Snorkeling in Hanamua Bay

We started our day off in Starbucks and enjoyed an hour of downtime before we had to head back to the hostel for our tour pickup at 7:20am. The driver had a fifteen minute window in which he was suppose to pick us up and he didn't disappoint ten minutes later. We were the last in the tour pick up, and as we joined the crowd, everyone was given fins, a mask, and a snorkel. As the driver took us out to the bay, he gave us instructions on how to put the mask on and things not to do while in the water. He dropped us off and we had to wait in a long line to pay the nature perserve fee and then watch a nine minute film about the Bay. I wasn't feeling too good by this time as the putting on the mask to check the seal in the car left me a bit woozy, and the beating sun wasn't helping matters. I was already in a bad mood and I hadn't even gotten into the water. 

Once we made it through all the requirements, we walked down to the Bay. I tried to get a locker but I wasn't going to pay the $7 so I took my chances with the beach. Our driver had told us to wade into the water and the put our fins on which we did, however, as I was sitting down trying to wrestle with my fins it was brought to my attention that there was a Hawaiian Monk Seal behind me, and I was asked to give it some room. Of course trying to move out of the way with flippers attached to my feet made it hard to maneuver. I finally got away from the seal, fins attached, mask on, and snorkel I place, the only thing left to do was to go underwater. As soon as I did I panicked. I did not like seeing what was underwater. It took a while for me to acclimate my breathing to accommodate the snorkel, but trying to get that to work with the flippers was a task to complicated for me. I did my best and had a few good runs, swimming alongside Dad who was a snorkel natural. 

We saw tons of different types of fish, schools of fish, and even an eel which came out of its hole right next to me. Dad had to point it out to me because I was totally oblivious. I tried taking video and a few pictures but I'm not sure how they turned out, so I'll have to wait until I get home to see if we got anything good. I was just focused on trying not to panic or get eaten by the sea creatures below. 

We paid the $1.25 to take the tram back up the steep hill and met our driver at the bottom of the Bay. One of the families we traveled in with never showed up soit was just Dad and I and a couple from Vancover,  B.C.. We had a nice conversation on the way back. 

We had nothing else planned, but because I still hadn't seen a sea turtle, I did manage to finally see a mongoose or two, I wanted to go the aquariam after lunch. We ate at Teddy's Bigger Burger which was recommended to us by our driver. The aquariam was a little disappointing. Seeing some of the fish, especially the big ones were cool. There were two sharks! They were creepy to look at but I didn't see any teeth so I didnt totally lose it. There was one lonely sea turtle which just made me sad, but the octopus and jellyfish were cool to look at. With the aquariam throughtly looked through we went out and just laid in the grass, slept, and read. We took one final swim in the ocean and then off to dinner once last time in Waikiki. We had tried to find the karoke place one of Dad's friends has mentioned but it wasn't there. While we tried to find it there were loud booms, but we couldn't see the source becuase we were surrounded by buildings. Dad correctly deduced that they were fireworks and we were able to see the tail end of it when we walked to the corner. We started to walk towards the beach but they finished before we could get up there or get our cameras out. With no karoke we headed back for one more night at the hostel.  

Diamond Head and The Honolulu Museum of Art

To say I woke up sore would be an understatement. It was just two hours of surfing yesterday, but it beat me up pretty bad and I've got the cuts and rash to prove it. I woke up and could barely move. Thankfully, I slept through the night becuase once I got down from the top bunk, I wasn't going back up. My arms were the sorest, from all the paddling. My legs and feet were already in pretty bad shape and my core had been worked like it's never been worked before. I was laughing I hurt so much everywhere, and even laughing hurt. I did manage to get down from bed, and we were able to start our morning albeit a slow start. 

