It must be annoying when the blog updates just stop ......... Like when your spouse stops talking mid sentence.....

I write the updates for two reasons; 1. To remember cool things that happened and 2. There is a feeling that people MIGHT be reading. You have no idea how excited it makes me feel when we return back to our normal life and people tell me that they enjoyed the blog posts. So, thanks for reading. And, thanks for letting me know that you have been reading. Enough about that....

One thing I forgot to tell you about the last blog post - I mentioned the following;
"That night, we went to the local Waikiki Congregation meeting. We carpooled with Brandon and Halina (also from Melbourne) whom we bumped into in the food court the night before."

Nice recap. I mentioned that we carpooled. But, did I mention what car we carpooled in? 

This is Kylie and I in the backseat of the car with the 'ragtop down so my hair can blow?'

We were so excited. Our friends Brandon and Halina had hired what Halina termed a 'midlife crisis for the day.' 

This was a pic we took after the meeting.

Where were we? Oh, I remember. So, as you might be aware, we are home. We dragged our camera (Sony Nex5n) with us on this holiday. But, never once did the camera leave my bag. We both took our iPhones and took aweome pics. I bought a $16 waterproof case (almost like a ziploc bag) and it was awesome! Took pics underwater, in the pool and no water damage. Funny thing about this $16 case is that on the last trip we did, I bought a waterproof case from the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in NY and spent more than $100 ...... and it wasnt waterproof. 

This is similar to the case that I bought.

So, the last blog post, I ended with "So, then and there, we planned what us four Aussies were going to do the next day. And, let me tell you - it was a spectacular day!" Spectacular? Let me tell you all about it.....

We four Aussies were in search of adventure. We planned to go to Hanauma Bay, famous for the beach and snorkelling. But, first, lets take a selfie (or a groupie) - note the disdain on the face of Brandon (who incidentally is a photographer)

We excitedly drove towards Hanauma Bay. Siri told us that the entry was just at the top of the small hill. But, we were greeted with this sign;

We knew that this might be a possibility. But, we really didnt plan on it happening. There are 300 parking spaces and all 300 were taken by the time we arrived. We were totes disappointed. But, we kept on driving and planned on going somewhere cool that we would find along the way and planned to return later in the day. First stop was Lanai Lookout. We stopped in the carpark, still dejected about missing out on snorkelling - we hadnt even noticed the majestic shoreline. We got out of the car to explore.

We watched these people swimming - the water looks still in the photograph, but it was treacherous. Those people were almost smashed against the rocks a few too many times. 

We continued our drive along the coast to a lookout called Halona Blowhole.

Id love to say that this was my photo, but the spray was nowhere near this impressive. Thanks Google.

Like almost everywhere in Hawaii, there was always a few hundred other tourists. 

Time to move on to the next spot - but first, lets take a selfie. I used the selfie-stick for this picture, which caused a few eyerolls.

We kept driving along the coast as we heard that there was a lighthouse with an awesome beach close-by. We found both of them.

This beach that you can see at the foot of the mountains was where we swam. It was, quite literally, the nicest beach I have even swam at.

Here is a pic I took of the lighthouse with the selfie stick.

So, if you are ever in Hawaii, the name of the beach is Makapuu Beach. It was awesome. Here are some pics/video I took there (yes, I was using my new waterproof case).

The water was crystal clear. The waves were awesome yet still wiped me out a number of times. The water droplet on the case makes Kylie look angelic.

Love this place Thanks @nickhawaii

A video posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 15, 2015 at 3:08pm PDT

After spending a few hours at this awesome beach, we stopped in a town for lunch. But, before we did, we sampled 'Shaved Ice' - otherwise known as a chunky slurpee.

Turns out, Barack Obama comes to this shaved ice place when he is in town.

We worked our way back to Hanauma Bay. The carpark was open again. We were VERY happy! We went through - we were even happier because after a certain time, you no longer have to pay to gain access to the beach. We had to watch a 9 minute video, which basically said 'Dont step on the coral.' We got down to the beach and they were no longer hiring our snorkel gear. And, the hire fee was ridiculous, so we probably wouldn't have hired them anyway. 

Again, we were so close, and yet so far. No snorkeling for us that day! But, we did get to see the awesome view....

Home again, jiggety-jig. Man, were we tired!

I don't often take pictures of toilet signs - but I loved this sign so it's gotta be the main picture for this blog post.

