Adventures Day 3

Day3 Woke up to a beautiful sunny day! The balcony from my room had a table and 2 chairs. Not much space, but perfect for me. Looking out at the gorgeous clear blue water. Lot’s of surfers already in the water at 7am!

Went down to breakfast at Dukes. This was included in my room rate. WOW! Very ono. Incredibly nice wait staff. Didn’t have to wait at all and they sat me right by the beach, even though I was by myself. The service was good and the breakfast was too good.
After one last glass of POG, I went upstairs to gather my things and headed back to wait for my shuttle. Brigit at the bellstand arranged a shuttle with the company they always use. Tahiti Trans. They were awful.

The Korean driver was very angry when he picked me up. There was another couple waiting in front of my hotel. He yelled at them and told them they were at the wrong place. Then he closed the door in my face! The bellman banged on the door for him to open it back up. He did and said Swap Meet? I said Yes, sir. Okay, get in. I got in what looked to be an old car rental agency shuttle. With the place for the luggage and the whole bit. There was a family on there with teenage kids. They looked shell shocked. I was about to find out why. This guy drove like a lunatic and had some serious road rage issues. It was like a New York cabbie on steroids! ROFLMAO

After 2 more stops to pick up some other folks, he got a call on his radio and after some discussion in Korean, he made a series of turns around back to the first hotel he had picked the family up at. Who was standing there? The couple he had yelled at in front of my hotel! They WERE supposed to be on the shuttle, he had just ignored what they had said and yelled at them!
After a death defying drive to the Aloha Stadium, all of us decided there was no way we would possibly ride back with that lunatic.

Luckily when you are let off at the stadium, there was a lady there with one of the shuttle services (VIP TOURS) and you could pay $8 to ride back to Waikiki. They left every half hour. (I promise to gather all this info for you)

I walked around the stadium and bought t-shirts, a small daypack, some magnets for friends back home and wandered through the other stalls. Finally, my feet were giving out on me and I knew I had to get back and eat some lunch before my afternoon tour. I went back out and found the lady hawking the shuttle bus back. That was so easy, we got right on and headed out. Much less stress! LOL

Back at the hotel, I went back to Duke’s for lunch buffet. It was again awesome and the surf just a few steps away was still firing pretty big. No catamaran’s running today and the snorkeling I wanted to do the next day was not looking promising!

After lunch, I went upstairs and took a shower changed clothes for my afternoon tour. I had signed up through email before I left home with Mauka Makai Sacred Sites Tour. The owner and tour guide Dom is INCREDIBLE!

This was one of, if not THE highlight of my tour. It was a half day tour of the sacred sites of the North Shore. I am going to do one whole review just of that tour in itself. This guy knows his stuff and is an incredible story teller. I have been a tour guide for 15 years and believe me I am a hard sell. It was spectacular. The name of the company is Maukau Makai Tours.

After the tour I was exhausted! I walked over to the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center a little ways down the street and believe it or not I got a hot dog for dinner! Then I went upstairs to my room. I had a shower and watched some television. Before I turned in for the night, I sat on my balcony and just took it all in for a little bit. This trip was turning out to be just what I needed.