First Day

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Aloha friends and family!

It's 12:00 AM Oregon time (9:00 here in Ewa Beach) but it's been an eventful day and I'm not at all tired so I thought it would be a good time to upload some pictures and update the blog.

We departed Albany at 5:00 AM for the drive to Portland and checked in at PDX with plenty of time to spare, so we stopped for a small breakfast at Rose's Restaurant and Bakery. I snapped a goofy and distinctly unflattering photograph of Granny (aka Rose) noshing on a bagel but I've promised not to post it on the internet (for now).

Our flight departed right on time, 8:45, and the five hours went by in a snap (mostly I dozed, read, and grimaced at the in-flight movie P.S. I Love You. The Hawaiian Airlines staff took every opportunity to ply us with food, drink and hot towels. I've always been a little puzzled as to the reason for the hot towels, but, you know, nothing to complain about! Some of the instructions on this airline towel website crack me up. For example:

Serving suggestion: Heat desired number of towels in on-board microwave or oven and present to passenger.

or

Serving suggestion: Add hot water to serving tray and present to passenger using serving tong.

Okay, the website is not that funny, just mildly absurd -- maybe I'm sleepier than I thought and I won't find this at all funny in the morning after a good night's sleep. 😊

When we landed in Honolulu, we found that Hawaiians really are as friendly, cheerful, and pleasant in person as they are on the phone. They're even nice when they drive, letting you in, letting you pass, etc. Purportedly they will flash a shaka hand sign at you as a sign of good will when you're driving, though we haven't yet spotted this phenomenon. (I have my license now but I don't intend to drive while I'm in Hawaii unless it's totally necessary. I've only been driving for three months so I feel like a certified public menace when I'm behind the wheel some days!)

Dan and Maureen met us at the airport with a wheelchair for Grandma, escorted us to the car rental, took us out to lunch, to the grocery store to buy supplies, and helped us find our beach house. They're so awesome, I love them! Dan also invited himself over on Saturday to grill steaks and sausage on the gas grill out back -- no objections here, of course. 😊

The house is directly on the beach, separated by only a small chain link fence with a latched gate. We opened all the doors and windows, and with the trade winds blowing through and the sound of the surf...it's absolutely amazing. I never want to leave!

I have to say, I think I miscalculated my wardrobe in planning the trip here. I arrived wearing my usual Oregon gear -- sweater, trousers, sandals with socks (stylish!) and within about twenty minutes of arriving at the beach house I was wandering around in bare feet with rolled up trousers and t-shirt on. It's just too hot and humid to wear any more clothes than modesty requires, ha ha. I'm going to have to modify some of my buttoned up wardrobe and buy a few pairs of shorts or something while I'm here. FYI, I wore sunscreen today but even with the little bit of sun I got (it was cloudy when we arrived), the tip of my nose and my cheeks are already singed and slightly red. This doesn't bode well for my chances of getting any kind of tan (I'll probably come back beet red) but it doesn't mean that I won't try.

Anyhow, it's getting late (1:00 Oregon time) so I'm going to upload some photos and call it a night. No idea yet what we'll do tomorrow -- probably a day of rest and settling in at the beach house while Grandma recovers from the flight and travel.

Good night everyone!

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Photos

Interior shot of the beach house
The desk is my new laptop workstation

Comments

[Roe Miller]

Hello
I am glad that you arrived and that everything is going well.