We had two things planned for the day. The first was to hike Diamond Head, which a co-worker had told me I had to do, and the second was to go to the art museum. We started with breakfast at Starbucks becuase it was convenitly located near the bus we were going to take, and becuase they serve hot tea. I found that in Hawaii, tea is served iced and very few establishments serve it hot. I enjoyed my. Abel with cream cheese and banana while I looked up the bus route. Unfortunetly, becuase it was Sunday, the bus were running later and we would have to wait until close to two hours for the first bus. The start of the hiking trail was close to two miles so we thought we would just walk it, getting us to Diamond Head much quicker. Today also marked a triathlon. The triathlon's route was the same route we were taking towards Diamond Head. It didn't cause us any problems until we got to a point where the sidewalk was closed for just a small section so we had to walk around I. The path of the runners. Even though we didn't get I the way of the runners and we had no choice a police office scolded us and told us there was a rave going on so we needed to stay on the sidewalk. We probably would have gotten yelled at had we walked on the closed sidewalk. To add insult to injury, we had gotten a little further, walking I the sidewalk, when the runners started to come on the sidewalk even though they had their own space on the road. As soon as there was a path on the opposite side of the street we crossed over, and were left I peace the rest of the way up to the crater. 

It had been a long walk in, and we stopped to enjoy some shaved ice and rest before starting our ascent. I hadn't brought any water with me so I went to the vending machine. It it ate my money! I was pissed. What represented itself as the visitor center didn't sell any either and I forgot about the shaved ice truck until I had already started up the crater. 

I had been thinking the day before that I wasn't going to be able to do the hike becuase my feet hurt so much but with propping my feet up and taking asprin, I started the morning out with a reasonable walk and. It the hobbling I had been doing. I was beginning to feel like an old lady in need of a cane. By the time we had walked up to the crater, my feet were not happy, and I still had the main hike ahead of me. I steeled myself against the pain and, very slowly, started to hike up to the summit. There were a lot of people and the road was rough. I had to take several breaks to catch my breath and share I Dad's water which quickly ran out. I was doing okay. I wasn't I great shape but I was making do. Pushing myself further, then came the steps. They were steep, and there were a lot of the with no resting place so you has to keep going becuase there where people behind you. 

After the stairs there was a sloping tunnel which was poorly light. I hadn't been able to catch my breath for the stairs and starting coughing in the tunnel because I couldn't breathe. The people behind me had finally had enough and passed me, which meant I could take the moment I needed to stop and breathe. Thankfully, at the end of the tunnel was a resting area where I had to sit until my breathing slowed enough to tackle the next 99 steps straight up. There was an easier flight of stairs, but they were the stairs you were meant to go down instead of up, and I had to push myself. 

The first half of the giant staircase was fine and I was thinking I can do this, no problem. Then I started going slower and slower, until again the people behind me went around. I got some encouragement from passerby, but those last few stairs kicked my ass. My the time I got to the top I was weazing, sweating profusely, and needed water. I felt like I was going to throw up or pass out, or quite honestly, both. I did not was to end up in the hospital so I sat down right where I was I order to let the wind, which was blowing strong from my vantage point, cool me down and to catch my breathless, but I knew I needed water. Dad gave me the last dribble of water he had, and then I just had to wait until I had calmed down enough to continue. I hadn't come all this way to quit now. 

At the end of this tunnel was a two story spiral staircase which was much easier to traverse than the 99 steps. This brought me into a small room and I had one more obstacle to overcome. There were two stairs that led up to the viewpoint, but the roof leveled out making it hard to maneuver into the correct position without hitting my head. I had also chosen to do the hike in a short dress, so I'm sure I was flashing some people. 

I was a bit shaky but I had made it to the top and was gifted with some water from the Hawaiian Gods, making the downward climb much more doable. We didn't go all the way to the top. It was just more stairs, with more people, and with the same view. I was tired and didn't mind heading back to the ground. 

The way back down was much easier and seemed to go a lot faster. Someone had mentioned that they should put in a zipline for the way down which would have been awesome. There were some scary spots. We people going up and down at the same time only one person can hold onto the railing, but the crater itself did me well. We got more water went we finally reached the bottom and headed out to the road to catch the bus. The best thing I overheard on the way up was from a group of three sisters. The first one asked another one if she wanted water and she said no, so the first sister was like "ok but if you pass out on me I'll pour the water over you" to which the other sister replied "don't do that, that would be a waste of water. Slap me instead." The first sister had no problem with that idea "you said it!"

