HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.

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Posts Tagged: travel

December Me

It’s winter.
My camera and I have gone into hibernation.
I’ve been busy with work, busy with life.
But here are a few things I’ve been up to.

Capturing pink southern skies.

December Me

Staying warm.

December Me

And cozy.

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Despite winter frosties.

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And ice cold BIG beers.

December Me

We took apart & said goodbye to our
JC Penney vintage stove.
A very goodbye it was.
Now I’m finally cooking on a new stove… with gas!

December Me

I took a quick work trip
north to Kansas City.

Suitcase view from my hotel room.

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The best hotel delivery ever.

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People actually swimming
with snow on the ground.
Don’t worry, it’s heated.
There’s even a little tunnel you swim through
so you never have to climb outside.

December Me

While in KC, I met up with friends
for burgers and more Boulevard Wheat.

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So long Kansas City…

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Hello lazy day
with Photoshop & Joan Jett.

December Me

Back home,
I received my first Christmas gift.

1st Christmas Gift

A cowl scarf handmade by Stacy!

Cowl by Stacy

In other news,
I’m headed to Arizona in a few weeks
for a little work and a little football game

Yes, I'll be there.

Yep, I get to attend the
BCS National Championship game
with Auburn and Oregon.
It’s pretty much
the Super Bowl of college football.
So yeah, I’m excited.

With the holidays approaching,
I hope to blog more than I have been.
So, see ya soon…

Maui Forever

So here I am.
Sitting in my back yard.
Blogging.
Not in Maui.

backyard blogging

Sitting in a sea of grass.
Not by the sea on sand.

That’s okay though.
I’m home after a wonderful 5 day trip.
And can now relive my amazing adventure to Hawaii
through the photos that I snapped.

I didn’t take my nice camera,
so my point-n-shoot and iPhone had to work overtime.

So here’s how my trip went.
In a few words and many, many pictures.

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As a meeting planner, I’m often courted by hotels to check out their properties. Usually I decline, as it just isn’t relevant to an event that I’m planning. Sometimes though, I get invited to attend events specifically catered to me – the meeting planner. We gain continuing education credits through educational sessions (my goal is to be certified once I’m eligible), experience hotels first hand, and get to network with vendors and other planners.

This particular meeting was in Maui.
How awful.

It was my first trip to Hawaii and I have to say,
I am absolutely, positively in love.
Everything about it was incredible.
Everything.

I was slightly dreading the
8 hour flight from Dallas
but soon discovered that the long trip
and 5 hour time difference
was more than worth it.

Maui

When I arrived at the airport
I was greeted with a fresh flower lei.
(just like in the movies)

Maui

And when I arrived at the hotel
I was handed a Mai Tai.
(just like I needed)

Maui

And after check-in
I received a free pair of Maui Jim’s sunglasses
(just because)

Maui

My hotel suite at the Sheraton Maui Resort was
just perfect.
And the view from my balcony was even better.

Maui

My first night there, I went to the opening reception
on the ocean lawn.

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The next two days were spent
in meetings, touring properties, networking,
and lots of eating and drinking.

Touring the Westin

Maui

Beautiful trees

Maui

Pool party lunch

Maui

with massages by the ocean.
(told ya it was awful)

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Second night reception

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Cotton candy sunset

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A wonderful dinner seaside

Maui

Complete with entertainment

Maui

Lunch at the Ritz Carlton

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Pretty flowers everywhere
The whole island smelled delicious.

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Touring the Grand Wailea
Jennifer Anniston & Adam Sandler were there filming a movie!

Maui

Filming was in progress, so we couldn’t go up the stairs.

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Film equipment on the set.

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Final group dinner.

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Once my meetings were over,
I stayed an extra day and a half to do whatever I wanted.

Maui

I finally got to go to the beach!

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Where I hung out with two new friends
Cheryl and Janet, who I met at my meetings.

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The tiny figure on the left is Cheryl,
who bravely jumped off the cliff.

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My new found pals rented a convertible
and invited me to go on a mini road trip to Hana.
Yes, please!

We spent an entire day exploring rain forests and beaches.
I wrestled with the wind and a paper map in the backseat
while we drove down a curvy, one lane road
to paradise.

