We went to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary. Typically, we try to get away for the weekend for our anniversary, but we've struggled to find good things to do, since November is stuck between seasons. The weather is poor but not outright winter, so there isn't much to do outside, and most theatre companies are taking the month off, so we can't take in a show. After previous years of rain in New York, sleet in Niagara and freezing in Banff, we decided a tropical destination was the answer.
The first day was long and tiring, with 10 hours of flights and airports, followed by an eternal journey aboard the airport shuttle. We thought we would save a few bucks by taking the shuttle to the hotel. I will never do that again. I swear we stopped at every hotel in town before getting to ours, and that was after making several long stops in the airport itself.
Because of the time difference, we found ourselves waking up at dawn. We took advantage of the hotel breakfast buffet and brought our food back upstairs to eat on the balcony, watching the waves and people milling around on the beachfront.
We spent the morning walking along the beachfront, checking into swimwear stores for the possibility of a new swimsuit for R. That never really panned out, but we did find a food court where I got a double burger loaded with fried eggs and gravy. The eggs were a nice idea, but the gravy (plus the runny yolks) just made everything a sloppy mess. R ate some gluten-free Chinese food -- we were always on the look-out for good gluten-free dining alternatives.
As noted in a previous post about Movember, I had been growing my moustache for charity for the 12 days since the beginning of the month. I knew the moustache probably wouldn't (and shouldn't) survive the trip, so I planned to take at least a few pics in front of some palm trees before shaving it off. Mission accomplished. The moustache came off shortly after lunch when we returned to the hotel.
The afternoon was spent blissfully swimming and sleeping on the Waikiki beach and poolside at our hotel. Heavenly.
After considerable searching for a restaurant that combined a sunset view with a gluten-free-friendly menu, we elected to get some take-away roast chicken to eat at a public patio table with a view of the sunset.
It was fun to see how activity along the beach paused for several minutes as everyone watched the sun go down, with a bit of applause reserved for the moment the last arc of sun dropped below the horizon. I, of course, did my duty as a tourist and documented the event thoroughly.
With darkness coming on, we walked over to the Waikiki Shell outdoor performance venue to see if we could catch a distant glimpse of the hula-dancing exhibition that was on that night. Unfortunately, the builders of the Shell had foreseen this moment and left us with only the tiniest sliver of a view onto the stage. It still a worthy venture, until I led us through a really marshy spot in the grass. Then it was time to give up, buy some chocolate-covered macadamia nuts from an ABC store and go to bed -- we decided to try to stay in sync with our home time zone, which actually matched up quite closely with the rising and setting of the sun.
1 comment:
Looks like a good time! We're excited to see the rest of your trip. I know we struggled too as what we should do for our 10th anniversary as well. Did you get to enjoy the ocean water at all at the beaches?? Or is that part of the suspense to see what adventures transpire with subsequent days?
-The Walkers
PS.
We hope the picture in your hotel room was with self timer and you didn't try and save money, like the airport shuttle, and decided to bunk with some stranger, who is the one taking the picture for you.
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