So I am in Hawaii! Woot! My 50th state, and the one I have always wanted to visit….

We are staying on Waikiki, which is like staying in any other tropical city, so I’ve heard, but this is amazing so far. When I said “kind of,” I meant that I am still in a city surrounded by tourists. My paradise includes fewer tourists (which is what I am, I know, but I can’t wait to get to another part of the island).

Our hotel is a newly renovated three-star type hotel. It’s about 11 stories tall, and we are on the 7th floor. We have a tiny view of the mountains and everything has been pleasant so far. They deliver breakfast to your room, and we have a kitchenette if we want to make other meals here. We went grocery shopping this morning for to-go lunches this week. I can’t believe how much food costs here! Justin has documented $8/gallon milk….

Anyway, our hotel is not beach front, but we can walk a block to the beach. In fact, we’ve walked a lot today…10,402 steps (that’s 30 minutes of aerobic walking, 235 kcal, and 3.61 miles). We walked from one end of Waikiki (the end closest to Pearl Harbor) to almost the other end (the end closest to Diamond Head). We will probably walk more, as it is only 4:30 or so, and we’l likely take a beach walk tonight after dinner.

The beach has large grains of sand and shells that can be tough on the feet, but the water makes up for any pain one might experience from the sand, salt, or sun. Ah, blue-green, 80F perfection! I can’t wait to see some sea life at Hanauma Bay or the North Shore. I think the sunscreen in the water has killed any living creature within 100 yards of the shore.

Today has been a “getting oriented”/”getting things done” type day. Justin did some tech support, and I unpacked and worked out in our weight room. After grocery shopping (I bought a papaya, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, and Maui kettle chips, among other tasty treats) we reserved our luau tickets for the Polynesian Cultural Center and looked up some other info about activities we want to do while here. We were on the beach for an hour, then walked along it for quite some time (another hour?–all I know is my feet got rubbed the wrong way!) and I got a pina colada-flavored frosty with vanilla ice cream on top. Let me just say now that nothing should be “flavored” here in Hawaii like pineapples and coconuts. They should use the real thing. But, I wanted something cold, so it worked. Also on the way back, we have seen about 20 of these ABC convenient stores–what gives???
We had our eyes peeled for snorkel and bike rentals, as well as good deals on shell leis, pearl necklaces, sun dresses, beach mats, and other goodies to take home, and boy, did we find them! We didn’t buy anything, but it’s fun to look and compare prices. Next stop-Kona coffee to take home.

Now we are winding down and cleaning up before dinner and meeting our friends at 8:30 or 9. I think we might try to see the sunset on the beach :). We only have 2 hours and 20 minutes left of daylight!