Aloha again Hawaii

Ahhhhh...

 

I feel so happy to be returning to one of my favourite places on Earth.

 

We left Sydney at 7:45pm on Sunday 18^th May and arrived over 9 hours later into Honolulu at 9:30am on the same day. The reason we could arrive before we left is time travel. That’s right, we gained a whole 24 hours in a split second, and on the way home, we would lose a whole 24 hours in a split second too. It’s called the International Date Line. :)

 

The flight took us north east over the Pacific Ocean, across Fiji and most of Polynesia into the glorious sunrise that would welcome our first day in Hawaii.  The lines were long at immigration as a few flights arrived at the same time, so we stood around for ages waiting to officially enter the US of A.

Good news though, they let us in. :) They took our photos and scanned our fingerprints and we went up to wait for the Wiki Wiki, the bus that would take us to where our bags would eventually come out on the carousel.

 

Once out of the airport, we hopped in a taxi and took a ride to our hotel, the gorgeous Sheraton Waikiki hotel that sits high above the beach right on Waikiki overlooking the glorious Pacific Ocean.

 

Unfortunately, our room wasn’t quite ready but the front desk staff gave us a voucher for lunch at one of the hotel restaurants, so we went and sat by the pool and enjoyed a delicious sandwich and cold fruit juice, before making our way back to the reception desk to get our key and find our room.

 

What a pretty sight it was that welcomed us when we walked in the room, nothing but Pacific blue as far as the eye can see, actually a few shades of pacific blue to be precise. We stood on the balcony for a while just soaking up the view before settling in and getting the lay of our room.

 

The room was something to write home about, not the size, that was standard for a hotel room, it was the view, and the way the room was designed to make the most of the view. We could see the beautiful view from the bathroom and even from within the shower. Built within the wall between the main room and the bathroom were two folding doors, that when opened let you enjoy the view from every conceivable angle in the bathroom.

It was brilliant.

 

After getting familiar with the room and the beautiful view from the room, it was off to the beach for a walk. The first thing we saw was a wedding on the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The bride looked lovely, but if it had have been me, I probably would have gone barefoot, it would have felt more romantic than getting sand in my little shoes, which is probably what happened to this lady in white. I was to learn there are approximately 13 weddings a day in Waikiki, and 90% of those, Japanese couples who take the trip over the north Pacific for their nuptials.

 

We made our way back to the hotel where Mel wanted to go for a swim in the pool; I occupied myself by taking a handful of photos along the beach by the hotel, and then met back up with Mel at the pool where the hotel staff was setting up a large screen to show a movie.

We discussed watching the movie, but both of us were hungry and I wanted a cocktail. I could have had a cocktail out by the pool but it would have been in a plastic cup, and I wanted my first cocktail to be in a proper glass, so we took ourselves off to an old familiar stomping ground for me �" the Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian.

 

I ordered an old favourite, a piña colada and just as I was about to take my first sip, the band stated to play the Piña Colada song. So, Mel and I made a toast and settled in to enjoy our evening. I had a fantastic meal here too, it was a Mahi-mahi dish, Mel ordered the nachos, and when her meal arrived, I remember thinking it was enough to feed a small third world country and how the heck is she going to get through it all.

My Mahi-mahi, was the perfect size and I thoroughly enjoyed it, I enjoyed it so much that we came back a second time and both Mel and I ordered it, although I have to say I didn’t enjoy it as much the second time, it must have been a different chef, because the whole meal was prepared differently.

 

After enjoying our meals, well I enjoyed my meal, Mel said hers was not very nice, we wondered into the hotel to have a sticky beak and take a few photos, and then headed back to our hotel for a well-earned rest. I was happy to sleep with the door to the balcony open and listen to the sound of the surf all night long, but Mel woke in the middle of the night and closed the door as she said she got cold. I found this funny because we had both come from places with temperatures in the single digits, to the balmy Hawaiian weather where the days didn’t drop below 29 degrees C. I slept like a baby and woke with joy the next morning to my first full day in paradise.