Friday, July 16, 2010

Taveuni Palms: Day 3

Katie Writing...

Wow, what a day. Probably the most memorable we've had so far. We began the day early (of course) at around 6am with an outstanding breakfast. Russell had a pile of pancakes complete with fresh coconut shavings and bananas. The bananas here are like nothing we've ever tasted, probably because they go pull them off of the tree in the morning and they're ripe. Perfectly ripe without the help of chemicals and normal sized without the help of hormones.

After breakfast we were briefed on our day (as if we would forget the wonderfulness planned) by Teila and met by John, our snorkeling guide for the morning excursion we had planned. Jonny (no relation to John), a South African transplant, greeted us at the base of our villa in his boat and took us out to some small islands for snorkeling.

Our first go was short. We had to get back in the boat because of strong tides. After coming up and noticing our surroundings, we were nowhere close to where we should have been. Russell and I were thankful to have a guide and a driver so we weren't swept out to sea while we were preoccupied with the beauty beneath the water.

Our second dive was much better. We went further inland and sheltered ourselves between a few small islands. This is where John, our guide, really showed us how to snorkel! John can hold his breath forever and dive very deep without even using diving equipment! We were in awe as he shot down to depths of at least 40 feet, swam under and through coral and into small caves and then popped up through a break in the coral unexpectedly. Please let me add that Russell and I attempted only shallow dives to find that our ears were on the verge of bursting. I could barely get my body underwater at all...I'm a little more buoyant than I used to be!

Russell writing...

John pointed out all the different types of coral and fish (which he lured in towards us with what looked to be green peas that he'd crush in his hand), and we had a simply marvelous time. By the end, we were both a little chilly and ready to get back to the villa and begin a cooking lesson we had scheduled with Teila, one of our morning cooks as well as the staff manager.

When we arrived at the villa, Teila greeted us with all of the supplies we would need for our lesson. Spices, freshly caught fish, flour, mango chutney (which was already prepared), and a few cooking tools. Before we started the cooking process, our two maintenance workers joined us to demonstrate how to climb a 50ft palm tree with no shoes! One of them scaled the tree, ably tore off a couple of green coconuts and tossed them down to the other fellow on the ground. And then of course he posed for a few pictures before descending :)

The green coconuts' milk is actually very sweet and a delicious drink right out of the shell, and one of the guys chopped off the ends of the ones he'd just taken from the tree, stuck straws in them, and handed them over for us to enjoy! Then Teila produced from the kitchen an older, brown coconut, which she chopped in half, and which I was promptly assigned to scrape the insides from using a traditional Fijian scraper (it's basically a piece of wood that you sit on that has a metal claw that sticks out the front between your legs; you then scrape the inside of the coconut against it to make FRESH COCONUT SHAVINGS!).

Katie and Teila meanwhile were in the kitchen seasoning the fish with traditional Fijian curry spices and making Roti tortillas from the provided flour and water. When I came back to join them, we then tossed the Roti on a skillet to make the most delicious tortillas you've ever tasted (they're sort of a mix between Indian Naan bread and Mexican tortillas), and started cooking the fish. Before long we sat down to another fabulous Taveuni Palms meal, except this time we were the cooks!

The next event that we scheduled for the day was simply a walk through the neighboring town (which includes both village dwellings as well as smaller tourist resorts and a few restaurants and shops). After a mile along the main highway, which follows the coastline, Katie and I stopped at Audrey's.

(Katie writing)

Audrey's is actually a woman's home whose name would be none other than, Audrey. Audrey is an eccentric woman in her 70s who moved to the island from California in the 1980s with her husband. It's unclear whether he is deceased or just does not live on the island anymore.

Audrey bakes. She also makes homemade Kahlua, tea and coffee drinks. Depending on who you are, she offers you different things. For example. We sat down and were offered three different cake options and iced coffee or hot coffee. She also offered Australian iced coffee indirectly which she actually does not make :) We chose chocolate cake and iced coffee. Neither Russell nor I drink coffee so we thought iced coffee would mask the taste.

Another man arrived on the front porch (you're not actually invited any further) and he was offered three different types of tea and some juice in addition to coffee. Oh well, I guess she didn't want us to have anything other than coffee!

