Honolulu, Hawaii, 2011:
Up at 8am had some time to kill so ordered up computer case and some parts for next build. Should arrive well after we get home.
Flight out of YVR 4 hours late (802 bleed issue, 2 lightning strikes, 757 down in Hawaii).
Talked to Ian Scott in YVR...first time in person since about 2004...great to see him again.
Had to go through security again, two bottles of water confiscated amid much excitement (we were never out of secure area but I guess the US wants to do it all over again-its their country so whatever.
Eat before YVR customs as YVR secure area sucks for food. Know you know.
E-mail confirmations of computer parts shipping out as we arrive…wow that was fast. Might be here now before we get back…ohoh
PBS channel Nova having "Mayday" (airplane crash) marathon day of our flights. Reassuring. Good to watch while on airplane!!
Arrive HNL 0500 Calgary time 0200 local. Some sleep on plane. Pilot was pushing it to make up time, saw 600+ MPH on the tv screen...
Taxi driver to motel was crazy. We didn’t hit anything though.
Motel door keys do not work. Only room left so motel clerk let us in and keys would be fixed in morning. A/C noisy. “City view’ is actually view of back parking lot (“water view” would have been small canal with foreground of street and peoples back yards showcasing their washer and dryers…apparently that is where they keep them here…)
Room has anti gravity bathroom door....stupid heavy but slides perfectly so you get it moving and then can’t stop it!! BOOM!! Wireless is weak. Sink leaks. Pen writes nice though.
Lots of walking.
Nice skylines.
Lots of weird plants, tress with roots growing out of branches to the ground and odd leaves, stuff everywhere. Homeless people have tents, eat dorritos and pineapple, wash in the ocean. Some have suitcases. What are we doing wrong??
Lots of nice cars. Verts everywhere of course. Mustang verts make up 20% of cars on the road it seems (rentals of course).
Whale watching was fun. Pictures are marginal as they never breached so only shots of tails and upper backs. Awesome to see anyway. Hopefully next time get better pictures. The boat ride was fun, food was excellent, saw a few other things too.
Good picture of airplane for Bradley Brad.
Tempted to try para-sailing but ran out of time.
Hot hot hot humid humid humid…
Saturday night main street turns into carnival with music, street venders, etc. Lady posed with statue who turned out to be real guy in silver paint and when he finally moved she freaked out, screamed and ran away...LOL
ABC stores everywhere!!! Two on the same street even. Buy 100.00 worth of stuff over time and get free mug. Yup, we got one. Don't take long with 1.99 500 ml bottles of juice/pop/water and 10.00 bags of chocolate covered coconut macadamia nuts!!!
Beaches are great. Waikiki was busy, north beaches were deserted. Some rocky, some sandy. Some rough water, some calm.
Japanese tourists are everywhere. They bombed the place, now they are #1 source of income for the area. Go figure.
Real Estate pricing seems pretty decent.
Need wireless access away from normal spots? Stand outside an apartment complex, always SOMEBODY with an unprotected router…
Saw lots of muscle bound big guys with wimpy tiny dogs everywhere. What is up with that?
People very friendly and relaxed (must be the protection afforded by the killer Poodles)
Tour bus driver was amazing how he wheeled that monster bus around tiny streets packed with traffic and other big buses, trucks, etc. Picked us up in front of hotel. Talked the whole time he was driving, backed it up in between two other buses at Pearl and space didn’t look wide enough but he got us in with a foot on either side “because it’s a bit closer to the doors” (saved us walking 12 feet maybe)….”waiting for the crash?”…he asked….LOL…well yes, yes we were….LOL
Pearl harbor tour excellent. Unexploded torpedo found in 1990 in the mud on display amazing to see inside and how it all works…steam powered. Never knew.
Arizona memorial is good, oil leakage obvious, fuel/oil smell very strong right over viewing area. Sobering to stand there and think of what happened.
Aviation museum is excellent. Real A6M2 Zero, F4F wildcat, P40, SBD Dauntless, F15, F14, F4, Mig 15, F86, F102 etc. Real wreckage of Zero shot down during Pearl attack on display, details and stories.
One hangar door still has original bullet holes in the glass and metal from the pearl harbor raid in 1941!!
Submarine Bowfin tour was neat. How those guys lived in there is beyond me. Not to mention people are trying to kill you too at the same time. See pic of torpedo tubes.
Missouri battleship is very impressive.
Got back to apartment after spending 8 hours at Pearl Harbor, and the movie Pearl Harbor was on the TV twice in a row!! :) Weird.
Last day up at 7am. Loaded up and checked out. Rented car and drove around island. Called cab to get there and a stretch limo showed up…LOL Hard to have conversation with driver as he was 30 feet away but he kept trying…
Awesome ocean side driving on winding narrow roads, some roads were completely covered/shaded over with vegetation. Beautiful views.
Stopped at several beaches just to relax and hang out. Almost stepped on some turtles who looked like giant rocks and simply blended in.This particular one seemed to have some shell damage.
Bought two pairs of shorts (on sale), coconut cologne (yeah baby, yeah!), a hat, and a bunch of chocolate covered coconut macadami nuts for my friends.
Dole pineapple plantation was neat. Baby pineapples are cute. Pineapples take 18 months to grow. Who knew?
Gum tree looks bizarre.
Bite to eat near airport, then return car and check in. Flight was on time and we left at about 10:30 pm...had a small snooze on flight but otherwise no sleep. Arrive in YVR 730 am and catch connection to YYC, by the time we landed it’s 11:30. Still no sleep.
Ran into Warren in the HNL airport
Ran into Rob Carter on airplane final leg to YYC.
60 C difference between climates. Why do we live here?
Checked bag got lost. Put in claim and left. Got home, fired up computer, checked the tracking on my computer parts (“Out for delivery”) and not 5 minutes later doorbell rang and there they are!
5 minutes after that WJA called, bag was found.
Travel credit in bank. Also travel credit for the 4 hour delay as well.
Finally to sleep at 11pm or so, 36 hours....get the direct flights if you can!!
The chocolate covered coconut macadamia nuts? I ate them all. Kala mai ia. They were very good :)
2 weeks after we visited, a small tsunami wave hit Hawaii and other areas from the earthquake off the coast of Japan and the area were we had stayed had some minor flooding.
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