xpotential

Day seven Final day in Hawaii. Went for a two hour swim in the morning. The water is amazing. The temperature even at 8am is amazing. I need to live near a beach like this. Showered and packed and checked out by midday. Excursion to shopping mall to purchase Lego for flat mate. He's of the opinion that certain types of Lego are investment pieces. I bought the smallest item of the four items he told me he wanted. It is huge and heavy and I'm betting it won't fit in my suitcase. I'm not in a good mood. Wish I had said no. Did a candy run at Walmart, as no supermarkets in Waikiki where you can buy bulk anything. Also got a can of pumpkin pie mix - hopefully this will be more successful ... read more

Day three - late last night was advised that water would be off on my floor from 9am-1pm. Was going to sleep in then go to the beach, but no water essentially means there is not point being around the hotel. Went to Ala Moana shopping mall, which is the largest outdoor shopping mall in the States. Bought a birthday present to myself in the form of a handbag. The shops here just don't sell what I want. Luckily I can't wear heels because there are so many cool shoes. My credit card likes this. Purchased a cinnamon bun. Unsure how these are meant to be eaten. A huge scroll bun, dripping in very hot white frosting. Was very messy. Probably will come back from this trip with diabetes. Took my book to read on the ... read more

Day two - not feeling the best. Probably the result of no dinner the night before. Went for my first surfing lesson. I think I did really well considering? Given I can't kneel so probably got up onto the board pretty awkwardly, but ride some good waves. The two hours flew by. Tiring though - no wonder surfers have such good arms. Paddling is hard work. Cheesecake factory again for lunch. Same meal. No lunch companions.Cruised around for the afternoon. A bit of beach, a bit of napping. Went to the international market. Got tricked/forced into buying a ring. The lady did some weird thing on her calculator where she typed in an inflated price, did s percentage, then calculated the "discounted price". Fascinating people would fall for that. Escaped with my ring before I could ... read more

Last day in the US of A!! Plan was to go to Venice beach and Santa Monica. Woke up, made my free pancakes (after a couple of pathetic attempts), then found out Curly was food poisoned from Hooters. Amazed I wasn't to be honest. Went back to bed for a nap and then walked to Hollywood Blvd. Walked into a wig shop just to check it out, and ended up buying one. Have wanted a wig for ages, and have been missing my dark hair. My wig and I then caught bus to The Grove. I love it here. Such a great atmosphere, and the Farmers Market is awesome. Just strolled around. Had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (as seen in Big Bang Theory). It is nothing like in the show. It's really nice. Had lunch, ... read more

Disneyland today! On the road from 8.30am - I think it took about an hour and a half to get there? Went with Curly, Mandy, Lauren and Mariana. Kendall and Leah also there but didn't catch them. We are a pretty self absorbed bunch - kind of forgot Disney is actually a kids park.... Got there and tried to walk round in a loop. First few rides were closed, went to the Haunted Mansion and promptly separated from Curly and Lauren. Tip - you can only Fastpass one ride at a time. We got lucky and slipped through ahead of our fast pass time. Did a few kids rides, only big ride we didn't do was Splash Mountain. So very hot. I think it was like 40 degrees or something, which was a shame because I ... read more