A long short trip.... north-north-east for 7,800km and only one hour difference in clock-time... but a whole day appears out of nowhere! We gave up Valentine's Day when we traveled from LAX to AKL... and we got back the 8th of March in return. We left AKL at 1030 on Tuesday 8 March and landed at HNL at 1905 on Monday, 7 March - how about that!
It was warm (29C) and humid when we stepped onto US soil at Honolulu's International Airport and the sun was just setting. It was a beautiful tropical evening. After being welcomed by the CBD and DHS folks and treated well - as Canadians (no complaint here), we left the terminal, bags in hand (or, better said, bags on wheels) and made our way to the arrivals pickup area. Our shuttle dropped us at the Hawaii Prince and we were checked into our room by 2000... with a great view of the Honolulu marina below and a view to the west along the south coast of Oahu - one of the 7 main Hawaiian Islands and home of its state government. What a view of Waikiki! The hotel is an aging dowager of a hotel - no wi-fi but huge well-appointed bathrooms with a separate walk-in shower room - with full windows opening onto the Waikiki marina area.
Our second Tuesday, 8 March, 2011, gave us an opportunity to walk around the Ala Moana area of Honolulu and visit its world famous shopping centre (310 stores with all the big $ retailers represented therein). The better half enjoyed the unparalleled shopping choices... but soon became disillusioned because of the obvious opulence and ostentatious wealth. It was something to see...but, I agree with her - it's really too much!
We decided to get our luggage (bags #1, #2 and #4) organized on Wednesday morning and take a guided 4 hour tour around south-eastern Oahu in the afternoon. As the hotel did not have wi-fi available for residents (just cat-5 cable connections), we slipped across the street to the MacDonald's Cafe for a MacBreakfast and free wi-fi - a needed service for email-junkies like me. It was excellent (free) service, btw.
The afternoon was quite interesting... we visited or passed-by a number of well-known (Diamond Head, KoKo Head) and not-so-well-known (Waimanalo Beach); we were treated to visits to the Halona Blow-hole and the Pali Lookout (the location of King Kemehameha's victory over O'ahu's army in 1795... to unite the Islands under one governance - his). When we returned, it was time to change clothes - getting ready for cooler temps - and getting to the airport. Our AC flight, a REALLY old B767-300, took off on time arriving at YVR 20 minutes early. The trip was notable in its general quality of service from that experienced on the smaller and less technologically advanced Air New Zealand - it was NOT nearly as good; ANZ's cabin staff really "get it"... they seemed to engage the customers more positively AND they had no difficulty providing hot meals in the 'back of the bus' as well as a seemingly unending availability of really good NZ savvy or pinot noir.
These comments are experience-based... and do not necessarily have significance in the market place... or do they...
YVR at 0450 - raining and 8C - sort of the same way we left it... and our rented vehicle was ready - Budget was open at 0500... WOW! We were surprised. We ate breakfast (A&W + Starbucks) at the airport and then off to our hotel - they were so accommodating, we were able to check in way early. The "do not disturb" sign went out and we went down for sleep - most of the day. it was still raining when we awoke - a drive around the city to show the better-half what Vancouver really looked like and then we decided something else was needed to eat. Supper from a deli (with a prosecco and a Road13 Okanagan Valley red blend) and enjoyed in our hotel - good stuff.
Friday - we enjoyed a breakfast in the hotel and then made our way out to Stanley Park and the Vancouver aquarium - really fun... an incredible number of young kids in attendance - all of whom seemed to be enjoying the aquatic marvels before them. We were certainly impressed...
Yup! still raining - and we got a bit wet. More deli in the room... and early to bed for a tad more sleep.
Saturday - lazy trip to O'Doul's for a leisurely breakfast... trip to the deli for some fresh foods and back to have supper (with a Kim Crawford 2010 Savvy) pack for the trip home with a get-up ring at 0400 to finish packing and trip to YVR.
Sunday - up early... packed... ready to go and off to YVR for the 1-bounce (YOW) trip to YHZ.
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