Waikiki Wanderings

There is an old traditional Hawaiian saving "when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping", so we did.

We spent the morning exploring up and down Kalakaua Avenue visiting many of our favourite stores (Diesel, Guess) and exchanging many a greenback for some savy purchases.

Needing refueling, how could we ignore the Cheesecake Factory for ther ridiculously sized portions and unmissable cheesecakes.

After consuming enough food to feed a small African nation, it was time to walk some of it off with a walk along the beach towards the Hilton Hawaiian Village and around the Marina to Ala Moana Park.

A bathroom break had us back at the Ala Moana Center where we remembered there were some shops we failed to check out the day before. This proved to be a wise decision as Nick from Nordstrom directed us to a rack of just reduced sunglasses. My new Maui Jim's are so hot right now!

Heading back to Waikiki and our hotel, we stopped at one of the ever present ABC Stores for beer and snacks to enjoy on our lanai as dusk turned to night over Hawaii.

Happy Hawaii

The overnight flight up to Hawaii was ok, I think we managed to get some sleep as the 9 and a half hours seemed to go quickly.

On arrival in Honolulu we picked up our hire car for the week, a silver Toyota Yaris, and headed north through the middle of Oahu on the Kamehameha Highway (Route 99). First stop was Ka'ena Point, the western tip of Oahu. Here the Waianae Mountain Range drops to a rugged lava rock coastline. The water here was beautifully clear and many shades of blue and green. The coastline stretched to the North Shore in the hazy distance. There is a 2 mile hike to the western tip but we decided to save that for next time when we'd had more sleep the night before.

Continuing on we drove through the towns of Waialua and Hale'iwa (where Baywatch was filmed) before heading south to the Waikele Premium Outlets. Time for me (Brad again!) to buy those sandals I didn't get last year ($39.95 - bargain!) and checking out the many stores here.

Still in shopping mode we set course for shopping heaven, the Ala Moana Center. For once there was little traffic on the H1 and we made good time. After checking out our favorite stores here (Macy's, Abercrombie & Fitch, Diesel, Sam Goody's, Nieman Marcus) it was (finally!!) time to check into the hotel, the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel.

Hoping for a room on the Waikiki side on an upper level, we weren't disappointed. It was the same room we stayed in last year so we were very happy. Time for a nap!

Waking refreshed we reacquainted ourselves with Waikiki before a yummy dinner and a stop at the Apple Store to pick up the new iPod Shuffle (well, one each). We enjoyed a nightcap on our lanai before retiring for the night.

More Things We Learned

Each holiday, we discover new things. This time we have learned that one should not trust the Qantas Business Lounge to annouce the boarding of the one's flight. We merrily sipped bubbles and beer patiently waiting for the boarding call. Deciding to check the departure screen, I noticed that our flight was on final call. A mad dash to the gate to the tune of an urgent page was rudey interrupted by an additional security check for me (Brad). Making the flight we found two persons of the older persuasion in our seats (3J,3K). Being kind to our elders we let them stay where they were and sat in their assigned seats (5J,5K).

Impromptu Getaway

Hello Blogettes, we're back!

We felt we both needed a break to reset things before tackling the challenges ahead. So, why not fly 10 hours to the middle of the Pacific to get things in motion.

5 glorious days and nights in Hawaii await us, in about 10 hours. Stay tuned for more Ben and Brad adventures, albeit a bit more relaxed than usual.

Mahalo.