Sojama Road: Hawaii!

We left Seattle yesterday. Jack was so excited to go he woke up at 4am. We didn't have to get up until 6. We watched the sunrise in the great northwest, traveled 30 minutes to an airport and 5.5 hours in an airplane, then watched the sun set 2600 miles west and south.

Today, the kids decided they wanted to go to the "camp" at the hotel. It's childcare but there was an actual excursion to the Waikiki aquarium. I tried to discourage them by saying I thought the camp looked "academic" but they were not deterred. While they attended camp, Ryan and I swam in the ocean. Waikiki beach is calmer than Lake Washington on a slightly windy day. It's a great beach for open water swimming. However, I am still afraid of the random shark attack so I was very pleased when Ryan said he would come too. He paddles on his surf board. I am not sure why that made me less nervous.

We swam about a mile down the beach then walked back. Perfect weather. Beautiful day.

This is the second time I've stayed in Waikiki but the first time I noticed that American tourists are outnumbered by Japanese tourists. I am so used to being the culture being catered to by the local tourism industry. I walked into several stores and one restaurant where the people who worked there barely spoke English. Waikiki is so touristy but this experience actually made me feel like I was somewhere culturally interesting.

We ate lunch at a restaurant called Sam's that was in an alley. We ate their world famous shrimp and drank their world famous iced tea. It was good. I understand why it is famous.

When the kids finished camp (which they enjoyed.. especially the lunch because of the Hawaiian cookies) we rented a paddle board. Fun and fighting had by all. For Ryan's birthday dinner, he chose a Japanese restaurant called Chibo that specializes in pancakes (savory) and they prepare the food right in front of you.

Tomorrow we are up early to go to Auckland. I am most excited about going to Auckland while Jack is most excited that we get to fly in a 787. Everybody wins!