Cherie & the Sheriff...

Just another Saturday

Re-check the posts from our Hawaii trip. I've added some more text to Thursday's post and added a post for Friday. I also scanned a few snapshots which I tucked in. That's mostly what I've gotten done so far today, aside from getting my nails done and doing some grocery shopping.

Next stop...laundromat.

Oh, fun, fun!

Here's another shot of Cat as Cherie:

Pretty flowers

Aren't these gorgeous? All the ladies I work with are jealous! These are some of my anniversary roses from K.

Aloha! - Hanauma Bay and Up, Up, and Away!

We had a quick breakfast of tropical fruit and whipped cream (decadent!) at Morning Galaxy, then caught the first bus to Hanauma Bay. We were actually early enough on the route to get two of the last available seats. Everyone getting on at future stops had to stand. There was a line at the Bay, but not too bad. Maybe 20 minutes.

Cat and I rented snorkel equipment, but discovered it's more difficult than it looks to snorkel from the beach. Our flippers kept getting filled with sand which hurts. A lot! It's forbidden to touch the coral (with good reason), which makes the whole activity even more challenging. I must have been doing something wrong, because I kept getting water in my snorkel. I finally gave up and swam for shore.

When we got back to our mats, a man carrying a baby came over to let us know that a mongoose had stolen something from one of our bags. Turned out to be our lunch...well, the bread, anyway.

We "sunbathed" for a bit in the shade while thoroughly coated in SPF 50. That gets boring fast, but it was very exciting for the couple who snagged our prime location when we left. After turning in our equipment, we hiked back up the hill, siteseeing and taking pictures along the way. We were disappointed that the trail to the "toilet bowl" was closed, since we'd been told it was something we definitely should see. Last, we got some pineapple shaved ice, and wandered back to the bus stop to wait.

After we got back to Waikiki, we finished packing all our stuff. As usual, we each wore only maybe a third of the clothes we'd brought. I managed to break a nail in the process, so I zoomed down to the nail salon (next door!) had it fixed and had fresh polish applied. Can't go to a high school reunion with a broken nail, you know!

We still had a few hours left before our airport shuttle, so we wandered toward the beach and Diamond Head looking for a place for a light dinner. It was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so a lot of restaurants were closed. We finally found a bar and grill attached to a hotel, and had some sandwiches and drinks.

Our shuttle driver got us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. There was an announcement while we were waiting that something was wrong with the video system on the plane and that they were trying to fix it, but it wouldn't affect the safety of the flight. Sure enough, neither the video system nor the reading lights were working. Most people just went to sleep. It was the quietest flight I've ever been on. We took off at 8:50 p.m. Hawaii time and landed at 4:30 a.m. Los Angeles time.

My awesome and terrific brother-in-law (you know who you are) picked us up at the Flyaway terminal in Van Nuys.

Aloha! - Thursday

We were scheduled to visit Hanauma Bay today; however, our bus never showed up. I called the number I had for the tour company, and their phone rang 20 times with no answer. So...we went back to our room, changed out of our bathing suits, and decided to go shopping. Monday's tour guide ("Twelve") had told us it was best to visit Hanauma Bay first thing in the morning, so we'll catch the first bus there tomorrow morning and rent our snorkel gear. He said it gets just as crowded as the tours for the USS Arizona -- we were 30 minutes early there, and were at least 200 people back in line.

While we were getting our things together to head for the Ala Moana Mall, our phone rang. It was the front desk telling us the tour company was calling and asking if we still wanted to go. By now it was a good 30 minutes after the scheduled pick-up time. Since it was now nearly 11, I asked her to tell them that it was too late and we'd just cancel. Under the circumstances, I'm sure I can get our money back, and we'll have a better experience going earlier anyway!

The Ala Moana Mall is a typical huge mall. The only difference between it and malls in California is that much of the ceiling is open to the sky. There are lots of "chi chi" stores (Prada, Luis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus) along with the usual suspects (Sears, Macy's, Radio Shack). We had lunch at the food court. I had a mahi mahi plate from the Poi Bowl, and Cat had garlic steak and pasta from mama's spaghetti house.

We had seen an Orange Julius as we entered the mall, so we went there for dessert. It's been at least 10 years since I had an Orange Julius. Yum!!

After people watching and slurping our OJ's, we next went to Hilo Hattie's. Very, very tourist trap, but definitely fun and interesting. Maybe Cat will write in her blog later about her purchases. One was a gift, so I don't want to spoil anything.

I think we'll find someplace fun for dinner tonight -- maybe one of the grills near the beach, or the rotating restaurant on top of one of the hotels. I'm sure we'll discover something fun. It is our last evening here, after all! Our flight back is 9 something in the evening tomorrow.

Now, on to check the bus schedule for tomorrow's fun...

