Aloha Hawaii!

So, we're here!

It's weird - we left Monday night. And, having crossed the date line and the equator, we arrived Monday 11am. Felt like I went for a ride in the Delorean.

After a very tight connection in Sydney (which we didn't think was enough to time, but we were assured it was ok), we made it onto the flight. If you have done an international connection in Sydney - seamless is not the way you describe it. The international and domestic airports  are accessible to each other via a bus. We checked into our international flight in Melbourne, and we didn't have to collect our bags until the final destination. But, we had to clear customs in Sydney. Anyway, we touched down in Sydney  and made our way out to the bus. Got the at 7:28 and the 7:30 bus had already left. For some weird reason, the bus between the international and domestic shuttle ; a) Is not free (but it's ok, we had vouchers) and b) is advertised that it only runs every 20 minutes.

I was not happy. But, the new me had taken over - I resolved to be a cool and relaxed traveller as opposed to the stressed and obsessive traveler I've been in the past. But, it didn't work so well.

Back to Melbourne for a sec - First of all, pre booked  the parking online. What you usually do is pay with credit card online, then you use the same credit card to gain access to the carpark. Drove in, inserted the WRONG card. And, then parked. Then, drove out quickly and drove in again using the correct card. Took about 10 minutes extra. OK, that's sorted out now, park the car, wait for the bus to take us to the terminal, get on the bus. Think 'Where are our passports?' They were safely in the backpack. The backpack, however, was rather inconveniently in the back seat of the car in the long-term carpark. Get off bus, walk to car, walk back to shuttle bus, wait for bus, get on bus. And, think 'What is going on?' I think this 'calm, relaxed' traveller is not going to work?

Where were we? Oh, yes, arrived in Sydney and transferring from domestic to international terminal. Because we had missed the bus that wasn't due to have left by that time, we were going to catch a cab, but the cab line was enormous and literally not moving. And, then, inexplicably, the bus came and took us away.

Got there, cleared customs (I was about to take a pic for you, but I got in trouble getting my phone out in the customs hall. And, as soon as we cleared security, I heard our names being announced. I said 'Hey, Kylie - did you hear that?' Her response? 'Hear what?' Made me lol. I always make fun of Kylie because she doesn't tend to say read signs or listen to announcements. 'They just announced our name.' On the shuttle bus, we had just talked about going duty free shipping and how we always miss out because we are running late and we never know how much liquids we can carry and where we should buy it and if we can bring it back or blah blah blah. And, now, because our name was being announced, we were going to miss going duty free shipping again. So, we legged it to the gate - of course it was one of the furthest gates. And, when we got there - the plane wasn't even boarding. They just wanted to confirm that the boarding pass given to us in Melbourne was correct. I ran for that?

Our plane left at 9:30 and there were LOTS of kids around us. Apparently, nighttime flights are popular for families. But, surprisingly, they were very well behaved. And quiet. Must have had some Phenergen. But, doesn't mean that I slept - maybe I should have borrowed some Phenergen from the parents around me? With people snoring all around me, I started watching a movie and then fell asleep. I will have to find out what happens in the end. Then, I dozed off and woke up and Kylie was making cards on the tiny tray table. I wish I took a photo.

Touched down in Honolulu and again, I wanted to take a pic of the airport. Some of the areas of the airport look like they haven't changed since the Bradys were there. Our shuttle took us to our accommodation. For our first night, we found a place on AirBnb.  

This is the building we are staying in on the 19th floor. So, dumped our bags and we were determined to stay awake until nighttime. So, we walked into Waikiki proper. This place is like Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast on Steroids. LOTS of Steroids. So many holiday apartments, so many tourists.

We were STARVING. So, we ended up here.

Have you eaten here before? You know why we were excited then,

I had a food coma afterwards.

We headed down the beach. There is a story about the last time I was this beach, but I'll save it for another day. Moments after Kylie took this pic, she reminded me how tired she was. And, despite our best efforts, at 4:30 in the afternoon, we ended up sleeping. Kylie will able to sleep until the morning. Me ..... Not so much. It's now almost 9pm and I'm wide awake blogging, trying not to make any noise, having a delicious beer I bought from the corner store.

Well, thanks for reading.