Aloha Bloggy!
Yes, I am here in Waikiki, the land of sun, surf and pineapples! I had a wonderful trip here and my first day on the island was filled with sun and fun with friends. Ha! I didn't realize that my energy level is not quite the same as it has been in past years... and that hit me last night, my first night here (grin).
For starters, it wasn't until I got here that I am now realizing the various things I have forgotten to pack... things that I would have packed without even thinking about in the past. Unfortunately, one of those things is the small cable that I need to hook my camera up to my computer so I can download the pictures off the camera onto the computer so I can then use them on the blog (or send in email, etc). That is a real bummer... it means this trip report for the next 3-4 weeks is going to be just words, no pictures! Unless I can luck out and find a camera shop here who just happens to have one in the back. Highly unlikely but let's not doubt the power of mind over matter ;)
Speaking of the "Laws of Attraction"... I have a wonderful example of how this has worked for me. For the weeks leading up to my flight here, I have been not too excited about coming because I was not looking forward to being squeezed onto the plane like a bunch of sardines. More so this year than any other because of my legs. I am just not as flexible because of what the chemo did to the feet and how it's impacted the arthritis. Suffice it to say, I was dreading the uncomfortable flight. Now, if there were an empty seat beside me, that would give me plenty of room to at least not feel quite so claustraphobic. When I checked in, I asked if the flight was full... and the attendant just laughed and said, "All flights to Hawaii at this time of the year are full, if not oversold." Oh great! So she said I could check with the gate attendant but highly unlikely that anything could be done.
Now, for weeks I have been visualizing and saying to myself "I will have an empty seat beside me" but it was not looking good. When I got to the gate, I went up to the attendant, explained my problem and that I understood the plane was full, but should someone not show up and should there possibly be two empty seats together, blah, blah, blah. She checked and apologized... the plane was full and she did have 2 single seats but they weren't even close to each other. Oh well (sigh).
So the first seat I was assigned was an aisle seat in the middle row (of 3 seats). While the plane was boarding, the gate attendant came up to me and asked if I would mind moving to the aisle seat across the way.. this was where there were two seats in the row... a window seat and an aisle seat. There was a gal in the window seat and it didn't really make any difference to me who I was sitting with and by moving, she could sit a family of 3. So I moved and the gal was very nice and friendly... so at least that made an uncomfortable situation more bearable. So off we went... and this gal and I had a nice chat. About 20 minutes into the flight, one of the flight attendants came up to us and said that there was another single seat up a couple of rows and would this gal like to move to it? So, as much as we were getting along just fine, the gal said, "Well, why not. That will give you more room to stretch your legs, but make sure you get up now and again and walk on them."
So, lo and behold, here was a full flight and I did get my two empty seats... and the rest of the flight was great, even with the 15 minutes or so of pretty strong turbulence :)
Ok... wow, if it takes me this long to describe a part of a day, this blog entry will go on forever!! LOL!!!
So, I'll make the rest relatively quick. I got to the hotel and checked in and it really is very comfortable. It's an older hotel that has been renovated. I am staying in a "standard" room, but it has some amenities that most standard hotel rooms don't have. Yes, there is a tv (pretty standard) but it also has a stereo with Bose speakers. The king size bed is SUPER comfortable... both nights now I have slept sooooo well!! Air conditioning is turned on/off with a remote control rather than setting it like a thermostat. There is a small fridge and a safe. The bathroom is great... the bathtub is a jacuzzi tub. Yayayayaya! And of course, there is high speed internet in each of the rooms. So all in all, very comfortable. I was going to look into being upgraded to a Jr. Suite, which has all the same amenities plus a kitchenette, including a full size fridge. Depending if I stay a bit longer, I may still look into this, but for now I'm quite comfortable :)
Yesterday, we spent the day on the beach... my first day. My buddies had an umbrella already set up for me and (grrrrrrrr) since I FORGOT to bring my beach chair (it's still behind my door at home), they had rented me a chaise lounge chair... but at $15/day, that could get way too expensive. So, I made a few phone calls because I know I have left a chair with friends a few years ago. Now I had said that I didn't want/need it again because I would just bring another one each year... but now I was wondering if someone still had it? To make a long story short, yes, the chair is still here on the island, so Ed is going to bring it down to the beach this morning... and the beach boys who run the chair/umbrella/etc. rentals, will keep it with our other chairs/umbrellas, so I don't have to be hauling it to/from the hotel.
Last night, 8 of us took a stretch limo to Bob Mott's BEAUTIFUL townhouse to celebrate another friend, Sheila's birthday. The last time I was at this townhouse was back when they first bought it and it was empty. They were renovating so had not moved any furniture or anything in... and now it's finished and lived in. Beautiful home... and a fun party! But then, when haven't we had fun??? (grin)
I'd say that some of them may be a bit later getting down to the beach this morning (chuckle). Me, I realized as we were getting ready to leave about 11pm (1am Vancouver time and I'm still on Vancouver time at the moment) that I had run out of steam. My legs were now not listening to my brain.. weird feeling, but I know it was mainly because I was just tired. This morning, I'm still tired and much slower. I just realized it is going on 10am so I better get a move on and go get some breakfast. I will then head to the beach... but it does take me awhile to get to the beach since where we go on Waikiki is probably about a 1/2 mile walk. Not far at all... unless you walk slow :)
Ok... that's it for now! Will be back later :)
Alooooooha!
Cheryl
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