Why a week at the Grand Hyatt Kauai is the best first vacation a couple should take.

As I sat in one of the three outdoor jacuzzi's, the sound of the rushing water from one of the hotel's many waterfalls behind me, I gazed up at the incredibly clear night sky, awed at the thousands of stars visible to the naked eye. Next to me sat my girlfriend, and around me were fellow young travelers. In that moment, I wondered if life could get any better.

Three nights later, wrapped in a spa robe, enjoying cocktails and desserts at 1 A.M in the living room of the Presidential Suite (AKA the Kaumuali'i Royal Suite), I realized it had gotten better.

I have visited a large portion of major tourist hotspots across the U.S: From Miami to Vermont, from L.A to Seattle. I've stayed in luxurious resorts and hotels, and been pampered on numerous cruise ships.

The best two vacations that I've had in the U.S were in the same spot: At the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa in Poipu, Hawaii.

Let's start with who you are: you're young, you're a professional, and you have someone in your life that you want to either impress, relax with, propose to, or honeymoon with.  You also live west of the Mississippi.  If you live on the east coast, as beautiful as Kauai is, it is likely impractical/unnecessary as a first vacation.  There are numerous sweet spots up and down the Atlantic coast for you and your significant other, and Hawaii does not need to be first on your list.

And, as much as I hate to admit, if you aren't in a relationship, this isn't the place for you.  A week in Honolulu might be a better fit if it's a Hawaiian vacation you're after.

The Grand Hyatt Kauai is located on the south shore of Kauai: an island that is peaceful, scenic, and offers plenty of adventure.  The resort features world-class restaurants, a magnificent pool, second-to-none service, a divine spa, and plenty of shops and activities right on property.  Outdoor table-tennis, walks along the beach, sea-turtle spotting, kayaking, tennis, and luau's are all available activities ON PROPERTY.  So you can only imagine how much more there is on the rest of the island.

Customer service at the resort is impeccable, and from the treatment you receive, you will feel less like a customer, and more like a welcome guest.  From the valet, to the bell-service, the front desk, and the concierge, everything that is done is done to make your stay that much more enjoyable.
The pool area is perhaps the highlight of available activities at the resort, a multiple tier recreation zone that features a lazy river (very light current, not similar to theme park lazy rivers), swim-under waterfalls, a two story water slide, volleyball net, numerous jacuzzi's, and plenty of loungers and bars.

Your room... well, while you may not have the opportunity to enjoy the vastness of the Presidential Suite, odds are you'll end up in an overly spacious room with a view that you wish you had at home, and you'll sleep in an incredibly comfortable bed.  I've slept in five room categories over two stays, and I've no complaints.  If you don't like critters like lizards, request a room on a non-ground level floor. (Floors 1 and 3 are ground level)

So why is this the best first vacation a young couple can take? Nearly everything you can do is meant to be done as a couple, and nearly every element of this hotel has been designed for couples to take advantage of.  Even that first "Wow" moment when you walk into the lobby is better shared with a significant other.

The outside of the resort especially promotes romance, with a sunrise beach, rocking benches, and foliage such as plumeria trees and orchids all around.  Dinner at their on-grounds Tidepools restaurant has the perfect atmosphere, and was rated the best place for a romantic dinner in Kauai for several years by the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook (alongside dinner on the beach).

Most importantly, no matter how much you read about the hotel, no matter how many pictures you see... you will arrive at the resort with high expectations, and those expectations will be blown out of the water. 

You'll want to keep a pen and pad with you at all times.... because you'll want to give extra thanks to EVERY person you talk to.  I'm still kicking myself for missing names at the Valet and Grand Club. Here are some names I did have time to write down that provided excellent/exceptional service and that you might have the privilege of interacting with. At the front desk: Eric, Ronald, Jacob, Sophia, Jimena, Lauren. Bellhop Service: Irvin. That in no way means that the rest of the people I dealt with didn't provide excellent/exceptional service, but like I said, I can only note/remember so many names.

For an extensive tour of the Presidential Suite:

3D America Presents: The Kaumuali'i Royal Suite

For a tour of Kauai:
3D America Presents: Kauai: Land, Sea, and Air (2D or 3D)

Life without Facebook.

Have you ever read a Facebook post so dumb, so irresponsible, so incomprehensibly terrible that you instinctively throw the screen you read it on against a brick wall?  No? Neither had I, but based on several posts of lesser stupidity, I knew the day would be inevitable.  So what action did I take?  I did what any noble American would do and blamed the issue squarely on Obama.

Oh wait, no, I deactivated my Facebook account, confident that the stupidity could haunt me no more.  But alas, my withdrawals began, and I am here to give my account of life.... without Facebook.

Day 1: I deactivate my account, and head over to IGN.com for the latest gaming and movie news.  After reading a couple articles, my fingers inexplicably enter Facebook.com into the address bar.  I realize I am no longer on Facebook.

Day 2: I have a dozen thoughts which would make great Facebook posts.  I am no longer on Facebook.

Day 7: I take a picture of my burger.  It's at this point I realize it may be a good thing I am no longer on Facebook.

Day 32: For the first time ever, I start a Blog.

Day 33: For the first time ever, I am on Twitter.

Day 34: For the first time ever, I am on Reddit.

Day 62: A friend of mine celebrates 100 days of Sobriety.  I joke that I have been sober for 62 days.  My friend is not amused.

Day 75: I am keenly aware I will one day be back on Facebook.

