Waikiki

Transferred from Turtle Bay Resort to Waikiki. Repacking turned out to be problematic, as I tried to cram everything hurriedly back into our suitcases we had spent weeks scientifically packing before the trip, plus all the extra stuff we bought here (inexpensive beach towels, beach mats, etc., all of which seemed to be quite bulky). Ended up buying a cheap extra suitcase at WalMart, since we will have to check our baggage on the way back again anyway. Found our way to the Waikiki with only minor detours (suspected we might be off course when armed guards waved us down and asked us for ID before proceeding – but they seemed familiar with the concept of idiot tourists, and got us headed in the right direction again without too much hassle.)


Once settled in on the 34th floor of one of the towers of the Hilton Hawaiian village, we went down to the beach. I was greatly surprised that the beach wasn’t more crowded. I had always assumed that hotel beachfront at these resorts were a cheek by jowl kind of set up, but that wasn’t the case at all. There were certainly people about, but it was a lot easier finding a nice spot for ourselves here than on, say, the beach at Park Lake just outside of Lethbridge, and believe me, the ocean at Waikiki is a hell of a lot more impressive than our local lake.