The next morning we went to the front office to discuss the situation. We said we'd be fine trying another condo, preferably an upstairs one that may not get bugs due to elevation from the ground. At first the guy said the only upstairs rooms they had available weren't ocean front, which was unacceptable. I mean, this is, after all, our honeymoon. We flew six thousand miles for Hawai段 ocean. We acquiesced to giving another first floor ocean front room a try, but then he got on the intercom and asked one of the service personnel if the 5201 was ready and it was. It was all Amy could do to not jump out of her skin right then, because 5201 was actually the room we wanted in the first place! We had asked for it when booking the reservations because one of the hotel reviews we read recommended that particular condo, but we had been told that it was unavailable. Plus it was a two-bedroom deluxe, which should be about $100 more per night. We had to be cool. We asked if we could take a look at it first to make sure it would be adequate. He willingly obliged and gave us the keys. The condo was gorgeous. Huge! We restrained ourselves from running back to the office. We said we would give the new place a try and also asked for a refund for the night we slept in the car. No problem. This new place was beautiful and easy to get lost in. It felt like it hung right out over the ocean. We moved all our stuff and checked it all for bugs. Damon was too sunburned to venture outside and risk ruining the rest of the honeymoon. So he stayed inside and worked on the new web page for damonandamy.com while Amy went down to the rocks and took some pictures. After a while Damon took a nap while Amy went into town to do some shopping. She bought some pretty pearl earrings to wear for the wedding ceremony and picked up a couple of slices of pizza to bring back to the condo for a late afternoon snack. After eating it was time to prepare for the ceremony. We made a picnic of snacks and brought along some champagne and bottled water. We dressed up in our Hawai段an outfits and Amy made a little bouquet from the flowers Jeff sent us.

The trip to Lumaha段 Beach took about 90 minutes. Lumaha段 Beach is where Mitzy Gaynor sang about washing that man out of her hair in the movie, "South Pacific." There are numerous one lane bridges along the way and the traffic moves slowly in places. We parked at some little bulge in the road near mile marker 5 that was just big enough for maybe a dozen cars to park. [N22.21412 W159.51855] There were no signs that a beach was nearby, just a cliff with lots of trees. We met our wedding coordinator and photographer there and began the walk down to the beach. It was a pretty little path through the trees made up of roots and dirt and fallen leaves. After about 5 minutes, we broke out of the woods and there was the beach! Once we got there we started taking pictures. The minister, Koko, showed up during the picture taking. We said our vows and took some more pictures. The composition of that beach was really nice for photos. There was of course sand and see, but also these huge outcroppings of lava rock that made an interesting landscape. As usual, there was hardly anyone else there. As we were signing the credit card receipt Amy asked if it was customary to give a tip. We didn't know, we'd never done this before! She said yes and afterwards told us that the tip would not be wasted - they would use it to buy a drink at the Tahiti Nui and toast to us. How sweet!

After we were finished with all proceedings we shooed them off and opened up our picnic. The surf was really rough. Our initial plans had included playing in the water a bit after the ceremony, but that just wasn't going to happen. Which was fine, anyway. The strong waves were wonderful to see and hear, and this way we wouldn't have to ride all the way home all salty and with Amy's mascara smeared all over her face. The sun was setting behind the mountains (or what is referred to as Bali Hai in the movie, "South Pacific") and was partially obscured by clouds. As we ate some cheese and crackers and drank a little champagne we gazed out at the sunset and the surf and the clouds rolling by, as well as a rain storm way out on the water. Damon had previously researched when the sun was going to set and when the moon would rise, and there was a difference of a few hours. That meant that after the sun set near the equator it would get dark quickly and there would be no moon to light our way back to the car. We noticed that we hadn't brought any way to light our winding path through the woods if it did get too dark, but the thought of being alone on a dark beach under the stars made it tempting to stay anyway. We toyed with the idea of taking our chances. Surely we would figure it out, it's not that far. Then we noticed that that storm we had been watching had actually been coming toward us, and was now on us. So that made the decision for us and we made a dash for the woods. We saw one last couple disappear into the treeline and headed in that direction. It turns out that we were lucky the rain made us leave when we did. There was still plenty of light out, just dusky, but even with dim light we had to stop and really look for the path we used, then pick our way carefully over roots and rocks up the hill to the car. We agreed that it wouldn't have been a good idea to try to do that in the pitch dark. It did get dark quickly, but the rain subsided by the time we reached the car. We decided our evening was over and began our pleasant drive back to the condo as a newly married couple.

