We Arrive in Hawaii

 

Last night we flew from Juneau, Alaska, where we visited family, including my parents. My Dad, Richard, will turn 93 next month.

The flight from Juneau to Anchorage was over an hour, but then we had a six hour flight from Anchorage to Honolulu, getting there close to midnight. We caught an Uber to our (rather expensive) Airbnb in Waikiki, where we stayed just one night.

We slept in a little and checked out close to 11 am, and picked up our Turo car. We found a 2 hour parking place and went to get brunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. 

We walked around Waikiki, and took some pictures of the beach. Then got our car and went north to do some shopping at Costco and Safeway, and Savers. Some clothes, some food, ice, misc.

Then we drove north to Wai’anae where we have an Airbnb for a week. Wai’anae is on the west coast of O’ahu, about an hour north of Honolulu. This area is known as “The Westside” to locals. Our place is a block and a half from the beach.

Waikiki is full of expensive high rise hotels and malls and shopping and restaurants. Shopkeepers hustled us as we walked down the streets of Waikiki, offering us lotion samples, asking us where we’re from.

The town of Wai’anae is nothing like the busy tourist trap of Waikiki. It has a small town feel, with a few local grocery stores, and more local restaurants with just a few chains, like MacDonald’s and KFC. The beach was uncrowded and the people were more friendly and personal.

For dinner, we went to the Beach House by 604 and had a Chicken Curry that was delicious. We sat on the deck, which had live music, and was right on the beach, just after sunset; it was beautiful. 

And the temperature had cooled off to about 79 degrees and felt much more tolerable than it had earlier when it was 86 and we walked around Waikiki and got overheated.

We will be here in Wai’anae for a total of seven nights. We have a rental car so we can drive around the island and see the sights. On our list is the Pearl Harbor Memorial, and the Polynesian Cultural Center and Luau.