More: After we tired of the mall, we went back to Waikiki and the shops there. We found an out-of-the-way place for dinner (Chef's Kitchen? Behind the Hyatt) and had steak and lobster tail for $11.95. Then we did some last-minute shopping at the International Marketplace.

We've finally adjusted to this time zone ... and it's nearly time to go home!

Aloha! - Polynesian Cultural Center

Today was Polynesian Cultural Center day. Our bus pick-up was at 10:20, so we had time for a bit of shopping beforehand. I picked up a cute outfit I'd been eyeing at the International Marketplace. We were going to go to the Internet cafe to check our e-mail, but its hours turned out to be 10am-10pm, so that would just have been cutting it too close.

Our bus picked us up at the Waikiki Trade Center - across the street and about half a block "Ewa" (away from Diamond Head). Our tour guide was a nice and funny young Samoan man named Tonu.

When we got to the Center, we signed up for a guided tour with Tonu. I'm glad we paid the extra money. He was able to time everything perfectly so we saw shows in six different countries, and had shady seats riverside for the canoe parade. Had we been wandering around by ourselves, we would have managed much less, I'm sure.

The evening luau was amazingly well organized. There were three different venues -- we were assigned to the Hale Aloha site. There were at least 1000 people in our location, and the food was served buffet style. I didn't count; however, there must have been at least 9-12 serving tables.

After dinner, we had about an hour until the big show, so we wandered through the various shops. The show was eye-poppingly beautiful with moments of sheer amazingness (is that a word?).

On the return bus ride (over an hour) we watched Blue Hawaii. Now we'll need to rent or buy it so we can see the end...

Aloha! - Tuesday

Today was another shop and hangout day. We had breakfast just down the street at the Morning Galaxy coffee shop. Here, one can order rice instead of potatoes, which made Cat quite happy, since she prefers rice!

Next, we went to the grocery store, very close to our condo in the other direction. We restocked our green tea (in a can) and got peanut butter, jelly, and bread. That's what we had for lunch, along with fruit.

I was unsuccessfully in twisting Cat's arm to hike to Diamond Head, so we spent most of the morning shopping (also unsuccessfully) for a bikini. After Cat tired of shopping (and I was bordering on insane), we went back to the beach to swim for awhile. There were no patches of sand big enough for us to lie on (I'm serious!) so when we tired of swimming, we went back to our room. We did get ice cream cones on the way back. Mine was Pina Colada flavored.

We had a long siesta -- watching TV from about Noon until 3 (when the sun is WAY too intense for us).

I dragged Cat out for a walk which took us as far as the zoo (toward Diamond Head). We didn't actually go to the zoo, we merely found it. We did go visit a wonderfully huge Banyan in the public park across from the zoo. On the way back, we went through the International Marketplace. Cat finally found a bikini she liked that fit in one of the shops, so that mission at least was accomplished.

We had Italian take-out for dinner. There's a little place literally next door to our entrance to the Kuhio Banyan Club.

Aloha! - Monday's Circle Island Tour

Our tour guide's nickname was "twelve" -- same as our bus number. He was Samoan, and was quite funny -- very entertaining.

Cat & I impressed our "cousins" (tourmates) by being able to chant the name of the state fish in unison: Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, pronounced WHO-moo-WHO-moo-NEW-coo-NEW-coo-AH-poo-AH-ah.

After one of Twelve's corny jokes, we started calling ourselves the blondes from California.

Some of the sights we saw:
USS Arizona Memorial
Macadamia Nut Farm
Dole Plantation Visitors' Center
Sandy Beach
Turtle Bay
Pali Lookout
Koolau Golf Club (for lunch)
Hanauma Bay
Diamond Head

Aloha! - Sunday

I awoke this morning to the sound of loud, angry voices on the street. My first thought was that the bars much have just closed, but it was 5 a.m. Within seconds of my reaching the window to look out, police cars begin rolling up. Eventually, there were four. It got very, very quiet after they arrived!

Our room has a view of another hotel, which is perched over the ubiquitous Starbucks!

Today was a day to just hang out. We breakfasted at a lovely, tropical restaurant named the Keoni. We also took our first dip in the very crowded ocean at Waikiki Beach. The water is somewhat warm with swirls of cool and cold mixed in. The waves were gentle -- breaking much farther out than the shore. Each beach hotel has a fenced off section with its own beach chairs and umbrellas. The "Pink Palace" has pink ones, of course!

Aloha! - First Day

Our flight was an hour late, but otherwise uneventful. We only landed 30 minutes late; I wonder how they made up so much time? We flew on a 767 (Continental). Very cool -- we each had our own TV monitor and remote control for movies, TV and video games.

Elvis Blue Hawaii dinner show was a ton of fun. We were seated right next to the stage. We also had the world's tallest Elvis: 6'7"!