While waiting for our cake, we were offered shots of Kahlua. This woman can make some Kahlua! It was the strongest I have ever tasted. We poured it into our iced coffee to hide the taste of the coffee and dilute the taste of the Kahlua. The cake was good (we hear the best on the island), but it did not compare to the cake my grandmothers make.

Now more on Audrey- She reminds me of a cartoon. Wrinkled and beginning to stoop, but does not cease to fix her hair and cake on the make up. The 80's must have been a good decade for her because her eyeshadow is blue and her blush very pink. She's a very forward woman. She doesn't look for the "polite" way to say things and does not seem to meet a stranger. She has a cat named "RPA" short for "royal pain in the ass". She claims he's part Siamese. He's orange and white and looks like a former stray. We watched him scare a puppy, tail tucked, right away from the porch.

While on the porch, we meet a guy who looks older than us, but it seems he is not. He was a former Marketing agent in California who is now working for the Peace Corp. in a small villiage in Taveuni. His job is to help with tourism growth and teaching technology. He seemed tired, but grateful to be away from his American career. We also met an Australian backpacker who looked like a prophet. Old (I'm sure not as old as he looked), skinny, with long hair and a long beard. He wore a sari and a button down shirt. He told us of the troubles of using the ATMs in Fiji, which apparently is a major problem around the area.

Overall, Audrey's was a worthwhile stop.

On we went to the grocery store. I love experiencing grocery stores of other cultures. I think that you really learn about culture by walking through their markets. This market was packed! I guess it was like taking Wal-Mart and putting it in a shrinky-dink machine then taking all of the sanitation away. You could find everything from batteries to eggs to rolling pins to fabric bolts. You could do your laundry in a building behind the store and you could get gas in the front (but not on Sundays). A favorite aspect of this store, it was owned by an Indian family. They seem to dominate the market worldwide :)

Russell writing...

Our last stop in town was at Babbu's house, which we'd been invited to the night before. We were a little embarrassed because we were running late thanks to Audrey, whom I affectionately refer to as the "cat lady", delaying our outing by a bit. Babbu was quite gracious though, and he and his wife, Suji, welcomed us in--we removed our shoes before entering as is customary--and sat and chatted with us for a while (Babbu is much chattier than the wife!). Also, Babbu is the proud father of a new three month-old son, his first child, and Katie was able to hold him during our pow-wow. As a side note, instead of a crib or motorized swing, etc., Babbu's baby boy had been sleeping in what I can only describe as being like a Baby Bjorn that hangs from the ceiling. Sort of a sling. It was homemade from some green fabric, and it had a bunch of blankets and pillows on the inside for the newborn to sleep on.

After we'd chatted a bit, Babbu then introduced us to what I'd anxiously been awaiting: Kava. Kava is a traditional Fijian ceremonial drink that historically was reserved for village chiefs, but is now enjoyed by everyone. It's supposed to have a number of beneficial medicinal properties, but it's more commonly associated with a numbing sensation of the tongue and a relaxing/sleepy feeling. Also, there has been some loose correlation with liver problems and skin rashes, although these issues typically seem to only afflict non-natives. Anyway, more than anything, the main obstacle we were expecting was a challenging taste.

Kava is made from crushed up roots and water, and doesn't taste particularly good. But we had been wanting to partake in this cultural custom and had no intention of backing down now. So, Babbu prepared a large serving of the muddy-looking stuff in a blue plastic tub, and we all sat down on a hand-woven mat in cross-legged positions waiting to taste the concoction. I was the first to try. Babbu poured some Kava into a smaller coconut bowl and passed it over. First, everyone clapped once in preparation for my drinking, and then I struggled to consume the dirt-like mixture. After a minute or so, and after a decent amount of wincing and squirming, I had downed the Kava, we all clapped three times, and it was Katie's turn. She reacted similarly, and it was up to Babbu to show us how it was done. Interestingly, after he guzzled his drink he winced as well, remarking he'd made it a bit too strong! :)

We continued to take turns, drinking small cups of Kava, until Katie and I felt we could endure no more. Then, the festivities moved outside to a little hut with a sign adorning it: "Babbu's Billiards and Grog" (I have no idea what "grog" means). Here we played a round of 8-ball pool, with Katie and I teamed up against Babbu. The collaborative effort sadly made no difference, however, and Babbu beat us handily.

