Friday, March 30, 2012
A tour around the island...
But first - yes! the Dunbars have arrived - got in mid afternoon after spending last night at the Vancouver children's hospital - Joella (18 months) having taken ill on the way from Red Deer to Calgary and getting worse on the flight to Vancouver.But all is well now and they are all exhausted and have crashed for the evening. Soooooo good to see them all. Seems like only a few weeks not 14 years since I last saw Fraser & Lori - and I am sure by tomorrow the fact that there are 4 kids will seem totally normal too (although it is a little weird just at the moment!)
So while waiting for them to get here I did an official Island tour and have been all over Oahu! I even saw some turtles on one of the North Shore beaches (but only as we drove past - so sorry no photos of that - but lots of others to share!) And while it did feel like too many gift shops (enter and exit via the ...) & not enough time to really spend in any one place, it did give me a good oveerview of the place.
Although I still feel like I am in Queensland - today there was surfing beaches, pineapple plantations and macadamia farms! But there were also Hollywood locations - like that beach in From Here to Eternity; and the valley where they filmed George of the Jungle, Lost, Jurassic Park; and of course lots of Hawaii 5-0 (book him Danno! Good thing I have Radio Birdman on my ipod!) We also stopped by Kualoa Ranch, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, the Byodo-In Buddhist Temple, drove along the coast road (which is so close in parts that it has been reinforced by boulder to stop in falling into the ocean) past Sunset, Pipeline and Waimea Bay (cue: Wipeout). We also drove past Pearl Harbour - and along the route (over what were once sugarcane fields and is now highway) that the Japanese took when coming in to attack.
Got back in about 6.30pm to discover a message on my phone and the Dunbars installed right across the hall. So 2 hours of non-stop talking later + a swim at the pool, I have left them to crash (it being past 11pm Canadian time) and we are reconvening tomorrow morning and probably heading early to Hanumea Bay for snorkelling. (and to marvel at Fraser exercising his parenting skills!)
So while waiting for them to get here I did an official Island tour and have been all over Oahu! I even saw some turtles on one of the North Shore beaches (but only as we drove past - so sorry no photos of that - but lots of others to share!) And while it did feel like too many gift shops (enter and exit via the ...) & not enough time to really spend in any one place, it did give me a good oveerview of the place.
Although I still feel like I am in Queensland - today there was surfing beaches, pineapple plantations and macadamia farms! But there were also Hollywood locations - like that beach in From Here to Eternity; and the valley where they filmed George of the Jungle, Lost, Jurassic Park; and of course lots of Hawaii 5-0 (book him Danno! Good thing I have Radio Birdman on my ipod!) We also stopped by Kualoa Ranch, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, the Byodo-In Buddhist Temple, drove along the coast road (which is so close in parts that it has been reinforced by boulder to stop in falling into the ocean) past Sunset, Pipeline and Waimea Bay (cue: Wipeout). We also drove past Pearl Harbour - and along the route (over what were once sugarcane fields and is now highway) that the Japanese took when coming in to attack.
Got back in about 6.30pm to discover a message on my phone and the Dunbars installed right across the hall. So 2 hours of non-stop talking later + a swim at the pool, I have left them to crash (it being past 11pm Canadian time) and we are reconvening tomorrow morning and probably heading early to Hanumea Bay for snorkelling. (and to marvel at Fraser exercising his parenting skills!)
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Endless Wednesday
So having survived the 10 hour flight with grace and ease (10 hours.pah! Sydney - New York was at least 19 hours + the 5 hour layover in LA; 10 hours is nothing...) here I am on Endless Wednesday feeling like I have somehow landed in Alternative Queensland. This place is soooo Surfer's Paradise - complete with hills and canals in the background and glitzy shops on the surf front and faded weatherboard and fibro shacks only a few blocks from all the highrise. I am having 1970s flashbacks. Its all a little weird - strangely familiar and yet not.
The hotel is conveniently located a couple of blocks from the beach; and across the road from a supermarket. As my room wasn't available when I arrived, I dumped my bag with the bellhop(!) and headed to the ocean - which is very pale blue here - and opaque - and really warm. And I did my best to not fall asleep in the sun! After a couple of hours I found my way back to the hotel without being run over (damn that traffic on the other side of the road) and not being left standing at the 'walk' signals more than twice (its amazing how used you get to listening for the beeping sound to tell you to cross...)
So I was all checked in and unpacking and thinking about my approach to the late afternoon and whether a powernap was needed to keep me going until the Canadians arrived late tonight when the phone rang and Donna from housekeeping had a message. Fraser had rung. Their flight has been delayed a full day and now they wont be here til tomorrow night. Damn. And bugger. And damn again. Still what's another 24 hours after 14 years. Sigh.
So I've been back to the beach for sunset; had mai tais at the beachfront bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (which came with a side of ketchup!!!!!!); been for a wander around the shops - all open very late. Macys is open til 11pm (I've stocked up on cheap Clinique stuff - those prices are unbelievable!) and been to the international marketplace - lots of jewellery and Aloha shirts and bad art and more Aloha shirts and more jewellery....
Tomorrow I am booked on an all day Island tour - including the Pineapple planation. See. It really is Alternative Queensland.
Have taken lots of photos - so will add some in soon. Loving the new camera!
The hotel is conveniently located a couple of blocks from the beach; and across the road from a supermarket. As my room wasn't available when I arrived, I dumped my bag with the bellhop(!) and headed to the ocean - which is very pale blue here - and opaque - and really warm. And I did my best to not fall asleep in the sun! After a couple of hours I found my way back to the hotel without being run over (damn that traffic on the other side of the road) and not being left standing at the 'walk' signals more than twice (its amazing how used you get to listening for the beeping sound to tell you to cross...)
So I was all checked in and unpacking and thinking about my approach to the late afternoon and whether a powernap was needed to keep me going until the Canadians arrived late tonight when the phone rang and Donna from housekeeping had a message. Fraser had rung. Their flight has been delayed a full day and now they wont be here til tomorrow night. Damn. And bugger. And damn again. Still what's another 24 hours after 14 years. Sigh.
So I've been back to the beach for sunset; had mai tais at the beachfront bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (which came with a side of ketchup!!!!!!); been for a wander around the shops - all open very late. Macys is open til 11pm (I've stocked up on cheap Clinique stuff - those prices are unbelievable!) and been to the international marketplace - lots of jewellery and Aloha shirts and bad art and more Aloha shirts and more jewellery....
Tomorrow I am booked on an all day Island tour - including the Pineapple planation. See. It really is Alternative Queensland.
Have taken lots of photos - so will add some in soon. Loving the new camera!
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