Hawaii 2010 - The trip begins...

Time for Hawaii blogging! Thank you for reading about our 2010 trip as it unfolds.
We arrived yesterday after a 10 ½ hour flight from Charlotte to Honolulu – direct! But we can’t complain as we were able to fly first class this year cashing in some frequent flyer miles. The time passed quickly and they fed us like kings (I was full and content after just the first course of salad with artichoke hearts and also a plate of melon wrapped with prosciutto…and that was just the beginning). We both caught a few naps in our seats that fully reclined but it was wonderful to finally land and stretch our legs and bask in warm, tropical breezes, especially after the winter we have had in the Mid-Atlantic. We met up with our friends, Matt & Siobhan Slack who were waiting for us and our adventure began. On our way to the Marriott resort at Ko O’lina here on Oahu.
First stop for us on every Hawaii trip is an excursion to the local Costco/Sam’s Club for provisions. You should have seen the car loaded with all of our luggage and a week’s worth of food for 4! It was comical to say the least. We spent the evening unpacking, enjoying a pizza and having some hot tub time to rest our weary bones. Craig & I managed to stay up til 10 pm which meant we had been up for nearly 24 hours straight. Nothing like the drastic measure to force your body into making a 5 time zone adjustment as soon as possible.
We were all up by 7 am in time to view the sunrise from our balcony. Craig spent the morning hours connected to work and the rest of us just enjoyed relaxing. By noon we headed out for lunch and whatever adventure awaited us…
Imagine our (well Craig’s especially) to find a new Costco in a shopping area just 5 minutes from this part of the island. After a trip to Target to pick up a few essentials we headed over to Costco for a hot dog lunch (yes, I know our culinary style lacks some imagination) and to pick up some meat for grilling for dinner. Once back at the resort, we headed out for an afternoon at the beach and more hot tubbing (our favorite hot tub here is in a secluded grotto with cascading waterfalls above us – we love it!) The guys took a walk and even spied and photographed a whale out in the ocean. We spent sunset watching Matt grill some incredible steaks (and fish for Siobhan) and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner complete with mashed potatoes and a greek salad. We are all sitting around now watching the Olympics and trying to recover from a food coma!
Tomorrow we will head out to the North Shore to watch the surfers and huge waves, visit the Dole Plantation and take the Slacks to some of our favorite places in Haleiwa, a small town with lots of atmosphere and the best shaved ice around. So, we are having a wonderful time of course, enjoying this incredible weather and beauty of God’s creation.