The sun had already set by this point, and Babbu offered to drive us back to our villa; we appreciatively accepted. There, we found the decks outside the villa decorated with a large number of lanterns, beautifully contrasting with the night sky. We immediately informed Teila we were ready for dinner to be served out on the Bula deck so we could enjoy the decoration. The meal consisted of "samosas", crab, and some sort of delicious coconut-based dessert. A wonderful way to spend our last evening on Taveuni, and we can't wait to return one day!




Fiji Honeymoon (Taveuni Palms): Day 2






Russell writing…

Well, since we’re writing each of these blog entries a day or two after-the-fact, I’m doing my best to remember everything that we’ve packed into our short trip thus far. But there’s a lot to keep track of! Also, for now I seem to be having trouble uploading more photos to the blog, so if you're interested in checking out the visual tale of our travels, go to my page on Facebook.

On Day 2 of our official stay at the Taveuni Palms in Fiji, Katie and I woke up around 5:00am…bright and early. We had been so tired the night before that we passed out right after the sun went down. But the jet lag has actually put us on somewhat of a healthy schedule, so it’s hard to complain too much.

After we’d been up for a bit we had an absolutely delicious breakfast! I had the Mango French Toast (which is now a personal favorite of all the dishes we’ve had on our vacation), and Katie had some sort of Fijian oatmeal. Almost every ingredient used is either grown organically on the premises or at the very least is obtained locally. Following our morning satiation, we then jumped in the resort’s private car with Babbu, a local fellow who made sure to point out every interesting plant or animal as we drove along and also tell us great stories. The agenda for the day was to drive to Lavena, a small village on the eastern end of the island, where we would take a guided kayaking/hiking trip.

When we pulled up to the guide station in Lavena, we were greeted by Samoné, a native of Lavena and our guide for the day. He wore an all-blue outfit of shorts, t-shirt, and cap (which somewhat surprisingly hides a head of graying hair), and gave a first impression that to me felt a bit gruff and no-nonsense. I couldn’t have misread him more. It turned out that Samoné is, by all accounts, a fun-loving prankster.

Our excursion began when all three of us jumped into a couple of kayaks, Samoné in one with Katie and I following behind in another. We followed the coast closely for about a mile before venturing out beyond the barrier reef where we encountered some of the biggest waves I’ve ever seen! It’s a miracle we didn’t capsize, but it sure was exciting if nothing else! After about an hour or so, we paddled back inland into a stream that ran from the mountains, and where there were a number of beautiful waterfalls. We then paddled our kayaks a bit further along the coast to another stream with another series of waterfalls, except these waterfalls required a bit of hiking to get to.

First, to refuel ourselves before our hike to the falls, Katie and I found some shelter from the sun in a small hut next to the stream where we parked our kayaks, and we ate the wonderful picnic lunch prepared by the folks at Taveuni Palms (a BLT for Katie and Fijian chicken curry for me served on Roti--a Fijian version of the tortilla--; phenomenal!). We shared our food with Samoné as well, who I think enjoyed it as much as we did. Anyway, lunch behind us, we trekked ahead along a narrow path that wound through the hills, along cliffs, and crossed trickling streams filled with trout. At the end of the trail was the main stream, sourced from some fresh water springs, and here the waterfalls were. It actually took a bit of swimming to reach them, and the water was freezing. But the prize was well worth it. There was a natural rock slide, which Katie and I both made use of (although it was tricky to climb up to) as well as a jumping rock at the top of the tallest waterfall (~50ft). Samoné tackled this latter challenge while Katie and I merely looked on in awe. But the rest of the time, he just would dive down in the water while we swam and then try to pull us under from below while we weren't paying attention. Like I said, he's a prankster!

Following our waterfall outing we actually did not return to the kayaks but instead trekked by foot along the coastline all the way back to Lavena, which was about 1 hr walk. Back in the village, we met one of Samoné’s children and took a few choice photos. Samone´also took the opportunity to explain a few things about a few Fijian goings-on and other trivia: the villagers now do a lot of fishing for sea slugs and export them to China where they’re currently a very popular and expensive culinary delicacy; Noni juice/fruits has been used to cure all kinds of illnesses including cancer, but it smells like the worst body odor you can possibly imagine; the village has no electricity except for the hut that belongs to a Peace Corps member who’s been around for a couple of years; to pass the time, the villagers drink Kava, a local plant root that tastes something similar to muddy water.

