(no subject)
Hrm. Saturday Saturday Saturday, what did we do on Saturday? We had breakfast, we dealt with the amazing disappearing cell phone issue, and we drove out to Kailua, ate lunch at a local burger joint. Then we went up the coast to the Polynesian Cultural Center and went to their luau and show. Good food, interesting show. Lots of hula. Annoying cruise ship people sitting with us.
Sunday was low key. We went to church and then went to the Bishop Museum. It was a family day. I spent way too much effort leaving my rugrats in New Mexico to enjoy other people's rugrats in Hawaii. We didn't stay all that long. We explored Hickam that evening. They have a really lovely ocean-front walking area. Then we took the really-long-did-we-miss-the-turn?-I guess-so-walk to the BX for dinner. Before we went to bed, I poured the last of the sodas down the sink and washed it out a little.
Remember that fact, because....
Monday morning, the sink was covered in ANTS. Yikes. We killed ants like crazy, called maintenance and they promised to take care of it. We didn't have much time to care, because we were piling into the car to drive most of the way across the south side of the island to go snorkeling. We went to the same place we did last year, and it was fun, but not really the same. Last year we went in the afternoon as the tide was going out. This made life more difficult because you could get into spots where you had to suck in your tummy to get over the reef. This year there was plenty of water level but also a lot more wave action. Even the fish were having trouble staying in one place. The water wasn't as clear, but we did see a lot of neat stuff. Matt saw a turtle and we both swam into a school of fish.
We rushed back into Waikiki for the Atlantis submarine ride. I doubt we would have done this, but the Camp Smith ITT office had tickets for about 25% of the usual rate. I would have been pretty happy with it even if we had paid the full price. We got to tour the artificial reef systems and saw several reef sharks and green sea turtles. I don't know if it was an act, but the tour guide seemed surprised we saw so much big wildlife.
We went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Even at a 2:30-ish lunch, when we hadn't eaten since 6 AM, even having the lunch portions, the Cheesecake Factory still serves enough food for an army. We were stuffed. Crazy stuffed. We pretty much laid around the rest of the evening and groaned. Except for the trip to get some ANT KILLER. Maintenance sent up a guy that attempted to spray some stuff. I don't think the can was working, and I think he knew it too. After he left, I took it into my own hands. (I left the can for the guy who shared our bathroom when we checked out on Tuesday.)
We checked out early Tuesday and went over to Pearl Harbor. I know I was there over the anniversary, but I didn't feel comfortable going that day. We left there, had a humongous, horrendous fight, worked it out and had some breakfast. Note to self: try to avoid emotionally wrenching experiences before eating. We eventually meandered over to Waikiki, went to an entirely disappointing gemstone museum, and then went down to get thoroughly lost before we found the Waikiki aquarium. That is one really cool aquarium.
We left there and went downtown to the Aloha tower. It used to be the tallest structure on the island. It's not the focal point of a big mall area down by where the cruise ships dock. Amusingly enough, the thing actually had a coat of camoflauge paint during WWII. Somehow, this reminds me of a shirt I wanted to buy for Matt one time-- it was cammo, and printed across the front of it was "Ha! Now you can't see me!"
We also went back to Hickam one more time to take a few pictures of PACAF headquarters. It's interesting, because it was actually a huge barracks during WWII. It was strafed and bombed during the Pearl Harbor attack. Instead of papering over the whole thing, even after they renovated it to make it office space, they have left all the bulletholes and chips in the cement walls as a memorial to the people who died there. For some reason, I find that really admirable.
We got snacks for the plane and crashed out at the base library. We were tired, and after 6:00 PM, there isn't a lot to do besides shop. We were out of reasons to shop. And tired of shopping.
We returned the car, checked on the (still missing) phone and went to the airport. We grabbed a quick meal and finally got on our way. It was sad to be going home, but I was tired, too. Both of us took half an Ambien.
NOT a good move. Once we got to LAX, one of us had to be conscious enough to stand. Since Matt doesn't drink coffee, it was me and my eggnog latte from Starbucks. Even still, we were sitting across the hall from our gate and almost didn't get on the plane. I grabbed Matt and he grabbed bags. I steered us on the plane and then realised he had left my jacket, which he had been using as a pillow. *sigh* So my good light-weight jacket is now at the LAX airport.
