Adventures In AlohaLand Day 5

Day 5 Man, a girl could get used to this! I just love waking up and walking to the balcony to look at the ocean. Heavenly really.
Shower and watch the news, it is so funny to me how the surf report is part of the daily weather report. I love this!

Breakfast at Duke’s great as usual. Friendly folks from Nebraska were sitting by me with a very beautiful little girl. So well behaved, I was in awe. Great parents, cool kid.

Today is all about the shopping! I decide to take the Trolley to Ala Moana. I was given a pass by those cool Nebraska folks. There is a pink trolley that is dedicated to shopping I guess! LOL Anyhow, walked over to in front of the CheeseCake Factory to board the bus. Huge line! But some were there for the other trolleys so no worries, got on the first one. The ride was interesting, as this was one of the first stops. Took awhile, but I enjoyed the open air ride.

At the mall, I found a great deal on a video camera! Can you believe it? It was actually cheaper at the Radio Shack there in Honolulu than in Charleston! I bought it and an extra battery. Visited Hilo Hatties to get the goodies that went with my Big Kahuna package! Bought some coffee for some folks back home. Then also got some great shoes from a vendor in the middle of the mall. They are Crocs. Slippahs. Flip-flops! They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn.

Feeling a little tired after all the shopping and my later night last night. I decided to head back to the hotel. Found the trolley really easily. Had to laugh at this one woman talking to her daughter “You know, I can’t believe that there aren’t any American’s here.” Unfortunately she was referring to locals. I said “Ma’am these folks are Americans!” I said it in my best Southern belle drawl all covered with sugar and smiled. My momma always said I could tell someone to go to hades and they would thank me. It’s all in the tone. LOL At least she had the decency to be embarrassed. I just kept walking. It really flew all over me, I know I was probably being to sensitive, but couldn’t help myself. UGH!

Got all my packages onto the trolley with me. The lady driving was hysterical. She really liked her job, you could tell. We got to the hotel in no time. In retrospect I guess my stop was the second in the grand scheme of things, cause on the way back we only stopped at the Hilton before my stop. Anyhow, it was a great little trip.

I took all my loot up to my room and decided it was time for lunch and I wanted to be in the air conditioning for a bit. So I went downstairs to the little deli sandwich place in the lobby. Now this place is kinda hard to find. It is right next to the washers and dryers. The sandwichs are cheap, freshly made and very good. I got egg salad sandwich, chips and drink for about $6. That is cheaper than home by about $1.50! I took my lunch back to my room. Took some Motrin and watched soap operas for a bit. Now, I didn’t have a full out hangover, but I was definitely aware I had been up late! LOL A nap was in order.

I got a call from my friend George. He and his girlfriend Des were going to pick me up to go to the Friday night Aloha Festival Downtown Melee. Basically a big street party. They picked me up in front of the hotel. It was great to see him again and to meet his very nice girlfriend. Shortly it was like we were all old friends.

We parked down by the Aloha Tower and walked the couple of blocks to the party. As we got closer to the crowd a man came up and gave Des and I both a rose. He wasn’t looking for money, he just gave us the flowers. We were a little dubious of the whole thing. He assured us he just wanted us to have them and walked away. Neither of us said anything and then both of us said we had watched to many horror movies. You know the ones where in a crowd the pscho “marks” his victims with flowers or some such thing so that his accomplice knows which women to take. Yeah, we were laughing so hard at our paranoia. We knew we were being silly, but it didn’t stop us from staying really close to George! ROFLMAO

There were street vendors with all manner of wonderful food. It was awesome. There was an excellent Military Band. They had a female singer and they played a lot of rock covers. We really enjoyed listening to them.

We were getting hungry and the band stopped playing. We decided to head back over to the Aloha Tower Marketplace and eat at Don Ho’s. Great idea, one problem though, they wouldn’t seat us. Apparently they were through for the night. Whatever. We ate at the restaurant right across the way from them. It was on the water and I can’t for the life of me think of the name. It was really good though. We talked and laughed and had a great time.

They were asking me if I had any trouble being a haole girl alone in Waikiki. They really seemed surprised when I told them that I hadn’t had any trouble. In fact in a few places I went to people thought I lived there. Probably because the folks at Duke’s new me by my first name at this point. And I have a purse that is one of those mailbag purses from a company called Da Kine. I have had it for a year, but I guess it is a surfer brand. Whatever, it was interesting for people to ask me if I was a local! LOL

After dinner, they dropped me back off at the hotel. They both had a really long work week and I believe she had to work the next day. At any rate, I was not quite ready for bed! I decided to go have a drink at Duke’s.

Davy was working again along with Mike. They again kept me pretty entertained. I also had a great long interesting conversation with one of the waitresses who had just gotten off work. Her name was Daisy. She was so sweet and we chatted for quite awhile. These folks were so easy to be with. Having worked in the tourism industry, I know that by nature folks who work around tourists are friendly people. It is in our genes I guess. Anyhow, they really made my trip.
There were two girls sitting at the bar that were in town on vacation. They were a hoot. One of them fell off the bar stool. They were a little uh, well hoochie if you know what I mean. They were however entertaining to watch….from a distance.

Folks, remember your bartenders and waitresses. Especially in a place like Honolulu. Most of these people are working a couple of jobs and going to school. When they work hard or go that extra mile for you…show them by tipping appropriately. 18% - 20% for exceptionally good service.

After a very long night…..Food and Beverage people party pretty hard….and I am old. I made my way up to my room and to bed. I am so glad I had a chance to meet these folks. They made my vacation very special by making me FEEL like a local. That’s it for Day 5. More to come.