Hawaii!

Well, this is the first twofer of this blog. For those of you who don't understand "twofer", it two days in one post. We never got around to doing a post for Monday, so today's post covers Monday and Tuesday.

Monday was all involved in getting us to Hawaii. We got up pretty early--5:30 am so we could make the 6:30 shuttle. Our flight was 9:05 am, so to make the flight, including getting to the airport, checking in, and getting through security, we had to start before sun-up.

We were not "TSA Pre-check", so we had to do the shoeless, beltless trip through security. All went well, but I got patted down after the X-ray machine let me go.  I guess my Kansas incident is still on my record, and they wanted to double check me. But the important thing is that they let me through.

This flight was on a BIG plane, a Boeing 777, holding 374 people. And it was 100% full. However, it was the best flight of my life! We had ideal seats, with Janice at a window, and Malcolm beside an aisle. Perfect! And to make it even better, we were within 5 feet of the toilets and one row behind an exit. And, we had more leg room than usual.

The airline was also trying out a WiFi on-board, with free  streaming movies and TV shows. That helped to pass the time.

The flight itself was smooth and uneventful, as was the landing and luggage retrieval. A shuttle took us to the hotel.

Once in the room (early afternoon), we crashed and took a power nap. Both of us needed it.  The evening was spent resting.

The hotel, the Aqua Oasis, is about 4 blocks from the ocean. But it is very nice and the room is great. It is a couple steps above the usual room we usually get. They provided a special welcome gift-two small bottles of champagne, a box of chocolate covered Macadamia nuts, and some cookies for our stay.

Today started at 7am with a good breakfast at the hotel. Fresh Pineapple, fresh pineapple juice, Kona coffee, and fresh muffins was a good way to start the day. 

After breakfast, we changed into swimsuits, got beach towels and chairs from the hotel, and walked to the beach.  The beach itself here is different from any beaches we've ever visited. The sand is very coarse and soft, with no seashell fragments in it. At first, it looks like construction sand, but at a closer examination, we decided it was not construction sand, but made up of ground up coral pieces.

The water was beautiful, an aqua green color, and less salty than ocean water at home. It was just beautiful! Off to our left was Diamond Head , a famous extinct volcano. We're hoping to visit it while here if possible.  We played in the water and then took a walk on a walkway lining the beach and in the soft sand. It was a good stay on the beach.

About noon, we picked up our mess and returned to the hotel, took a shower, and rested a bit. Then got dressed and went out to scout around a bit. Our hotel is in Waikiki Beach, and high-end shops are right around the corner, including Fending, Gucci, Louis Vinton, and many others. Of course, we haven't stopped in any of them; the trip alone is breaking the bank, so we don't need to make it even worse. Mostly we just explored.

As the day wore down, we had a good stop at the Moose McGillacutty Pub, just a couple doors from the hotel. A Happy Hour with great deals on specialty drinks got us a bit tipsy as we ate chips and dip and tacos. A good stop for a couple away from home.

Leaving the pub, we stopped in a little convenience store, where Janice picked out an artificial lei  for her head and neck, making her look like a flower child from the 60s.

Then on to the room and writing this post.