Finally Here!

Aloha!

Well I made it to Hawaii!!  It was a long flight from Oakland, but they served yummy pasta so it was ok.  I didn't have a window seat so I was pretty bummed, but we were just flying over ocean the whole time anyway.  I sat next to a nice lady who was on her way to Kauai to visit her daughter and grandson.  It was nice to have someone to talk to.  Much better than sitting next to a ginormous man who snores really loud.

I was nervous to be traveling by myself but everyone I have encountered has been super helpful.  I even managed to make it with all of my luggage and I didn't break anything.  Well, there was this little incident where my wrinkle releaser spray bottle opened and leaked all over my stuff.  It just got on some towels and my DSP track jacket.  Oh, so here's a funny story for you.  So my track jacket is soaked with wrinkle releaser and I kind of wanted to wear it today so I decided to try to wash it out and let it hang dry.  When I woke up 5 hours later it was still completely soaked, so then I didn't know what I was going to do.  I couldn't just put it back in my suitcase wet.  So I thought I might try to use my blow dryer to dry it.  That didn't work so great.  I know! I'll try to iron it dry!  Nope, that didn't work either.  Put it on the heater?  Didn't really work so great.  I managed to get it only slightly damp so that I could roll it up in a towel and pack it.  But I couldn't wear it :-(  So anyway, yeah people have been really nice.

I arrived at the airport and I think I was the only person on my flight with a lei greeting.  It was just a little treat to myself.  I mean, you only arrive in Hawaii for the first time once, right?  So my tour guide guy was super awesome.  He took me down to baggage (I would have never been able to find it), helped me carry my bags, and got me on my shuttle to the hotel.  I know I wouldn't have been able to do all of that by myself.  The shuttle ride to Waikiki was...interesting.  Honolulu is definitely different from what I expected.  That's what everyone has told me, so I tried not to expect anything, but it was still different.  It's a little run down in areas but Waikiki is pretty cool.  I just looked at all the mountains, and I couldn't believe that there are actually like towns on the mountains.  Google maps didn't show me that very well.  Then we drove past the beach in Waikiki.  It was so unbelievably crowded.  It kind of makes me not even want to go to it.  It seemed way too chaotic.  I like my beaches to be peaceful.

I got checked into our hotel, we're staying at the Aqua Continental for 5 nights while we look for an apartment.  I got it because it was cheap and had a fridge and microwave.  It's the tiniest hotel room I've ever seen.  It'll do though.  It's within walking distance of the beach, KFC, Burger King, Subway, 2 McDonald's, high-end retail stores, local shops, etc.  And there are these ABC Stores everywhere.  They're just little convenience stores that have souvenirs, food, clothes, etc.  In the area surrounding the hotel there's probably like 6 of them.  I managed to get a loaf of bread for $2.15, some PB&J, some chips, a bottle of water, and some ritz bitz.  All of that cost me like fifteen bucks.  I almost had a heart attack when I saw that a box of cereal was $6.  Those are some expensive fruit loops.

So now I'm just waiting for Jon to get off work and get to the hotel.  I have no idea what time that will be.  I feel all disoriented because it's only 4:30 here and it's 9:30 at home.  And I'm pretty scared now.  I wasn't worried about coming here at all, but I'm already starting to miss home.  Cedar Point was never a big deal because it was still the midwest, but this is just so different.  I hope I can get used to it.  Hopefully things will get better once I actually see Jon and I don't feel like I'm just alone in Hawaii.

Until next time :-)