Hawaii has been a dream vacation destination since forever. As luck would have it my sister & brother in law were invited by a good friend to be in their wedding party for their Thanksgiving celebration. They were gracious enough to invite my parents + Jillian & I to come along, help out with the babysitting duties & rental/ lodging costs. Hawaii was going to be our Honeymoon destination; but pass on a Hawaii trip just because? No way.
After Dan & I's previous trip to Tokyo, the 10+ hour flight was going to be no big deal, but I had to prep. Bought an 8pk of burger buns, a lb of turkey & cheese, boxes of crackers, & half the candy aisle to keep my hypoglycemia at bay. It was the first time I flew Continental in years, so I didn't know what was offerred or charged for. I was suprised with a mid-flight cheeseburger so hunger wasn't an issue. Entertaining myself was tough, however, as Continental doesn't offer the Jet Blue Direct TV and the PSP games I brought couldn't hold my attention.
Downed a Zyrtec with a Miller Lite and soon we were in Honolulu airport. Excited & exhausted we made our way to the rental counter to see what was waiting for us. A Ford Focus- whatevs but it was only a few minutes to Waikiki. I could handle that. Made it to our hotel despite some LA style traffic. Welcome to the Aston Waikiki. Almost didn't get our room because the max capacity for our suite was 6 and we were 7 with my 2yo nephew. Stress started to kick in with the thought of having to find another hotel. However, Mom worked her magic and we got a room & somehow got one with a ocean view. Thanks Lady!
By now we were all starving and headed out to find some grub. The front desk mentioned some diner, but the guys in the garage sent us to a Ramen joint around the corner.
It was a hole in the wall, but was JDM legit. Real low key, but only Japanese were dining there. After some Miso Ramen, Lo Mein, Fried Rice & Wontons we were ready to crash.
But not after a stop at the local market dubbed "The Food Pantry". Stocked with local goodness we somehow spent close to $200 for our 2 day stay in Oahu. Stoops! At least we were able to eat most of our next couple meals @home. With all of us waking up @4am east coast time, it was nice to have Mom throw down for breakfast every day.
I sampled my first Spam Musubi. So good. Def some Hawaiian local craze, but it appealed to the Flip in me. And for only a buck or two. It became to the goto snack for the trip.
We all had planned to head out after a "nap" to sample the local nightlife, but next thing we knew it was the middle of the night. Oh well, our first beach day would soon be here.
