We got up before 8 this morning after going out with some friends last night. After being inadvertently exposed to the worst bikini contest ever, we came home after a rather early evening out by Waikiki standards. Before that, we ate a light dinner in our room and walked to the beach to catch the sunset. I was in a sundress and flip flops (white)–dressed for going out–as we ended up exploring the wall of lava rocks near the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We found these awesome black crabs, and just as I was photographing them, a huge wave slapped me in the butt, drenching my left side while I was holding the camera. Sheesh. We walked through the Hilton campus (I am not exaggerating) and saw flamingos, penguins, turtles, and koi, as well as a lovely chapel and gazebo. By the time we added up the distance we walked yesterday, it came to 5.39 miles!

So, this morning we were going to go to Pearl Harbor because it was slated to rain according to the weather channel. Now it’s only a 30% chance of rain and our friends decided to take us in their van around the island. Woot!! I am excited because the way we were going to accomplish this was by TheBus which would have taken a significant amount of time (say, 3-6 hours). This is amazing because Shannon, our friend and driver, has spent a significant amout of time on this island (his dad lives here) so he knows about all the cool spots for being on the beach, eating, and hiking.

I will update more when we get back tonight. We just had a few spare minutes before leaving and our breakfast delivery.