The art museum was on my list of things to do in Hawaii despite the fact that I hate museums. The reason behind this desire was that the Honolulu Musuem of Art houses a Van Gogh painting and it is my life goal to visit all the known and public Van Gogh paintings. The rest of the art was nice to look and we spent a good two hours there. I spent at least half an hour just looking at the Van Gogh painting since that was my reason to go. We caught the bus back to the hostel, ditching our original plans of going to karoke. I sat in the lounge downstairs and read a book from the hostel library and Dad went to the beach. We had some dinner, again at Wolfgang Puck's Express and then headed back to the room to rest up for our finally day in Hawaii. 

Gidget goes Hawaiian: Surfing 101

Bruised, battered and bloody, that's how I am after my surfing lesson this morning. Our appointment wasn't until 9 so we had a nice relaxing morning before arriving 20 minutes early. We had to wait even longer becuase there was group that had some kind of miscommunication and had to be picked up, but once we were all there the lesson commenced. We started with a land lesson. They showed us their four step process to stand up on the board, and then each of us had to try it. I was able to do it and did good with my back let out to the side but this was on land. After everyone had a go we all loaded up into the cars and headed for the beach. They gave us rash guards and reef shoes, threw the surfboards in the water and we all started to paddle out. 

Paddling is an intense work out. I was the last one paddling out becuase I had a hard time gaining any momentum, but I made it out there! We got some pretty good waves. My first time with a waved not go so well. I paddled out. It when the guy said "up" I was meant to put my hands on the rails at my ribcage, slide my knees forward, place my hands in front of me on the board, bring my left leg forward and then roll my right foot up to be in a standing position. I did none of that. As the words left the instructors mouth I forgot everything he had told me. I glided for a bit before falling off. I caught two good waves and was able to go up onto my knees but I never got into a standing position. Even just on my knees the feeling was amazing (and I know this sentence can be taken out of context but let's keep our minds out of the gutter and on surfing please). The one thing I noticed about the two good waves I caught was that I had a good mount on the board (again context). The rest of the waves my mind went blank and I merely glided. 

I didn't have a lot of downtown in between waves because the time it took me to get back to the launch point, it was my turn again. When I did have downtime I was getting beaten up by the reef, close lined by other surfboards, or inhaling large quantities of salt water through my nose! I got scrapped up pretty bad. Three cuts on my left leg and both knees scrapped. 

All in all it was a good experience, and although I wasn't able to stand up on the surfboard, I got on one and caught a few waves. 

Surfing was followed up with a pizza at Wolfgang Pucks Express and for me it was a trip to the gift shop while it was a trip to the beach to sunbathe for Dad. 

The afternoon was spent lounging around and resting up, and the night was finished up at the Moana Terrance, a restaurant with live music. We both thought about getting a "Hawaiian" drink but they all have rum and pineapple juice, not a combination that seemed appealing. I eventually went with a British meal of fish and chips with a Guinness on Hawaii. 

The North Shore

Happy birthday to me! Today marked my 27th year and I was able to cross off two things from my bucket list: 1. Ride in a helicopter and 2. See the pineapple fields. I was a bit apprehensive to start the day off due to the schedule mishap, but knew I needed to role with the punches as I was reminded when I complained about it on Facebook! We got up early, had breakfast and headed over to the hotel to pick up the rental car. We ended up with a 2014 red Chevy Sonic. It was a nice enough car, but the seats weren't comfortable while driving. Again, I was acting as the navigator, but did a near flawless job. We drove past the place the first time, but a friendly cashier was able to steer us in the right direction. 