8 months in: I wonder what the rest of the world is up to.

One Year: I was going to post about it on Facebook, but that'd be counterintuitive.

Posting "RIP" on Facebook in reference to a celebrity is the lofty way of saying "FIRST!"

We all felt the sting of the news that Robin Williams had passed away, and none of us had to say anything to anyone to know that the news sucked ass.

I haven't been on Facebook in 2 months, but because I know the psychology of Facebook users (self included), I know that on that day millions of people posted "RIP Robin Williams."  There is no denying it, you saw it (or worse, you posted it).    It follows in the footsteps of "RIP Paul Walker", and "RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman."  If you or your friends are extra special, you might have even seen or posted "RIP Vin Diesel," or "RIP Jim Carrey" this year, despite the fact that they are both alive and well.

The impact of your friend's posts on the subject matter cannot be overstated enough.  Their earth shattering insight into the meaning of the loss of a celebrities life using only three simple letters defies all research on the capacity of the human mind.

So when you've recovered from this dramatic discovery, let me tell you what your friends really meant when they said "RIP Robin Williams."

They said, plain and simple: "FIRST!"  They didn't say the implied "RIP Robin Williams, I will miss your comedy as will the world."  They didn't say "RIP Robin Williams, this message is written in tribute to you out of pure respect and love for an incredible human being."

What your friends (and maybe you) said was "RIP Robin Williams, I am writing this because although I loved your comedy and acting, more importantly I'm hoping my friends will hear this from me first, because being the first to know that you've died and relaying that information to others is one of the greatest satisfactions I can gain by using Facebook.  Given that I haven't seen any of my other friends post about this yet, I can safely assume that I am the first among the 1000 people on my friends list, and that makes me special/cool."

I don't mean to take away your feelings about the deaths of actors and actresses, I'm sure they exist in you as they do in me.  But we all know that the "RIP" post isn't about sharing our feelings or paying respect.  We know this because it is so much a shallow and plain remark, and that posting anything on Facebook is typically such a shallow and plain action, that the sentiment couldn't even begin to express our actual feelings or our gratitude for the impact someone has had on our lives.  It isn't a profound statement and it won't lead to any epiphanies.  It is "First", and I'm just glad that the assistant who found his body called the paramedics before taking to Facebook or Twitter to post "RIP".

So do yourself and the rest of us a favor and.... oh crap, RIP Tom Cruise!

The Verizon Smart Rewards is actually the dumbest rewards program ever created: Here's Why

                The other day after logging onto verizon wireless, I noticed that over 20,000 points had been added to my account and that there was now a program on Verizon's website entitled "Verizon Smart Rewards".  I immediately signed up, as I am a member of numerous rewards programs through credit cards, retailers, hotel and airline chains.  I accepted terms and conditions, figuring that releasing my information would be worth what I could redeem from the rewards program.
                I have never been more wrong.
                To begin with, this program markets that members receive 10,000 points for every year they have been with Verizon.  However, I have been with Verizon since late 2008, and was only given credit for 2 years.
                Second, every single travel deal I searched for on their website I found would still cost me more money after I used points than booking via other websites:  Cruise Fare, Hotel Fare, Car Rental fare.  I have several vacations planned in the near future, and I figured my points would help me save money, but after researching different vacations to Hawaii, Los Angeles, and the Caribbean I found that is definitely not the case.  
                When it comes to booking hotels, Verizon is asking people to sacrifice any points they may earn via hotel loyalty (most hotel’s policy), they are only offering a discount off their standard rates, whereas many times hotels have better promotional rates. And in the rare event someone should find a better standard rate than shown on their website, they don’t even offer to beat the rate, but simply offer a refund/credit.
                The gift card sales sent my hopes skyrocketing.  Every rewards program I am a part of gives a value of at least 1 cent per point.  With 20,000 points on my Verizon account, that would be an easy $200.  Verizon's gift card sales seem to affirm the value of 1 cent per point (as well as their travel discount program), but it is absolutely insulting that you cannot redeem more than 10% of a gift card via points.  No other rewards program I am part of has this limitation.
                Yet, for all the above flops, their auction system is the worst offender of the program, in my opinion.  I would easily have to spend an hour on the site to win a gift card via the extended play option, and it seems like a snowballs chance in hell that I could win an auction that doesn’t have the extended play.  In the few times I bid, I felt like I was fighting for tickets to a popular event (IE. Superbowl) when in fact I was bidding on a $100 gift card.
                Even Verizon's daily deal feels like a kick in the face at times.  A $5 gift card for 500 points seemed to be the best offering yet, again affirming the 1 cent per point value.  But 15 minutes past the time when it was offered I was unable to obtain the item, as every one of them was already in other peoples carts.
                In my sincere and educated opinion, this program is more of an insult than if they had never implemented one to begin with.  Verizon is rewarding years of brand loyalty by asking people to sacrifice more of their privacy in exchange for 10% off coupons, extensively time-consuming or near impossible to win auctions, travel deals that are for suckers, and the chance to win a single galaxy note tablet in a sweepstakes that could potentially involve an entry for each of their 100 million+ customers.

Update 9/17/15: I have left Verizon, happy to no longer think about this ridiculous program that wasted 2-3 hours of my life.  My account balance is over 103,000 points, which Verizon can take, and shove up their butts. (For reference, I recently used 70,000 points from a different program and redeemed for a $7K business class flight overseas, so to be willing to give up 103,000 points IMO is a great example of how worthless this program is.)