We got about 2 miles from where we got married and passed the Tahiti Nui right on the main road. [N22.20346 W159.4954] Well since that kinda fell in our laps it seemed like it would be bad karma or something if we didn't check it out. We decided to go in and see if they were really toasting us, and stay for maybe just a few minutes. We were in for such a treat. The Tahiti Nui was a tiny little bar with a warm and friendly local atmosphere.

It turns out that the whole gang was indeed there. Koko was the first person we recognized, with his unmistakable head of white hair. He and his family were on the porch and he gave us an animated welcome, introducing us to everyone as newlyweds he had just married. They all congratulated us and he then escorted us inside where the ladies were (the wedding coordinator and photographer, Kirby and Jeani, respectively). They seated at line of tables that had been pushed together with some extended helpers that work on bigger weddings with them. They were munching on some food and drinking it up - and so glad to see us! Smiles everywhere, they pulled up another table for us, which happened to be right in front of the performer, who happened to be Koko's brother, Keli'i. He played 12-string guitar and sang a mix of Hawai段an tunes and various other songs we knew. We made ourselves comfortable and settled into the lively atmosphere. Jeani came over and said we were going to get "so many extra pictures!" She said that we should dance so that she can get some pictures of us dancing. We said that we had already been planning on it and were just waiting for an upbeat tune. Shortly after that we noticed her in a conversation with Koko, then Koko was in a conversation with Keli'i between songs, and then wouldn't you know it, the next song was upbeat. We had a lovely dance on the tiny dance floor by ourselves and were applauded and congratulated afterwards. Jeani talked to us some more about the place and the people, explaining that Keli'i's wife is a world renowned hula dancer, Miss Hawai段 Hula or something like that a number of years back. Amy asked where she was and apparently she just hadn't come out that night. He had a few sons present, but that was it. At one point some short old gentleman named Richard came out and started doing a really slow dance to one of the songs. Everyone cheered and encouraged him. When Keli'i finally took a break we decided that would be a good time to make our exit, but as we were getting up to leave, Koko came in with a pair of congas. We were informed that he would be joining his brother for a few numbers and our table of ladies urged us to stay. Well, we certainly couldn't miss this. Here's our minister, the man who just performed our ceremony of matrimony and happiness ever after, here he is drinking Coronas, smoking cigarettes, and playing congas in a local bar. We just soaked it all in.

One of their first songs was "Here, There, and Everywhere" which it just so happens we had chosen for our wedding reception the week before. They also did a Marvin Gaye medley and a few other songs we knew. At some point in all this, Keli'i's wife came in after all. She got up and told the crowd it was his birthday. We were treated to a few dances by her while the two men played the music. She was incredible. The whole experience was nothing short of magical. She was probably in her forties, dressed in a black t-shirt and black casual calf-length tiered skirt, hair pulled back, no make-up, somebody's mother. Usually when you see a hula performance, you have the grass skirts and the coconut bras and the leis and fire eating and chanting and the whole big inflated production. Here was just a local impromptu casual performance for some friends like you don't see in the tourist traps. And everyone in this little place loved it. This is how the people actually live here.

We have video footage of one of her dances as well as the Marvin Gaye medley. However, the videos and photos just cannot capture the enchantment of that night. Although the hula dancing video did capture the charming drunk idiot at the bar. He's the one you can hear yelling stupid comments and singing in the wrong place numerous times during the medley. Sure glad we caught that!

Finally we decided to head back to the hotel and sleep. All in all it was a great day - the cockroaches gave us quite a condo upgrade and the rain gave us quite a hula show. Tomorrow we'll be zipping through the jungle.