Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Beach, Guns & Shopping
We arrived safely in Hawaii after sitting on the tarmac for 1.5 hours at SFO. But the weather is so nice and warm here it was worth the wait. We arrived at our hotel at about 10:30pm, so after checking in we decided to walk Waikiki Beach (our hotel is right on the beach, literally. So cool!) and then get a snack and drink at the hotel bar (on the beach of course). Our room had a Lanai (balcony) overlooking the beach but we only had this room for one night (Travelocity didn't have a standard room for our first night so we had to upgrade for the one night), so the next morning I got up and spent the first hour of my day people watching from the balcony. Some people just don't know when to stop tanning!
Outrigger Reef Lanai View - Left to Right
After I finally got Ian up, we showered and headed out. We had to checkout of our current room and into our new room at noon, so we decided to walk around the shopping area for a while and then do the room shuffle before grabbing lunch and going to the beach. Ian desperately needed some clothes to wear on the cruise since all of his have paint on them (you'd think he could just pick one pair of shorts and one shirt to paint in..but I digress). So we stopped into Banana Republic and bought him a couple of things. We asked the woman at the counter about a recommendation for lunch and she suggested a Thai restaurant called Keo's. Our client Roann (a native of Oahu) had also suggested this restaurant, but we were running out of time before we needed to head back to the hotel so we decided to go there for dinner. On the way back to the hotel we stopped into an ABC store and purchased some grass mats for the beach (only $1.39, what a steal).
Our new room was a few doors down from our old room, (and minus the beach view). We ate a quick lunch at the hotel restaurant the Shore Bird and then headed to the beach.
Shore Bird Restaurant at the Outrigger Reef on Waikiki
A quick stop at the pool kiosk got us two towels for the day as well. After claiming our spot we spent a few minutes in the water. The beach bottom is a bit rocky so I wore my flip flops in. The water wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either; it was just about perfect. After about an hour on the beach we were done (neither of us is really the laying around on the beach type). We headed up to the room for a shower and a nap. Then it was back out to the Kuhio street (where all of the shops are) for more exploring and people watching. I wanted to take Ian through the International Marketplace because I remembered it from my family trip here as a kid.
We ate dinner at Keo's. The service was excellent and the food was pretty good too.
We had yellow curry chicken, pad Thai and white rice. Oh and flan for dessert. There were tons of leftovers.
Keo's Restaurant in Honolulu
After dinner we strolled down Kuhio street some more. Stopping to watch street performers and the many Japanese tourists. Ian spotted the Waikiki Gun Club and wanted to go in for a closer look. It turns out for $100 you can shoot 10 rounds each on an AK47, M16, 12 gauge shot gun and some other gun (I forget what it was). Ian wanted to do it but wasn't sure about spending the money. So I stepped up and bought it for him. I'm so glad I did. There wasn't anyone else there at the time so they let me go in with him to take photos.
Waikiki Gun Club "High Power" Course - Ian Firing AK47 - Ian Firing M16
I also got a few short video clips. I can't believe how loud the guns were (even with ear covers on). Ian did a great job hitting the bulls eye and was smiling from ear to ear the whole time.
Today we plan to go to Pearl Harbor and tour the Arizona Memorial...If I can get Ian out of bed!
~ Christina
Next Hawaii January 1-15, 2006 Post:
January 3 Pearl Harbor
Outrigger Reef Lanai View - Left to Right
After I finally got Ian up, we showered and headed out. We had to checkout of our current room and into our new room at noon, so we decided to walk around the shopping area for a while and then do the room shuffle before grabbing lunch and going to the beach. Ian desperately needed some clothes to wear on the cruise since all of his have paint on them (you'd think he could just pick one pair of shorts and one shirt to paint in..but I digress). So we stopped into Banana Republic and bought him a couple of things. We asked the woman at the counter about a recommendation for lunch and she suggested a Thai restaurant called Keo's. Our client Roann (a native of Oahu) had also suggested this restaurant, but we were running out of time before we needed to head back to the hotel so we decided to go there for dinner. On the way back to the hotel we stopped into an ABC store and purchased some grass mats for the beach (only $1.39, what a steal).
Our new room was a few doors down from our old room, (and minus the beach view). We ate a quick lunch at the hotel restaurant the Shore Bird and then headed to the beach.
Shore Bird Restaurant at the Outrigger Reef on Waikiki
A quick stop at the pool kiosk got us two towels for the day as well. After claiming our spot we spent a few minutes in the water. The beach bottom is a bit rocky so I wore my flip flops in. The water wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either; it was just about perfect. After about an hour on the beach we were done (neither of us is really the laying around on the beach type). We headed up to the room for a shower and a nap. Then it was back out to the Kuhio street (where all of the shops are) for more exploring and people watching. I wanted to take Ian through the International Marketplace because I remembered it from my family trip here as a kid.
We ate dinner at Keo's. The service was excellent and the food was pretty good too.
We had yellow curry chicken, pad Thai and white rice. Oh and flan for dessert. There were tons of leftovers.
Keo's Restaurant in Honolulu
After dinner we strolled down Kuhio street some more. Stopping to watch street performers and the many Japanese tourists. Ian spotted the Waikiki Gun Club and wanted to go in for a closer look. It turns out for $100 you can shoot 10 rounds each on an AK47, M16, 12 gauge shot gun and some other gun (I forget what it was). Ian wanted to do it but wasn't sure about spending the money. So I stepped up and bought it for him. I'm so glad I did. There wasn't anyone else there at the time so they let me go in with him to take photos.
Waikiki Gun Club "High Power" Course - Ian Firing AK47 - Ian Firing M16
I also got a few short video clips. I can't believe how loud the guns were (even with ear covers on). Ian did a great job hitting the bulls eye and was smiling from ear to ear the whole time.
Today we plan to go to Pearl Harbor and tour the Arizona Memorial...If I can get Ian out of bed!
~ Christina
Next Hawaii January 1-15, 2006 Post:
January 3 Pearl Harbor
# posted by Christina @ 11:36 AM 
