So, after a 2 year gap, we are back in the USA and on to our 26th US state, so now more than half of the US states done, to –
Hawaii (HI) – the Aloha State.
As US states go, its the last state to have been admitted to the Union – 21 August 1959. And it is one of the smallest in size.
Knowing our reputation for cramming a lot in to a short space of time, it seems a bit extravagant to be spending 2 weeks in 1 state !
But I suppose its a long way to come to spend a couple of days ! Adrienne says this is supposed to be a “relaxing holiday” – I might have to Google that to see what that is exactly.
Anyway, here we are and off we go !
Simon & Jatta took us to the airport and stayed to have some dinner after we checked in. This was our first taste of Hawaiian Airlines and check-in was very slooooooow. Adrienne had used their web check-in the night before so this was supposed to be a bag drop really. At the airport itself, staff were directing everyone to use the “self check” kiosks and then join the “bag drop” queue. There were hardly any people at the “main” check-in and a huge queue for everyone at the bag drop. The “main” and “fist class” check- ins had the same number of desks as the web check-ins but we had ten times as many in the queue ! And it also seemed to take them twice as long to deal with each bag drop as it did for a complete check – in ! Was this “Hawaii Time” taking hold already ?
We finally got done after an hour and had our dinner before heading through customs and to the gate. On board, we came to our seats and Adrienne almost took a step back – there were babies – twins – in the seat behind us ! As you will know from my past tour blogs we have not had a lot of luck with babies on our fights.
Did you know that the flight from Sydney to Honolulu is 9 hours and 29 minutes ? Did you know that babies, albeit twins – to be fair, taking turns I suppose – can scream continuously for 9 hours and 29 minutes ? When we finally landed in Honolulu, the poor Mum & Dad obviously felt very sheepish at the look of all the sleep deprived passengers around them as they both apologised profusely for the disturbed night had by all !!
Immigration was also very slooooooow . With the Thanksgiving Holiday tomorrow, this is apparently one of the busiest days at the airport as everyone heads home for the holiday. Again it was almost an hour before we got through – luckily we actually managed to pick the “fast” queue for a change. We collected our luggage and whisked through a non-existent customs to drop our bags for the transfer flight to Kauai. Our internal flight – all 35 minutes of it – was delayed for about 15 minutes (they wouldn’t even bother to announce in Australia but they apologised for the inconvenience of the delay) and by 2pm local time we had our car ( a Chevrolet/Holden Cruze) and were officially on land and on our way.
First stop – Walmart !!
(Adrienne says it just happened to be on the way and anyway our accommodation wouldn’t be ready yet). $120 of cosmetics later (a bargain I’m told) and we headed for Koloa and specifically Poipu to our apartments for the next 3 days.(Sorry Liam, no AK-47 department in this Walmart ! They are not quite as “advance” as the rest of the US here !)
If you doubt the saying “on Hawaii Time” then we have proof it is true in every way. Here is the sign for the “new” roadworks nearby – commencing 2012 !
Poipu Kapili Apartments are right on the ocean and such a lovely spot. The apartments are mostly rented out by their owners for most of the year but are well equipped, spacious and well maintained.
There are manicured gardens and a large central pool area. there is also a tennis court. The clerk at reception filled us in with all the local amenities and after drooping in our bags we headed to the nearby supermarket to collect some provisions for the next few days. We have such a lovely outlook we will probably just cater for ourselves and relax on our back verandah with the sun setting in the background. These are a few photos
The lady who served us in the deli at the supermarket told us they would even be doing turkey with all the trimmings tomorrow if we wanted to come and collect everything to bring back !
But tonight we had some cold meats, cheese, salads and a French loaf all washed down with some ice cold bubbly before we wandered down to the waters edge – with quite a few others – to watch our first sunset and then headed back to sit on our verandah with the last of the bubbly as the sun disappeared.
We are now sitting doing our blogs and listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the rocks down at the waters edge. It wont be long before that sounds puts me to sleep though so it will be soon to bed – hopefully with no screaming babies nearby !