Arriving at Paradise helicopters located at Turtle Bay Resort, they profusely apologized for the schedule mishap and got me all checked in. Ihad to wait for two other people, Shelby and Joe. We went through the safety briefing, got our life vest packs on,and wet out to board the helicopter. I was doing the doors off tour so I got the front seat up by the pilot. We had to be loaded into the helicopter one by one so the ground person could help is with our seat belts. I had a five buckle harness which I was thankful for. Headsets were put on and tested and then we were ready for lift off. I had a mini panic attack wondering what the hell I was doing on a doors off helicopter but the fear and anxiety melted into excitement. Plus it didn't really matter because we were up in the air and starting the tour; there was no turning back now. The ride was pretty amazing. There's so much you can see from the air that you can't see from the ground. We flew over the North Shore and into Kualoa valley which was beautiful. We flew by the 1000 foot falls and turned around to view it twice. I was not a fan of the turns. It made me a little queasy but also I was directly over the land below. I held on for dear life the entire trip. One hand on the door strap and one on my camera. We flew over H3 which is one of three highways, this one which goes through the mountains, and into Honolulu airspace. We flew over a Pearl Harbor and enjoyed the topside view of The USS Missiouri and the Arizona Memorial. Onour way back we saw an army base with grounded helicopters lining the field, passed end the pineapple fields of Dole and saw the world's largest maze from above. By this point I was not feeling well, but I was determined not to blow chunks. I breathed in and out, took random pictures with the camera in a stable position inmy lef so I didn't have to look through the view finder, and I kept my vision straight ahead. When Captain Bob told us we had about 4 minutes left, I was pretty ecstatic. When we saw the Turtle Bay Resort, I cheered in my head. The touchdown was a lot more smooth than the liftoff. There was one bump at the end as the helicopter jumped over from its original landing space but other than that it was smooth.   I was I a state of shock that I had actually done it, and Captain Bob had to help me with my headset and harness. Ground control came over to get me out of the helicopter and I was back on solid ground. Once the helicopter fully shut down, yeah I had to exit as the propellers were still propelling, we had time to take a few photos with the helicopter. I'm glad I did it, and at such a beautiful place. 

Next on our list was to visit Dole plantation to see the pineapple fields. It was super busy and the line for tickets was long,but we got through it and headed for the Pineapple Express, the train which goes around the plantation and gives some history of the plantation. When we finally got on board, we had to wait through two train boardings so we could sit together we were in the back of the train which worked out well becuase one of the drivers sat behind us in the last seat and pointed out different things to us that the audio track left out, or pointed out where the bananas were. We lucked out there. After the 20 minute train ride it was time for lunch at the Dole grille. The food wasn't bad, but was more interesting was watching the chickens eat leftover food, I was hoping they weren't practicing canabalism, and a cat wanting to eat the food. Surprisingly the cat didn't attack the chicken, it was the other way around! Nimbus would have been all over those birds. Once the birds had moved on, the cat moved in to finish off what the chickens had left. We had one last activity, which was the garden tour which came with an audio guide. It was cool to see all the plants and hear the history and uses for all, but unless you're really into plants I would skip this. 

With Dole finished, it was time to head back to Waikiki. Unfortuntely, my ipad, which had the directions, died at the last minute so we'd had to rely on my map reading skills. We stopped at the first gas station to fill up the tank, $4.29 a gallon, and I set to work with the map. They should start calling me 'Compass McGee' as I was able to figure out where we were on the map and how to get back to the hotel without getting lost or having to turn around! 

The returning of the car was a huge debacle. We were suppose to return it the next day, but had no where to park it. If we turned it I early, after the car rental place had closed down we were going to be charged a fee. The rental car place didn't open until 7 the next morning and we had a tour leaving at 7 the next morning. We decided to just bite the bullet and pay the late fee, what else were we really going to do? The only problem was that the lot was full. We drove all the way up and then all the way back down. We were suppose to park in a space numbered above 50. Even though there were spaces specifically for rental cars which was annoying. We were just going to park the car in the rental space when we noticed a few vehicles had come back down so we decided to try again and we were rewarded with a parking space. 