(Katie Writing)

I must add more about the village. Upon first look of the villages of Taveuni and specifically Simone's village, you would think of deprivation and poverty. Upon further observation, you realize that not everyone values "stuff" like Americans. I've never seen a happier people than the Lavenians. The children go to school and happily return in their school uniforms, singing and smiling. The men work hard and take breaks to socialize during the day and the women work in the homes taking care of the children and cooking. EVERYONE lives with a smile on their face. These people are not poor. They are full and happy with their lives.

(Russell Writing)

We loved our time with Samoné and hated to leave him, but Babbu picked us back from the guide station and we journeyed back to the resort where we received spa facials to help us recover from the day. I’d never had one before and wasn’t sure what to expect. But I think Katie and I both figured the process would last only a half hour at the longest. It turned out that the facial included what amounted to a near fully body massage, and so we were both splayed out on the massage tables again for another hour or so, and, once again, we both fell asleep before the end. *One side note: when arrived back at the resort from the day’s activities, the decks outside the villa were freshly decorated with woven palm branches and flowers. How the staff finds time to do these marvelous things is astounding!

Dinner followed soon after, and this time Katie and I decided to sit inside (we’d experienced a few bugs eating with us the night before…apparently they like to come out for the twilight hours and then hide away again once the sun’s gone down). Dinners at Taveuni Palms are a pre-designated event, so Katie and I both enjoyed a four course meal of delicious veggie springrolls, a coconut based soup served in freshly cut coconut shells, whole lobsters caught that very day, and homemade mango ice cream.

Once again, following dinner, Katie and I decided to call it an early night. After all, the day ahead was another busy one!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Fiji Honeymoon (Taveuni Palms): Day 1








Russell writing... (because Katie is currently asleep!)

No sooner had we left the Taveuni Island airport in Tony's truck than we arrived at the Taveuni Palms resort where we would stay for the next three days. Quite literally, the airport and resort are within easy walking distance of one another, but this fact is not anywhere close to being an annoyance. The aircraft that fly to the island are all small prop planes, and only a few arrive each day.

As soon as we entered the Taveuni Palms property, we were greeted by a most beautiful sight. Finely manicured grass and other landscaping, as well as the property's buildings, all are situated on a hill. And at the base of the hill is a standalone reception hut, outside of which stood about 10 of the resort's employees singing and dancing upon our arrival. After exiting the truck, we were given leis made of gorgeous, recently picked flowers, and some freshly made fruit smoothies served in hollowed out coconut shells.

There were introductions between us and the staff, and we then were escorted to our villa. Taveuni Palms is made of two villas, one on the upper part of the hill and one on the lower (although, a third, bigger villa has just recently been built at the very top of the hill). If it so happens that a group reserves both villas, then it is set up so that people can walk freely between them. Otherwise, as is the case for our stay, there is a bamboo wall that is put up to separate the two structures and provide ample privacy.

As we walked up to our "room", we noticed all the effort that had gone in to making a strong first impression. Freshly cut flowers were precisely laid on every possible strategic place. Also, we were amazed at how many areas there were for us to use: a private pool; a covered day bed; a "bula" deck; a main deck outside of the villa equipped with a hanging chair, a hammock, and lounge chairs; and much more. Inside the villa itself, there is a living area, dining table, well-equipped kitchen, 2 bedrooms (one of which has it's own private balcony), 2 bathrooms, and 2 outdoor private showers. Heaven on earth!

If that setup weren't enough already, we also discovered we had access to a dedicated personal staff of 7! Cooks, housekeepers, errand runners, a driver, etc., all at our disposal. It's a little awkward to receive so much attention, but we've found that when people happen to be as nice and thoughtful as those we've met at Taveuni Palms it's a pleasure!

Anyway, for the rest of our first day we decided to take it easy. We arrived at around 7:00am so we helped ourselves to a small breakfast of fresh fruit (delish!), and then simply lounged about our many decks for the remainder of the day. Oh, and we received complimentary 1-hr massages upon arrival to help us recover from the trip (actually, all of our spa treatments have been complimentary); we both fell asleep during this unwinding process and apparently snored as well. Not a bad way to recuperate! Also, one additional comment: the food here is simply outstanding (for breakfast and lunch there is a menu to choose from, while dinner is a pre-fixed selection that changes each day)! For lunch I had a Fijian style pizza while Katie enjoyed the fish tacos, which were amazing and wonderfully FRESH. For dinner, we both enjoyed Wahoo served atop some exquisitely seasoned spinach stuffed with... well, I don't remember what. But I do know it was good. Katie and I are both big "foodies", which is actually one of the things that attracted me to Taveuni Palms when I was looking at honeymoon options. Turns out that was a good decision!