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We found the road to the
black sand beach

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My wind blown hair was lovely.
(ugly)

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Quick stop for the best banana bread on earth and ginger ale.

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Next stop on our map was the
red sand beach
but we got a bit off track in the small town of Hana.

Hotel Hana

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The place was empty.
We had our eyes on these perfect little lawn chairs,
so we rested for a spell.

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We asked for directions to the red sand beach,
but the hotel staff said they were instructed not tell tell anyone.
(apparently it was a nudist beach!)

After quite a treacherous hike,

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Maui

We found the red sand beach.

Maui

But we saw no nudes.
Thank goodness.

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Before heading to our last point of interest,
we stopped at Sweet Licks Goody Shack
for some Hawaiian shaved ice.

Maui

Maui

Finally, we made it to the
Seven Sacred Pools

Maui

Maui

We took the long way back to our hotel.
Back to civilization.

Parts of the journey were on a single lane dirt road.
For miles we didn’t see anything
except for wild goats
that ran out in front of our car.

Maui

Somehow me made it back in one piece..
and before 5 o’clock (when the rental car was due).

Back at the hotel we cheers’d to
new friends and a lovely day.

Maui

Maui

We sipped champagne,
as I watched my last Maui sunset.

Maui

Saturday morning was (sadly) my last day on the island.
My flight wasn’t until that night,
so I spent my morning in the sand.

Maui

It was all nice and relaxing.
Until a crazy fire broke out down the beach.

Maui

After it was safely put out,
I walked down to inspect the scene.

Maui

And with that,
my trip was over.
And I was sad.

Farewell, my Maui.
I miss you.

Maui

Love,
Sarah

C and C

This Thursday us girls had a little Cupcakes & Champagne action.

We threw in some knitting, Domino’s pizza tracking, and singing made up songs to strangers on Chatroulette for good measure.

Despite the fun, it just wasn’t my night:
a) I forgot my cupcakes at home.
b) the champagne I bought was rotten.
c) ants got to the cupcakes before I made it back home.

Don’t worry.
We had back up.

Also, I received some very exciting news this week, which I’ll share after some photos…

C&C

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As for my good news, I’m going to Maui in just 11 days!
I was invited to attend a few days worth of meetings in Hawaii, but I’m managing to get some relaxation time in too. It’s always been a dream of mine to go and this was just the perfect opportunity. Only bummer is that I’m going all alone!

Here’s my hotel, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa

Maui!

I’ll leave you with a tip I overheard from a little Bleubird
Pebbles is making cupcake cereal! I need some… now, please.

Cupcake Pebbles!

South Carolina

One of the many things that I love about my job is that I’m responsible for researching, and often visiting, hotels around the country for the meetings we have throughout the year. This past week I ventured to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to check out a resort. The hotel was lovely, the accommodations were more than roomy (I had a two bedroom suite all to myself), and they even sent me a special treat to my room when I tweeted about my stay! Of course there was plenty of business to take care of too. As nice as it was, I’m so happy to be home. It snowed for the first time since 1989 and I was a full day late getting home, meaning I spent my Valentines Day in an airport. Here are the photos from my trip…

Redbull was very necessary in preparing to get ready for the trip

And every ounce is completely necessary...

View from the airplane (breaking the rules)

The ocean! (disregarding the no phone rule)

View from my balcony

View from my balcony.

My driver

Just like in the movies...

Snow and palm trees

Snowy beach...

Fancy dessert for my tweet

Myrtle Beach - Marina Inn at Grande Dunes

Part of my suite

Myrtle Beach - Marina Inn at Grande Dunes

Sunset

Myrtle Beach - Marina Inn at Grande Dunes

The morning after the snow

Myrtle Beach - Marina Inn at Grande Dunes

How I spent my extra day away…

A blackberry muffin, latte, & This American Life podcasts.
South Carolina

Chicken, applewood bacon, & fried green tomato wrap. Mmm.

South Carolina

I watched the Arkansas game AND South Carolina game simultaneously

South Carolina

Dressed up. Dinner for one.

South Carolina

My Valentines Day in the airport

South Carolina

Almost home…

South Carolina