On Tuesday morning we finished up all our packing, and then we drove out to do some last minute sightseeing (and shopping at Whole Foods) with Susan. The weather was beautiful (as usual) and it was kind of bittersweet knowing we’d have to say goodbye soon. Once we got back we organized our stuff and dragged it out to the rental car, and then said our goodbyes. Goodbyes are always hard, and this was a tough one.
From there we drove out towards the airport, but decided on stopping at a restaurant for some lunch before catching our flight. We found a greasy spoon diner that served burgers and Hawaiian BBQ near the airport. Afterwards we returned the rental car without any trouble, and then caught a flight from Maui to Honolulu. Our hotel was a short taxi ride away in Waikiki, the Ilikai Hotel. Kuniko had picked it out, and it was a pretty nice one. The place seemed a little old, but in good condition, and we had a room on the 23rd floor with a nice view out over the ocean and lagoon. Between our hotel and the Hilton across the way was some kind of event center that held buffets and hula shows nightly for the tourists. We could watch for free each night from our balcony, but since it was twenty floors below it was hard to catch the details. We didn’t really stick around for the show, but instead headed to the beach for some more swimming.
I used Yelp on my phone to find a decent restaurant on the beach (Ocean House) that served lobster, and hours later we were enjoying lobster tails and scallops after dark. Combined with a bottle of Kenwood Brut sparkling wine it made for a nice celebration dinner. Kuniko picked up the tab for dinner, and we were amused to see that the server included a tip chart with explanations on how to tip in Japanese, Korean and Chinese. A little cheesy, I thought. We walked back to our hotel on the sidewalk along the beach, and reflected that it was a good first day in Waikiki.
