Hawaii Trip day one: Waikiki Beach
As many of you know, the flight from the east coast to Hawaii can be rather long. Our plans flew through Chicago in a short 2.5 hr flight then to a longer 9 hr flight directly to Honolulu. I have not been a brave flier in the past and was quite anxious about the whole thing, mostly worrying about turbulence.The good news is that both flights were smooth as silk, so much so that I was able to sleep.We arrived in Oahu without complications and headed directly to our hotel.
We arrived at the hotel 5 pm Hawaii time but that is 10pm my body clock time, all I wanted to do was settle in and relax. Hubby had plans with a friend, he changed and headed out the door. Our room faced Diamond Head and the whole Waikiki beach area. I took my dinner out to the patio to enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean washing against the shore. After I settled in and had absolutely no problem sleeping again, even when I had been dozing on and off for hours, I never woke again until morning.
When morning did come, the sun was rising over Diamond Head offering some wonderful views of Waikiki Beach. What a joy it was to sit outside for breakfast at the hotel buffet, I had expected some wonderful fruit opportunities and was not disappointed. One thing I certainly will miss about our stay on these islands will be the papaya and the pineapple.
We quickly changed into our beachwear, took our first walk down the strip to watch surfers and other water sport activities. Many people staking claim on their spot for the day on Waikiki Beach. People are very serious about were they would spend the day, by daybreak had their chairs out with a sand bunker build all around to keep interlopers out. The tanners were also very serious, there were many over-done individuals with skin like leather wrinkled like a shar-pei dog.
After a nice walk along the whole shore line, we cruised into the international market to look at the local offerings. Our son had requested unique t-shirts and masks. As we wandered the stalls, we saw many of the same wares displayed yet nothing caught my eye. The visit was interesting, the vendors were actively bartering with their potential customers for items that looked to be mostly imported. We then went to the infinity pool to enjoy the afternoon. We chatted with lovely couple from Kentucky, on their last day in Hawaii who shared their island experiences with us.
The concierge advised us not to miss the Polynesian Cultural Center, a plan was made for the next day. We ate at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant that evening; the meal was pleasant, but underwhelming. Our first day on the island was wonderful and exciting, we drifted off to sleep in anticipation of the exciting day to come.
