Heading home

While I wait at Honolulu airport, feeling a mixture of excitement to get home to my little plastic friends but some sadness too that it’s the end of my Hawaiin holiday, I thought it’s a good a time as any to write up a post.

WARNING – THIS IS A NON-HOBBY RELATED POST –

Rather than regale you with a lengthy and detailed tale of the whole Hawaiin adventure I thought I’d just give you some snippets.

Lets start with the negatives.

I lost:

Sunnies, first pair of thongs (flip flops) I’ve ever owned (I only had them for two days haha. Some things are just not meant to be). Then I lost my reading/hobbying glasses. Bugger! I needed new glasses anyway.

There were quite a few hidden costs involved. Eg “resort fees”. We thought we’d paid all the accommodation fees in one lump sum but each time we checked out of a hotel, of which there were two, we were hit with a resort fee haha. $150 each time. Not that bad but just unexpected.

Lost in translation. I guess because we were going to a, mostly, English speaking country we thought there would be no issue with language and communication BUT there was haha. It wasn’t really a negative but quite funny. I’d say… “g’day mate how’s going?” Which, I guess sounds like “gdaymatazitgarn” haha and the Yankees and islanders would kind of stare at me with a vague sort of smile and nod haha. Our Australian accents stood out like dogs balls but they all seemed to like our accents even though they didn’t always follow what we were saying.

Positives.

Wow, probably too many to mention or remember. We all had an absolute ball.

Highlights for me were.

1. Seeing the family so happy.

2. Driving on the wrongs side of the road. It was fine but you had to have your thinking cap on. My brother in-law, who came along too, nearly took us on the left side of the road at one time but a quick shout from me ensured he corrected the manoeuvre.

3. The food. It was all great but boy I can see why America is the fattest nation. There seems to be sugar in everything, even the bread! The cheese was kinda weird and you can but cheese in a squeezie toothpaste type tube haha what the shit?? At restaurants you received massive portions. I can’t stand wasting food but even I struggled to finish off the meals. Just last night I had a steak that was as big as my youngest daughters head. We loved Starbucks but found we had to be so specific with what we wanted. I asked for a mocha (which is my go to coffee in Aus) and they asked if I wanted cream, milk, hot or cold water, sugar or sugar supplement?

4. The weather was fantastic. A little humid but warm and breezy.

5. The beaches were amazing. Clear water, white sand. We even saw wild sea turtles that were just a metre away from us. That was a real buzz. We also spotted wild whales in a bay.

6. The road to Hana. While in Maui (my favourite island by far) we took a road trip to Hana which was awesome and exhilarating. At one time we were driving along the edge of a cliff with a sheer drop to the ocean. My brother in-law loved it but the kids were a little concerned haha.

7. The landscape was constantly changing. One minute it’s like a tropical jungle and then wide sweeping plains with huge black volcanic rocks. Very cool.

8. Friendly people. Everyone was so happy and so relaxed. Island living really brings out the best in people. It sounds odd to say but even the homeless people in Honolulu were smiling and having a good time. Possibly high as kites though I guess haha. By far the best person I met was Marlon our tour guide and coach driver when we went to Pearl Harbour. He was informative, charismatic, entertaining, compassionate and blood funny.

9. Tattoos. My wife and I are mad in to tattoos so we’ve made a pact that every country we visit we will get a tattoo. We found a very cool place in Honolulu called Skin deep and each of us got a tattoo that you’ll see in the pix below. Getting a tattoo is always a great experience but getting one overseas, especially in Honolulu where the famous Sailor Jerry set up camp back in the day was very, very cool. It felt like we were on the set of LA Ink haha.

10. Pearl Harbour was a real standout for me. I’ve always had an interest in War history so I was excited to see the ships and read about what went down on December 7th 1941 on a tropical island in the Pacific. Even though I knew a fair bit already about that fateful day I guess being there and visualising it all unfolding was something quite different. It was quite a somber and moving experience actually. Especially when we met one of the survivors of the day, 96 year old Everett Hyland. You can read more about this lovely and very proud man here –

https://www.nps.gov/valr/getinvolved/supportyourpark/everett-hyland.htm

Despite having an absolutely brilliant time I’m looking forward to getting home. I guess there’s no place like home. My own bed, my armchair and my little plastic family, God I sound old… but happy hehe.

Onto the pix

Remember, Gillians Island? It was filmed in a Honolulu.

Cheers

IRO “International Hero” haha.