Peter and I have now begun our vacation here in Honolulu. We arrived on Friday morning via Aloha Airlines. We were able to catch an earlier flight out which was perfect.
At the airport we boarded the Alamo rental shuttle to get our car for the next four days. I got us a very good deal from Costco for a compact car with a minimum stay of 4 days for only $84.34 (compared to Travelocity and Orbitz's quote of $150). Since this was a very cheap deal we were given the oldest car in the lot, a Chevy two door sedan. Had a lot of miles on it as well as scratches and dents. We didn't complain but was thankful we got a good cheap rental.
Our first stop was brunch at our favorite local place, The Original Pancake House in Dillingham. The wait didn't take long but they were, as always, very busy. We were informed that Mother's Day would be even worse. Peter and I had the R&D omelette with 3-stack pancakes, a side of toast and 1/2 a papaya. It was a smart move for us to order one type of food and shared it. Anyway the portions are big enough for two. We were happy with our choice and left fully satisfied.
Next stop was a cruise around town or so we hoped. While on the road a nice couple driving alongside us alerted us to a flat on the left rear tire. Fortunately we were just nearing Nimitz to turn left instead we decided to return it to Alamo. Driving along Nimitz about a block from Alamo the "check engine" light turned on. The car was a lemon, Peter said. We returned the car and got an upgrade for free. A very good sign that this vacation/trip is going to be a great experience.
After getting a brand new silver Saturn Ion, we cruised through Downtown to Waikiki to Kapiolani park and back. There were lots of changes from the last visit we had in October: More buildings were erected, more shops and restaurants opened and more improvements happening all over town. What stayed the same was the volume of traffic in the streets even during the weekend and the amount of construction being done on the main roads.
We wanted to check out the Filipino Barrio Fiesta at Kapiolani Park but there were just too many cars and not one empty parking space available. It looked much bigger that before - from what we saw as we drove by.
On our return to the Downtown area we decided to walk around the Ward Cinema and Ward Center. We wanted to see Spider Man III but we had a party to attend to at 5 p.m. Instead we walked around the shops and found a place to have a snack, Beard Papa - a japanese crispy cream puff franchise. This is now crossed off my list of places to try in Japan. The puff pastry was good, not too sweet or soggy. Tried all the four flavors: vanilla, caramel, chocolate and strawberry.
We also spent some time at Borders before heading back to Waikele at Lynne and Sonny's place, who have been so gracious and hospitable, opening their beautiful home to us.
By 5:30 p.m. we went to Graham's pool party - the son of our good friends Gabby and Carla. He turned 10 yrs. old. There were about 27 of his friends from school, soccer team and Church. All the kids had so much fun swimming and playing with each other, while the adults were busy talking story with one another. The sumptuous food was catered by Golden Coin, a local Filipino fast food restaurant. Yum! We closed the party at 8 p.m. and helped Gabby and Carla clean-up before heading home.
At the airport we boarded the Alamo rental shuttle to get our car for the next four days. I got us a very good deal from Costco for a compact car with a minimum stay of 4 days for only $84.34 (compared to Travelocity and Orbitz's quote of $150). Since this was a very cheap deal we were given the oldest car in the lot, a Chevy two door sedan. Had a lot of miles on it as well as scratches and dents. We didn't complain but was thankful we got a good cheap rental.
Our first stop was brunch at our favorite local place, The Original Pancake House in Dillingham. The wait didn't take long but they were, as always, very busy. We were informed that Mother's Day would be even worse. Peter and I had the R&D omelette with 3-stack pancakes, a side of toast and 1/2 a papaya. It was a smart move for us to order one type of food and shared it. Anyway the portions are big enough for two. We were happy with our choice and left fully satisfied.
Next stop was a cruise around town or so we hoped. While on the road a nice couple driving alongside us alerted us to a flat on the left rear tire. Fortunately we were just nearing Nimitz to turn left instead we decided to return it to Alamo. Driving along Nimitz about a block from Alamo the "check engine" light turned on. The car was a lemon, Peter said. We returned the car and got an upgrade for free. A very good sign that this vacation/trip is going to be a great experience.
After getting a brand new silver Saturn Ion, we cruised through Downtown to Waikiki to Kapiolani park and back. There were lots of changes from the last visit we had in October: More buildings were erected, more shops and restaurants opened and more improvements happening all over town. What stayed the same was the volume of traffic in the streets even during the weekend and the amount of construction being done on the main roads.
We wanted to check out the Filipino Barrio Fiesta at Kapiolani Park but there were just too many cars and not one empty parking space available. It looked much bigger that before - from what we saw as we drove by.
On our return to the Downtown area we decided to walk around the Ward Cinema and Ward Center. We wanted to see Spider Man III but we had a party to attend to at 5 p.m. Instead we walked around the shops and found a place to have a snack, Beard Papa - a japanese crispy cream puff franchise. This is now crossed off my list of places to try in Japan. The puff pastry was good, not too sweet or soggy. Tried all the four flavors: vanilla, caramel, chocolate and strawberry.
We also spent some time at Borders before heading back to Waikele at Lynne and Sonny's place, who have been so gracious and hospitable, opening their beautiful home to us.
By 5:30 p.m. we went to Graham's pool party - the son of our good friends Gabby and Carla. He turned 10 yrs. old. There were about 27 of his friends from school, soccer team and Church. All the kids had so much fun swimming and playing with each other, while the adults were busy talking story with one another. The sumptuous food was catered by Golden Coin, a local Filipino fast food restaurant. Yum! We closed the party at 8 p.m. and helped Gabby and Carla clean-up before heading home.
posted by Mimi | 3:02 PM
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