The day had been a long one, but we knew we were going to have an early start the next morning and needed water and possibly a breakfast snack. Plus I was hungry and was craving pizza. We started down towards a food market, not an ABC store, a do the way we saw a few pizza boxes and I was intrigued. The second box I saw walking buy I was sold and just had to have some pizza. We found the outdoor place not much further along the street. We ordered a Pepporoni Plus with black olives and red peppers, but were told the wait would be between 30-35 minutes. While we waited, we went back to a little 24 hour market we had seen and got our water and muffins and the went back to wait. The whole set up for the pizza place was small, a two man job. One to take the orders and one to make the pizza and we were able to view the whole process. We felt bad for the chef who had to stand next to the open oven but it was amazing to watch him make pizza after pizza. When our pizza was ready we headed to the beach to enjoy it under the night sky. 

Kualoa Ranch

Today was an early morning start, 7am. Really it was all that early becuase we were up and at'em earlier than that. It's hard to sleep in a room full of strangers, and it almost seems like it takes longer for time to pass here. I kept waking up every hour, as I have been since I got here. I finally figured out the freezing problem though. My bed is right next to th AC, and every other night we've staid here I ended up freezing to death over night and into the morning. The hostel only gives out sheets. No blankets. I finally just turned the AC to lo fan instead of cooling and I didn't freeze at night. It was a simple solution, but one that took me two nights to figure out. To be fair the AC had always just been on and I didn't touch it, but this night, I had to turn it on. 

We arrived at the hotel where we were being picked up which is right across the street from where we're staying and waited for the bus to show up. The bus ride took about 45-50 minutes to get out to Kualoa Ranch but it was a beautiful journey. On the way we had to fill out a paper letting them know what we wanted to do. We had signed up for the full day experience which entitled us to four 1 hour tours. There was a little disconnect between the website and the actually ranch on what we could actually go on. One of the tours counted as two tours, but it was a different tour than the one listed on the website. It wasn't too muchof a downfall as the tour that counted as two was on the beach. We ended up going with the Garden and Fishpond, Ocean Voyage, Movie Sites and Ranch, and finally the Jungle Excersion. The ranch personnel were helpful and friendly. They took us though a quick orientation, and the gave us our schedule and showed us where wee were suppose to be at what time. It was such a breathe of fresh air becuase we knew where we were going, and there was no need to go into panic mood. 

The Garden and Fishpond tour was led by Godfrey. We toured the gardens full of a range of fruit including avocados, bananas, and star fruit. We got to have a taste of the star fruit and gauva. Next we boarded a small boat to ride around on the fishpond. Godfrey told us how the fishpond was made and pointed out some fish. On our way back, he points out some movie sites including 50 first dates, Fantasy Island, and Lost. Back on land, we crushed macademian nuts with rocks and then loaded back onto the bus to go back for our next tour. 

Kai (I think that was his name) led the Ocean Voyage, which took us back across the fishpond and onto the Secret Island. We had to wait for the boat to get back on shore becuase we were early, so we got to enjoy the view from the beach was nice. We all boarded on the catamaran and headed out to sea. A little girl lost her hat and cried but then it was just holding of for dear life as the boat rode the waves out about a mile into the Bay. I got some good shots of Chinamen's Hat. We went passed a reef where there are a lot of turtles, but I wasn't able to see any. Dad saw one pop his head out. 

Lunch was then served, buffet style. I, of course, had forgotten to ask in advance about a vegetarian.unch so I had to make do with the salad, rice and upside down pinapple cake. I wasn't all that hungry anyways so it worked out. Our next tour was the one I was most looking forward to the Movie Site and Ranch tour. This tour was led by Jordan (or Steve if you didn't like the tour). So many movies have been filmed in the Kualoa Valley! We stopped by the Jurassic Park site where Dr. Grant and the two kids have to hid behind a dead tree to escape the fleeing dinosaurs. We saw Godzilla's footprint and Hurley's golf course. We walked through an old World War II bunker which started out as a tribute to the movies and ended in a history lesson. 

