in town the first night. Great view of the volcano, but it was not super comfortable or clean.
For the remaining 3 nights we stayed at a farm B&B closer to the Volcano, one of the few places on the volcano side of the road. The guest houses are in the shadow of the volcano - the land has been owned by the family as a farm for over 150 years.  There are still cows that roam the fields outside the house. farm fresh breakfast included each morning. It was about $50 p/n. Highly recommend it. It is not directly in town and a taxi or a ride is needed to get there, but worth it. The owners were really great about giving us lifts when they were headed into town
Definitely hit the Hot Springs. The big resort one is nicer then the smaller one near the road into town. Go at night and pay for the drinks inclusive.
Walk to La Fortuna (the Waterfall) near the base of the park. Its short and pleasant - a dip is very refreshing!
Rent a scooter and toodle around to the backside of the volcano and go into the park. Lots of monkeys and birds to see!
We also did a joint zipline/horseback ride. The horseback riding was fun, but if you are planning to hit some of the national parks along the Pacific Coast, consider saving the zipline tour for then. Keep in mind the noise scares off all animals, so its just the thrill factor after the initial ascent.
We did a cave tour, but I wouldn't recommend it. It was dank/dark, and the guide could not speak English (not his fault, but we didn't learn very much).

The volcano in Arenal, from our hotel                                                              Our guest house in Arenal                 


Manuel Antonio: This town smack in the middle of the country on the Pacific coast is well known among backpackers and surfers, and has emerged as one ofthe country's favourite destination spots. The majority of the resorts, while oceanfront and stunning, are situated along a cliffside road, so keep in mind beach access is rare, and usually involves a climb. Costa Rica's smallest national park, Manuel Antonio Park, is here, and we spent a delightful 4 hours in it. Bring your bathing suit and take advantage of some of the picturesque secluded coves. Highly recommend hiring one of the guides offered at the entrance. They are locally trained as naturalists, and they bring a telescope for you to view the largest and smallest creatures the park has to offer.

                           MA beachfront                                                                         hummingbird in park - taken through telescope   


We stayed at Hotel Costa Verde - "more monkeys then people" - and they are not kidding. Spider monkeys abound. Iguanas were everywhere, and a sloth joined us for breakfast most mornings. There are 3 restaurants to choose from, peppered across the property. The hotel consists of 4 building complexes. If you are travelling alone or with other couples, opt for Costa Verde II - the adults only complex with its own pool and bartender, and the best views of the ocean. The cost p/n was just under $100 in the low season. Our room was easily 600 sq.ft with a kitchen, dining area, and sweeping oceanfront balcony.

Regan on our patio at CV                                                           the view from our patio at CV


Matapalo Beach - We befriended a couple in CR on their wedding/elopement trip. They had the same basic schedule we did, so we ran into them in each stop and finally starting joining them for drinks/dinner. On our final day in MA, they asked us to join them on a drive about 90 minutes down the coast to check out another beach town, Matapalo Beach. We hopped in their jeep and off we went! Matapalo Beach was like a hidden oasis, not to mention a great adventure to try to navigate the often flooded CR roads! While there we discovered Bahari Beach Bungalows. Essentially they are 1/2 tent, 1/2 solid structure, with a low bed and the most amazing bathroom I have ever seen. There is 4 cabins, and a pool, right on the beach. A separate open air structure serves lunch/dinner made to order. Normally these run $75 p/n. We got them for $40. Staying here was the highlight of our trip. This is a dark sand beach, and the bugs are bigger due to the humidity. But we had wild horses run through our outdoor breakfast, iguanas on the property, and cold cervesas in the pool.

the roadside towards Matapalo                                                 Our bungalow                                                         Sunset on Matapalo beach
 
Greece - Feb 2003
extended photoslideshow here

 Matt Barrett's Guide to Greece is the best travel book out there.
This is my favourite travel story to date. In the fall of 2002, I received a frantic call from my BFF to get on Travelocity right away and look at British Airways flights from Seattle to anywhere in Europe. Turns out someone entered something wrong, and the bargain price of $30 round trip was coming up for flights in winter/spring 2003! We managed to get 8 friends booked on a trip to Athens in February. Unfortunately, Regan was one of the casualties - it would only let me book 1 person, so I believe I got the last fare available :) I was even upgraded to business class on my flight to London.

