It was hard to be sad leaving on Saturday morning. While it had been incredible being at Turtle Bay Resort, there was still so much to explore and do. So taking my place behind the wheel of our hire car again, we made our way down Highway 99 towards Honolulu. After a short stop at Haleiwa for a burrito breakfast, we arrived back at the airport and it was with some relief that I handed the car keys back to the lovely Megan. Yes, car still intact and in the same condition as when we started out - phew! We caught the airport shuttle into the city and were really excited to see our new home for the week.
Our apartment at the Iliaki is fantastic. Just small with one bedroom but absolutely everything we could possibly need including a full kitchen and balcony (lanai) with the most amazing viws. (I am still having problems attaching photos to my blog, so I will post the photos on Facebook - sorry!!)
We can see the ocean from two angles and right next door is a lagoon where people canoe, paddleboard and of course, swim.
We unpacked and settled in pretty quickly and then went for a walk to the local supermarket to stock the kitchen (I plan to do my last lot of cooking for the next few weeks). It is amazing how inspired you get when you have a brand new luxury kitchen to create in!!
The rest of the day was spent looking around locally and getting oriented. Pretty relaxed. Made contact with 'the groom' who sounded like he was well into celebrating!!!
Today was fantastic - so much fun. We were up early (well for me anyway) and caught the 'Big Red Bus' out the front of the apartments. The bus is a double-decker and one of those 'hop on and off buses'. We went straight up the stairs and really enjoyed the views as we drove around. Our first stop was the Ala Moana Shopping Centre. Did not spend too much time there as we will be back tomorrow. Walked a couple of blocks down to Walmart. Now I know there are heaps of jokes (and hilarious photos/videos) from Walmart but the prices are incredible and that is good enough for me!!! We bought 8 pairs of shoes/sandals/thongs between us. Plus heaps of clothes as well (Kristen you would have been so proud of me!!) Walked back to the bus stop and jumped on again. We did the rest of the circuit and stopped of at Hilo Hatties. This is another clothing and souvenir store which is iconic in Honolulu and I managed to pick up some more clothes and a couple of things to send back home.
Back on the bus and we finally made it back to the apartment complex, laden with bags and with aching feet!!! Great fun unpacking everything though and admiring our purchases. We decided to stay in for dinner. All the young ones were meeting up for a girls/guys pub crawl. I did not want to cramp their style by tagging along. Luckily for us we had entertainment practically at our fingertips.
The building next door is the Hawaiian Hilton and they regularly have a luau on their terrtce rooftop. Tonight was one such occasion, so we sat on our lanai, ate our dinner and listened to the music and watched the hula girls, fire dancers and everything else. It was fantastic entertainment and all for free!!
Tomorrow we are planning some more shopping!! Only three more sleeps till the wedding. Hope you are all well and happy. xxx
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