Our final tour of the day was the Jungle Expedition which was led by Keni who drove a military transport. Hold onto your hats ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be a bumpy ride. It was the kind of ire that you had to hold I with all your strength in order to stay seated. We saw some movie sets I the process of being taken down, saw beautiful views of the bay, and learned a lot about the legends and history surrounding Kualoa Valley. There was suppose to be a hike at the end of the drive but the rain earlier that day caused someone to slip so that portion was cancelled. I was thankful for that becuase I could hardly walk at this point. I had gotten blisters on my toes, the same two toes on each foot which had slowly been developing over the few days I've been here. We made our last stop at about 600 feet above the bay and the headed back to the ranch and the shuttle back home. We stopped by the gift shop on the way out. They didn't have any lapel pins, but they did have a selection of photos they had been taking of us throughout the day. We ended up taking the one before the Movie tour which was the best one and then loaded the shuttle for Waikiki. 

There was a spot of traffic, so we didn't get back to the hotel until about 5pm. We were hungry by this time but needed to unload a few things at the hostel first. Unfortuntely, the locker wasn't working and we lost three quarters trying to make it work. We finally just put stuff on or under our bunks and headed out to find food. The first two restaurants were quite expensive so we ended up eating at Burger King before headed out to the beach. My toes needed a nice long soak in the ocean. The only problem with the soak is that once you get out of the ocean you're covered in sand. I could only sit on there beach for a short time before I had to get up. We made our way back to the hostel and crashed, another day complete.  

Pearl Harbor

After a restless sleep, we woke early, grabbed a bit to eat and headed for the bus stop. Today, we were going to be traveling Island style. TheBus is the same as the bus in Portland so it wasn't a new experience per se, but it allowed us to see more of Honolulu which was nice. What wasn't nice was the hour trip it took for us to get out to Pearl Habor. We did, however, arrive in time for the free Arizona memorial tour tickets. 

The Arizona tour started with a movie of how Japan came to bomb Pearl Harbor. The events leading up to the attack. It mixed the narration of a park ranger woman with really nice hair, really she didn't look like a park ranger with all that hair, with footage of the attacks as well as before and after footage. After the film we all loaded up on a boat and headed out to the memorial in its gleaming white brilliance. The Mighty Mo was off in the distance and the remains of the Arizona were down below. On the back wall were listed the names of all the men who perished with the Arizona, but The most moving part of the memorial was the names of the men on the two benches in front of the wall. Those names belonged to the men who survived the Arizona attack, but are buried in the Arizona with their fallen brothers. It was a quick in and out of the memorial but I felt like it was sufficent time for what there was to see. 

The boat took us back to the visitor center and we were able to read all the plaques which detailed the attack. What amazed me was how small the harbor was and how many ships were packed together on December 7th 1941. I know the US wanted to be ready for an attack in the pacific, but it was such arrogance to put all of our ships in one place. It reminds me of how the US won independence from Britain. I think Pearl Harbor went against my expectations because of its size. I was thinking of something bigger. It's hard for me to imagine all of those ships in that small harbor. What was highlighted by the film and plaques was Ameica's rebounding spirit after the attacks, and all but three ships were salvaged and put back to work. What's even more interesting was the Hawaii wasn't a state until 1959 well after the war ended. 

The Arizona showcased the beginning of the war and our next stop, the USS Missiouri, represents the end of then war. The USS Missiouri is a huge ship, but surprisingly it's crew mates have little living space. The bunks are super small. It is amazing that anyone fit into some of them! We went on a free tour and our guide was awesome. He told us about the history of the ship as well as the significance of a few things, such as it's position pointing towards the Arizona Memorial in order to protect the men who still reside within her. After the tour, we explored the lower decks where the crew lived, but passed up the upper decks. A short shuttle back to the visitor center, and back on the bus to go back to Waikiki.

While on the bus, I realized I had missed a call and after listening to the voicemail I began to panic. It was a call to confirm my helicopter flight, but it was at a different time. I had to wait all through dinner until I could go back to the hostel and double check my confirmation. The voicemail said I had a flight at 10:30 but my confirmation sheet clearly said my flight was at 2:30. I called. I cried. I got a free t-shirt and DVD because they screwed up, but ended up having to go on the earlier flight time and rearrange my day. 