We had a great time, spending 10 days in Athens and Delphi. No one told us it gets cold in the Mediterranean in February, so our planned time frolicking in the islands was cancelled due to a snow storm! Instead we hung around Athens. It was interesting to see how the city was being transformed for the Olympics. But I don't recommed spending alot of time here if you don't have to.

Me at the Acropolis                                                                   a Greek Orthodox church in Athens
 
Athens:  obviously the Acropolis is a highlight. Keep in mind there are several ruin sites around Athens (such as the Agora), and you can buy one pass for all of them, which saves you a ton of money. Just do them in one day. There is also one day a week (Sunday I think?) where everything is 1/2 price. Spend some time sipping coffee and nice ouzo in the Plaka. Always plenty of live music and open air cafes to partake in. I basically lived on $2 gyros from street vendors - delish! Also, when asking for greek salad, make sure you specify with feta - apparently its not a given in Greece. I stayed in a small hotel on my own for the first 2 nights, then moved to a hostel in the Plaka with my friends. We also headed down the coast to a shrine of Poseidon.

Delphi: now this place was otherwordly. We spent 3 days there total. Even though it was in the mountains, it was warmer and the weather better then in Athens. I don't know the name of the place we stayed - we just knocked on doors till we found one we liked. I had a great view of the canyon and river. The Delphi ruins are amazing. We spent an entire day just wandering around, drinking them all in. You can definitely see why it was  sacred.


                        Statue of Delphi                                Coast near Poseidon Ruins         These blossom trees dotted the Delphi ruins
    

London: I also had a 10 hour layover in London, so I took the express tube into town and went for a matinee in Leicester Square. Head straight for the 1/2 price ticket booth and see what is available.  I did a little window shopping, tried to stop at a suburb for fish n chips (I ended up with the only bad chip shop in England) and then back to the airport for my flight to Athens.
Mexico - May 2002
extended slideshow here

Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Our first real trip as a couple! We went with Regan's BM and his wife (girlfriend at the time).
Visit www.playa.info for the best information available about Playa on the net.

Playa is beautiful , but is quickly growing in popularity and size, and could rival Cancun with its crowds, restaurants and shops.  The hotel we stayed at is no longer standing. Visit the above link for popular recommendations at all price options. I will also put in a plug for the Shangri-la Caribe, which is my dream location on the Riviera Maya.

            The beach near Calle 8                                                               Regan's very own Corona commercial


While in Playa we visited Cozumel for the day, went snorkeling, fishing and rented a car one day to visit Tulum and Chichen Itza. I highly recommend this over available tours. Not only is it 1/3 of the price, but you are in charge of your own itinerary.  The roads along the coast are much more maintained then they were several years ago, and alot of signage is available. Keep in mind you can no longer climb the pyramids at either of these sites. If this interests you, head to Ek Balam or Coba. Snorkeling can be bought from any of the vendors in Playa or in Cozumel. It should cost you between $25 and $35 USD, including park entrance fees. Talk em down if you need to, and avoid the "free" trips from time share people. Same with fishing charters. Just talk to your hotel, and ask around along the beach. Our boat suggested a local restaurant to take the fish, and they cooked it up for us at night for a low fee including all the sides. Also, avoid shopping on cruise ship days, as the price often goes up.

In terms of restaurants and bars, The Blue Parrot is a staple, as is 100% Natural and Tequila Barrel. There is also a mayan themed restaurant and a new bar built into a cave system. Just walk down Quinta Avenida, don't be lured by the hecklers and pick whatever suits your fancy. For more authentic choices, wander up the side streets towards 10th and 15th Avenue. This is where the locals eat.
Chichen Itza                                                                                                        Tulum              




Our Wedding

The requisite wedding shots! We were married in Puerto Morelos, Mexico on June 14, 2007.
22 friends and family joined us for a week in paradise.
there are lots of photos and reviews of this trip in my Married Bio