Aloha from Honolulu

I could not sleep last night!  After tossing and turning for a while, Chris and I decided to get up around 2:50 a.m. to make some coffee. Our flight left Fort Lauderdale at 5:59 a.m. and landed smoothly in Dallas 3 hours later.  And now...for the bigger flight: 8 hours from Dallas to Honolulu. We passed most of the time sleeping and eating, as the plane was older and (gasp!) there were no in-seat individual TV screens and no wi-fi. Not a problem.

When we arrived at Honolulu airport, I had a lei greeting arranged--this ain't the Love Boat and with millions of visitors, one doesn't get flowers automatically. Chris and I received gorgeous purple and white orchids (traditional style) and Jackson was greeted with a lei made of candy.

We arrived at Luana Waikiki which is not directly on the beach but has a beautiful view of the ocean and Fort Derussey WWII memorial park from our balcony. It's nice and quiet and actually I preferred the location versus the hustle and bustle.

We were so exhausted--arriving at 6 pm Florida time--that the first thing we decided to do was go take a dip in the salt water pool. We are now enjoying a manager's reception with free beer, wine and snacks, along with ukulele and hula.

I'm expecting to go to a highly rated udon noodle soup place for a light dinner (hole-in-the-wall and un-airconditioned, as many places are due to the cost of electricity) and then probably to bed super early. We are all worn out and have tickets to see Pearl Harbor tomorrow morning. Until then...aloha to all.

From our balcony

The pool area has a little waterfall

This sign needs the grammar police