We had originally planned to hike Diamond head but were too tired to do anything else. Plus we had spot most of the day at Pearl Harbor. I was able to correctly navigate the map to get us off the bus early near Chilys to have dinner. I got a lot of sun while walking around Pearl Harbor, but I still went out to the beach that evening and enjoyed the waves as the sun set in the distance. 

Waikiki: First Impressions

Considering it took me 25 hours to get to India and 8 hours to get to the UK, a 5 hour flight should be aoece of cake, but for some reason it dragged on and on. It might have seemed so long becuase there was a lack of inflight entertainment. It's sad but true. I did my best to pass the time reading, playing bejeweled, and sleeping. Even with the window seat there wasn't anything but ocean and clouds to look at, granted the clouds were pretty cool. 

We landed in Honolulu ahead of schedule and luckily our ride was there waiting for us the only problem is they had the wrong hotel. They tried to drop us off at a different one and as it was we had to walk around the block in order to get to the hostel we were staying at. Check-in there went fine and we went up to our room and were greeted by two fellow hostelers. The hostel wasn't what I was expecting. A little more run down than what I was hoping for or at least use to. It's slightly better than the hostel in Scotland but only becuase that hostel didn't have a working bathroom light! But it works for our needs of a bed a luggage storage. 

The journey had left us hungry, and on the way to the hostel we had seen a few restaurants, so we started walking I. The direction. We thought they were in. Now, I usually have the worse sense of directions but my instincts in Hawaii are pretty good, but they're not perfect. I was tired of walking and we decided the Chilys was fine to eat at. Of course after we enjoyed our meal we walked back to the hostel and saw the restaurants we had been aiming for. 

The only thing left to do was to hit the beach! Slathered in sunscreen we headed for the shores of Waikiki. Busy, but not overly crowded. For such fame, the beach is rather small. The water was warm, nothing like the Oregon coast! The signs warning of jellyfish made me a little on edge but I enjoy the waves. 

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the sand and surf before having dinner, subway sandwiches, over looking the beach as we geared up for the hulu show. We had a bit of a damper on the show when a kid got sand all over Dad, but the hula show was pretty awesome. It was nice to listen to the music and hear the waves in the background. Not to mention the hula dancing as the sun set over Waikiki. 

Departure

The day to leave for Hawaii has finally arrived. Part of me can't believe I'm actually going through with this. A vacation? Me? Unthinkable! But I'm really doing it. Last night was not a good night for sleep. I was too anxious to fly again and was up every hour. Nimbus was curled up next to me the whole night though which was comforting, but I don't think she wanted me to leave. Amber will take good care of her while I'm away. 

The morning went quick. I got up at 3 am which really wasn't necessary. I was wide awake and didn't need the extra time to wake up which I had intended. Everything was packed from the day before so I just had to eat a spot of breakfast, drink a cup of tea, get dressed and I was ready to go. Of course it was raining. The day I leave for Hawaii, it decideds to rain, go figure. The ride over to Julie's was uneven tuff, but the nerves in the car were starting to consume me. Julie was already up when we arrived and we had enough time for a quick chat before heading to the airport. The car lineup was ridiculous, but luckly we found a space at the end, unloaded everything, and entered the airport.

It was such a good feeling to be back in the airport again and to be going somewhere. We made our way to the Alaska Airlines ticket counter and got ourselves checked in. Thankfully, there were no lines to contend with. Getting the boarding pass was nothing compared to getting through security. The line wasn't that bad. The security dog smelled my shoe on the way in, of course, having once worked at the airport, I got everything ready ahead of time, which entailed me taking off my shoes. Getting up to the X-ray they announced that you should keep your shoes on even though they have signs saying the opposite. My shoes had already made it onto the conveyer belt. The TSA officer joked that I would have to pay a $50 fine for that. I was not amused. Everything else entire fine. I searched Capers to see if I saw anyone I knew and then went along to my gate where I wait for my flight to board.