Sorry it's been a few days..... I'm in Hawaii. Places to go, people to meet.... Including a Polynesian cultural centre. Here are a few pics from the show at the centre.....

We had a nice time. One thing about Hawaii is how much it caters for Japanese tourists - restaurants, stores and hotels. We love it! There is this awesome store we first visited in Kyoto called Lawson's - there just happens to be one in our hotel here in Hawaii. How can u describe it? It's like a 7-11, but with way, way, way more interesting stuff. So, I was looking around and I found this;

Here is a description;

Obvious question - what is the Ume fruit? Good question....

Kylie tried it first and said 'You will love this' while trying to keep a straight face. The verdict - The first sip was a little eyeball splitting. But, then - I loved it! Further to our love of all things Japanese, we had Okonomiyaki (basically, savory pancake). Amazingly cooked right in front of us on a grille with nothing more than what's shown in the pic below;

What an amazing treat!!! And, NOTHING LIKE the Okomnomiyaki I get from the food court at Werribee Plaza.

So, this hotel is huge! It continues to amaze me how many people we see coming and going. There are 32 levels with a total of 1636 rooms (thanks Wiki). I went to front desk yesterday, I overheard them saying that the hotel is at full capacity. But, is still branded to welcome the Stampin' Up! Achievers.

This entry area constantly is filled with people waiting for buses or tours, looking at the shops, meeting people ..... Such a melting pot of nationalities too. 

We went on a trolley to Diamond Head. Here is a pic I took with my selfie stick;

Its a volcano or something like that (I wasn't listening to the tour guide). The view from there (as well as the view along the way) was amazing. The trolley is basically an open air bus with seats that face outwards. 

Here are some pics we took;

So, as we were driving back into town, Kylie made use of the opportunity and started pinning....

It was too good to miss out on that pic....

That night, we went to the local Waikiki Congregation meeting. We carpooled with Brandon and Halina (also from Melbourne) whom we bumped into in the food court the night before. We also met Monica and Adam (who live about 25 minutes from us) at the meeting. It's a small Kingdom Hall with an older population. But, the singing was something I won't forget. I met one of my longtime Instagram friends nick_hawaii. Nick and DeAnna came to Melbourne for the convention. The meeting is at 7, so we grabbed a bite to eat afterwards.

Nick and DeAnna were super-helpful to us and gave us some awesome local tips about places to go. So, then and there, we planned what us four Aussies were going to do the next day. And, let me tell you - it was a spectacular day!

CChecked into the hotel - Sheraton Waikiki.

Wow! Just wow!

For a hotel that's older than me - it still looks pretty good.

We got a 'pillow gift' from Stampin' Up! It was a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses ..... Each. Admittedly, I'd never heard of them. But, after a quick google, was very happy. We selected and picked them up later that night.

Look out for some pics with our new glasses.

This is the view from our balcony. 

No filter! And, yes, I used my selfie stick.

So, if you have been to Hawaii, you would know that there is ALOT of stuff for Japanese tourists. Including this .....

It's shaved ice. It was oishi. It was coconut and mango flavored. And, I'm going back and having another one soon.

Another weird thing about Hawaii is a fascination with Spam. It's EVERYWHERE! It even comes in different flavours. Whatever flavour it is - it's still gross!

We went into a shop and saw this;

It's a mould so that you can make sushi the perfect size of a spam tin. Hilarious!

Further to yesterday's post, I'm still tired, so I'd better be off. But, before I go, here is a pic of the outdoor dinner SU put on for us. It was delicious.

Mahalo for reading!! 

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.

So, apparently, its been almost a year since I last wrote a blog post. Ive been meaning to do it. But, it seems that I only tend to write them when we are on holidays.

Soooooo much has happened since the last post.

But, the reason Im writing this on is that we are off again. Where to?

Well, Ill give you a clue ..... the Brady Bunch went there.

And, believe it or not, we are staying at the same hotel that they stayed in (though, hopefully it has undergone a renovation or three since then).

This is what the hotel looked like back then (believe it or not, it was in 1972, which YES, was before I was born).

I can hear some of you Gen Y's ask 'Whats the Brady Bunch?' First of all, wash your mouth out. Secondly, Google it! How did this post become about the Brady Bunch? Lol! It must be late......

Anyway, if you havent guessed, we are off to Hawaii. Cant wait! Next post will be when we are there! Stay tuned......

If you arent already following me on Instagram, here is a link. If you want to search, my Insta handle is 'mynameisbrunob.'