Who's Going to Hawaii?

I am! (Ken is, too.) Thanks to my lovely friends, Jessie and Ryan, we were given an excellent idea to find a flight back to North America from Korea that would include a layover in Hawaii. Success! Not only did we find a flight from Seoul to Honolulu for $500, we also found another flight departing from Honolulu to Toronto--ten days later--for only $300! The combined total cost of the flights came out to less than a direct flight from Seoul to Toronto. I still haven't figured out how it works out that way, but I'm most definitely not complaining, especially considering Ken and I aren't paying a dime for those tickets. (Our employment contracts state that our employer must pay for our flights back home. Yay!)

First, it should be noted that the most ridiculous part of my excitement regarding Hawaii stems from the fact that our wretched flight from Korea to North America will be broken up quite nicely. Getting from Korea to home is the longest, most painful flight I've ever endured and I've been dreading it all year (I've already done it five times). But this way, I'm only facing 8-hour increments on a plane, which is far more tolerable than the usual 14+.

Back to Hawaii: After our tickets were selected and paid for, both Ken and I were kind of at a loss as to where in Hawaii we should go. We've been to some pretty amazing islands and beaches around Southeast Asia and we were a little worried that some of the Hawaiian islands just wouldn't compare. (We're such travel snobs.) But after asking for some advice on Facebook and poking around on the internet for a few hours/days, we were finally sold on Kauai. It has been cited by a number of websites (and some of our friends have heartily agreed) as "the most amazing place in the world." Well, I guess we'll just have to see about that.

According to Google Images, this is what Kauai has the potential to look like:

I know it's foolish to get my hopes up, but... they're up. And, Kauai? You'd better provide the sunshine required for a nice tan.