Aloha Hawaii

This morning we were in a desert state, tonight we are in a tropical paradise.  Chalk and cheese, Nevada and Hawaii.  Kathy and James met us at the airport and it was so great to see them after being with strangers for a week.  It is also very handy to have somebody check out the lay of the land before our arrival, something that we have benefited from all day :)

After checking in and aloha-ing everyone else, we headed straight up the road to Macys as the immediate priority was swimming in the ocean - but I didn't bring any togs.  Kathy knew exactly where the swimwear department was, so we were in and out in half an hour.  Now THAT'S the way to buy togs!  Back to the hotel to change, then 20 metres from the hotel room to the ocean.  Gently undulating waves, so warm and incredibly buoyant.  Its amazing how restorative being in the ocean is.

We stayed in for ages, then 'rinsed off' in the hotel pool.  There is a fireworks display outside the hotel each Friday night so when we were sufficiently wrinkled, there was just enough time to do the laundry we had been saving up for the last week before taking in the show.  Josie is something of an expert in the laundry department, including where to find the machine that changes your notes into the required quarters, so it was a very efficient process.

Josie had also discovered that there was a restaurant across the road that specialised in Buffalo Wings.  James jnr was really keen to do what he has seen in the movies and work his way through a 'bucket of wings' so it seemed the ideal place to eat. Sitting at the table with my beautiful family, country music playing, a cold beer and hot chicken filled me up with happies.  The perfect Hawaii day after the extravagance of Vegas.she
Small note to remember, it doesn't matter how old you look in the US, you can't get a drink without ID.  Brett and Kathy didn't have any on them, so it was soft drinks for them.  However, after a wee discussion with Kathy and James, the waitress checked with her supervisor and Kathy got a beer after all as a special dispensation.  No such luck for Brettski, who missed that conversation at the other end of the table - although probably just as well because after our week in Vegas and swimming today, he was really tired and probably would have nose-dived into his buffalo wings if he had a drop of beer. In actual fact, he is asleep on the couch in the Duncans room now (free wifi here), so I'll sign off and get him home to bed.