One other thing to point out from out first day. The staff is incredible... and somewhat sneaky! We'll be by the pool or something for just a few minutes, and when we go back to the villa everything has been redecorated with new flowers or something. Or the bed will be turned down for the night. Or the path to the bedroom will be paved with flower petals. There are a dozen more examples I could use, but needless to say, attention to detail here is nothing short of amazing.

By the time night arrived on our first day in Taveuni, Katie and I immediately crashed! The sun sets fairly early, just before six. As soon as 7:00 hit, Katie was snoring and I followed in kind shortly thereafter. A perfect beginning to what has turned out to be a perfect vacation on Fiji's "jungle island".

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Bloodworths: Day 1







Katie
writing...

We awoke in
the
Capital Hotel
still tired from the wedding
festivities but anticipating a delicious breakfast at Ashley's. Russell devoured his french toast with homemade blackberry syrup, and I gorged on eggs, bacon, freshly grown tomatoes and a made from scratch biscuit. We thought we would be having a quiet breakfast alone, but little did we know, every Memphian in the hotel stopped by our table to take pictures of us newly-weds like a bunch of paparazzi. It was great, we were like famous people! It was nice to have one last time to thank our wedding guests for making the trip just for us.

After breakfast, it was off to the airport to begin the honeymoon. Our first destination was Los Angeles (Santa Monica to be exact). We were graciously welcomed into the home of Andrew and Raquel Segal. I nannied for the Segals during the summer after college graduation. It was wonderful to see them again, play with the kids, and meet new people during the dinner party that was prepared by their chef, Peter. We stuffed our faces once again.

While in Santa Monica, we attempted to grab a few things that we had forgotten at the Promenade just up the street. We told Raquel that we would be walking up and she immediately threw over the Jag keys. What?! Immediately I was convinced that I'd be wrecking a car.

The car arrived back in one piece but only after several missed turns, and countless attempts to park back at the house. PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) is not an easy drive for a southern girl like me. Before I forget, I should mention that we came back with nothing that we set out for....it was Sunday and everything closed early. We had already forgotten our days!

Switching writers...Russell-

Ok, so our blog title here is a little misleading. Rather than covering just "Day 1" of our beginning as a married couple, it technically covers a number of days since the trip to Fiji takes over 24 hours while crossing multiple time zones. Our bodies are still trying to figure what's going on!

Anyway, we stayed in Santa Monica with the Segals until around 11pm Sunday night since our flight to Nadi, Fiji left at 1am Monday Morning. We were already absolutely exhausted by the time we arrived at the airport (Katie had even passed out on the couch back at the Segals' house while we were talking to Raquel), but we were determined to stay awake until at least the first few hours into our overseas flight so that our internal clocks wouldn't be thrown off too much. We did what we could, but there's only so much you can do to stay awake after all the excitement we'd endured for the past several days! I attempted to stay cognizant by renting and watching Martin Scorcese's "Shutter Island" on my iphone while Katie succumbed earlier than expected to the temptations of sleep. Either way, we were both knocked out within the first hour of boarding the Pacific Air flight bound for Fiji, thanks in large part to the doses of Ambien we took after taking our seats.

Upon waking up from our pharmaceutically-induced comas, we only had a couple hours left in our 13+ hr flight. Not bad. But once our plane landed in Nadi, we still had one more leg of the journey to go! At the Nadi airport we were greeted by a rep from our travel agency (we were immediately given leis as a sign of welcome), and after sorting through a few paperwork details, we then were escorted to our island-h0pping prop-propeller plane (somewhat dilapidated), which would be taking us to our final destination on Taveuni Island, also known as Fiji's "jungle island" due to the beautiful vegetation that marks it. Although only an hour and a half flight, and the view from the sky nothing less than stunning, it seemed to last forever!

Interestingly, our plane was exclusively filled with other young honeymooners, although none of them would be staying at our resort, the Taveuni Palms. It was nice to get to meet and greet a few other folks in our same circumstances though.