Anyway. Good flights home.
Now I have to get through the next week before Christmas. The kids are out of school and both of them are squirrely and obnoxious. I'm NOT looking forward to this. *sigh*
Sunday was low key. We went to church and then went to the Bishop Museum. It was a family day. I spent way too much effort leaving my rugrats in New Mexico to enjoy other people's rugrats in Hawaii. We didn't stay all that long. We explored Hickam that evening. They have a really lovely ocean-front walking area. Then we took the really-long-did-we-miss-the-turn?-I guess-so-walk to the BX for dinner. Before we went to bed, I poured the last of the sodas down the sink and washed it out a little.
Remember that fact, because....
Monday morning, the sink was covered in ANTS. Yikes. We killed ants like crazy, called maintenance and they promised to take care of it. We didn't have much time to care, because we were piling into the car to drive most of the way across the south side of the island to go snorkeling. We went to the same place we did last year, and it was fun, but not really the same. Last year we went in the afternoon as the tide was going out. This made life more difficult because you could get into spots where you had to suck in your tummy to get over the reef. This year there was plenty of water level but also a lot more wave action. Even the fish were having trouble staying in one place. The water wasn't as clear, but we did see a lot of neat stuff. Matt saw a turtle and we both swam into a school of fish.
We rushed back into Waikiki for the Atlantis submarine ride. I doubt we would have done this, but the Camp Smith ITT office had tickets for about 25% of the usual rate. I would have been pretty happy with it even if we had paid the full price. We got to tour the artificial reef systems and saw several reef sharks and green sea turtles. I don't know if it was an act, but the tour guide seemed surprised we saw so much big wildlife.
We went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Even at a 2:30-ish lunch, when we hadn't eaten since 6 AM, even having the lunch portions, the Cheesecake Factory still serves enough food for an army. We were stuffed. Crazy stuffed. We pretty much laid around the rest of the evening and groaned. Except for the trip to get some ANT KILLER. Maintenance sent up a guy that attempted to spray some stuff. I don't think the can was working, and I think he knew it too. After he left, I took it into my own hands. (I left the can for the guy who shared our bathroom when we checked out on Tuesday.)
We checked out early Tuesday and went over to Pearl Harbor. I know I was there over the anniversary, but I didn't feel comfortable going that day. We left there, had a humongous, horrendous fight, worked it out and had some breakfast. Note to self: try to avoid emotionally wrenching experiences before eating. We eventually meandered over to Waikiki, went to an entirely disappointing gemstone museum, and then went down to get thoroughly lost before we found the Waikiki aquarium. That is one really cool aquarium.
We left there and went downtown to the Aloha tower. It used to be the tallest structure on the island. It's not the focal point of a big mall area down by where the cruise ships dock. Amusingly enough, the thing actually had a coat of camoflauge paint during WWII. Somehow, this reminds me of a shirt I wanted to buy for Matt one time-- it was cammo, and printed across the front of it was "Ha! Now you can't see me!"
We also went back to Hickam one more time to take a few pictures of PACAF headquarters. It's interesting, because it was actually a huge barracks during WWII. It was strafed and bombed during the Pearl Harbor attack. Instead of papering over the whole thing, even after they renovated it to make it office space, they have left all the bulletholes and chips in the cement walls as a memorial to the people who died there. For some reason, I find that really admirable.
We got snacks for the plane and crashed out at the base library. We were tired, and after 6:00 PM, there isn't a lot to do besides shop. We were out of reasons to shop. And tired of shopping.
We returned the car, checked on the (still missing) phone and went to the airport. We grabbed a quick meal and finally got on our way. It was sad to be going home, but I was tired, too. Both of us took half an Ambien.
NOT a good move. Once we got to LAX, one of us had to be conscious enough to stand. Since Matt doesn't drink coffee, it was me and my eggnog latte from Starbucks. Even still, we were sitting across the hall from our gate and almost didn't get on the plane. I grabbed Matt and he grabbed bags. I steered us on the plane and then realised he had left my jacket, which he had been using as a pillow. *sigh* So my good light-weight jacket is now at the LAX airport.
Anyway. Good flights home.
Now I have to get through the next week before Christmas. The kids are out of school and both of them are squirrely and obnoxious. I'm NOT looking forward to this. *sigh*