Waikiki wandering

We crept out of our big island house in the dark to head down to the airport. The landscape in the early light was surreal - black lava everywhere, very little vegetation and no development.   After a short flight, we were collected by our driver and dropped at our Waikiki hotel - Hotel Renew. It was quite good for the price and the boys were taken with the free DVD rental machine in the foyer. Over the four days they watched quite a few movies. We headed down the main street along Waikiki Beach to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Our meals would have fed 10 people, not 5 but they were very good and we rolled out of the restaurant to check out the shops. Waikiki reminds me of an American version of the Gold Coast. There seemed to be vast numbers of Aussies - I guess the cheap Jetstar flights make it an appealing destination. Dinner was at the Hard Rock Honolulu, with Flynn clocking his 14th Hard Rock worldwide. Jason and I had a cocktail each and we all enjoyed being with just our immediate small family. 

Over the next few days we indulged in Americana food and shopping, with visits to Denny's, IHOP, Chillis, California Pizza Kitchen and Ala Moana shopping centre. I was quite chuffed with my $13 Levis purchase for Campbell, and Jason bought up big at Barnes and Noble. A highlight for the boys was the all you can eat pancake offer at IHOP, although they did not actually eat that many. We fit in a swim at Waikiki Beach and a few nice nighttime walks along the shore. The rest of the family joined us in Honolulu for the last two days and we had a final family dinner at 'Cheeseburgers in Paradise' for the last night. I talked team Starrett into going on a whale watching cruise, which was a bit of a dud. Lots of watching, only one whale.

Our flight home was uneventful, although Jetstar will never again be my choice for international flights. Poor food, poor service and no ability to check our bags for the Newcastle flight on arrival in Brisbane. 2 hours before the flight only, despite the tickets being booked as one journey. As usual, it was lovely to get home, and we have a trip in September already booked to look forward to.