After what seemed an eternity, our plane landed on a small air strip on Taveuni Island, and we were met by the resort's co-owner, Tony, a very genial and youngish Englishman who runs the entire Taveuni Palms operation with his Kiwi wife, Kelly. They apparently met a few years back while working in the luxury yachting world and later decided to apply their industry knowledge to the hospitality/resort space.

Tony quickly collected our bags (well, actually just my bag; Katie's didn't arrive till a later flight due to it's HEAVY weight!), walked us to the red truck that was our ride to the resort, and off we went! Less than a mile down the road from the airport at the Taveuni Palms is where our honeymoon begins :)

The Wedding






Hello United States!

At this moment Katie and I are about to begin the second day of our honeymoon in Fiji! But with the internet being our only link to back home, we thought we would start a little blog to keep all of you interested parties updated on our goings-on. Neither of us has any considerable experience in the blogosphere, so we ask your forgiveness in advance for the inevitable typos, grammatical insults, and downright boring entries. But lest we give up the enterprise altogether, I'm sure anyone who decides to read the blog can cope with a few imperfections :)

First, although the main purpose of this blog will be given to detailing our honeymoon experience, let's give a quick recap of the Bloodworth/Stilwell wedding. Katie and I were extremely lucky to have close to 550 guests come witness the event! The modestly sized church in Benton for the ceremony was packed to full capacity, with friends in attendance from California all the way to NYC.

Because Katie has been in so many weddings over the years, we decided that it would be best to keep our wedding party as small as possible rather than risk hurting feelings. So, Katie's sister Leslie served as the maid of honor while my brother Chris was my best man. You can't ask for a better wedding party than that anyway! During the ceremony, I think it's worth p
ointing out that Katie and I discovered that both of our families, including ourselves, ar
e comprised of a bunch of big criers. Parents were crying, siblings were crying, Katie and I were crying, even the preacher was crying;
near-hysterics were exhibited by several, and I'm pretty sure my stomach has never been in as many knots as when the doors at the end of the aisle opened and Katie began the walk down it with her father. I assure everyone that these were all "happy" tears! It was definitely a moving experience for all of us :)

After the ceremony, Katie and I left the church in an old refurbished truck that looked like it would have been perfectly at home in a parking lot full of Ford Model-Ts. The sea of folks taking part in the send-off then speedily made their way to reception in Little Rock where the real party began!

Here we have a writer switch...

We arrived at the reception and snuck into a quiet room for a few moments of thoughtful reflection and a chance to stuff our faces with delicious food from the reception. This was a good thing because we did not once lay eyes on the spread
provided for our guests. While in these private moments, we took the opportunity to hurriedly review our first dance for which we spent countless hours and dollars preparing. Our dear friend, Craig, came in to give us some last minute pointers; and at last, we were ready to be presented to our guests.

The band, Keia (based in Memphis), introduced us and then began to play our first dance song. "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". There was a small catch. We had rehearsed the Frankie Valli version and Keia sang the be
autiful, but unexpected, Lauryn Hill version. Let me take a second to explain that the rhythm of these two versions is NOT the same. Russell and I fumbled through the first 30 seconds discussing our game plan under our breath. We tried to count it out and change the rhythm and it didn't work. Finally, Russell said, "Just go with me" and we rocked it with some improvisation :)

Next came the father-daughter dance. My dad does the waltz and only the waltz. Luckily, he does a really good waltz. I tend to stumble when unrehearsed, so dad just picked me up and swung me around the floor giving me few opportunities to put my feet on the floor. This was a good thing. We. looked. good.

This was followed by cutting the cake. The bite of cake we exchanged was scrumptious (Thanks Lisa's Cake Boutique), and, sadly, the only bite of cake we tasted. Along with the wedding cake were numerous cakes that my grandmothers and family friends put their heart and soul into. Everyone was impressed. We heard they were fabulous!
The night continued with chatting and introductions followed by dancing with friends. Russell did a romantic rendition of "No Diggity" that brought the house down. We ended the night with to-go boxes of sliders and fries and a ride back to the Capital Hotel. Along the way, after running into some late-night traffic, we spent some time with the classy cruisers of downtown Little Rock. We've never seen so many spinners :)

ALL IN ALL, IT WAS A PERFECT EVENING! A BEGINNING TO A PERFECT LIFE TOGETHER.