Poipu Beach

First real day at Kauai this time. Chie and I went to Poipu Beach. Most of the day we spent reading, relaxing, and swimming. Chie also made some snorkeling while I swam beside her. It was fun time.

Fish at Poipu beach

In the afternoon a Hawaiian Monk Seal came to visit. The life guards quickly put up some rope to fence the area so that the seal could have some quality time by himself at the beach. Later he got company by one of his friends. This, the life guard said, is not so common since they are mostly by them selfs. It is quite fascinating to watch them. So quite… And lazy. A little bit like Chie and me.

Hawaiian monk seal at Poipu beach    Hawaiian monk seal at Poipu beach

Hawaiian monk seals at Poipu beach    Hawaiian monk seal and Chie at Poipu beach

Before returning home we visited the Marriot hotel bar to have a Mai Tai for Chie and a Mango Smoothie for me. Tasted great under the palm trees. Much better than being at the office I would say, even though some of my work colleagues tried to convince me I was better of staying at home.

Chie at Marriot's bar at Poipu beach Johan and a Mango smoothie

On our way back to the Poipu Plantation Resort we saw a sea turtle in the water. We stopped the car and went out to watch. It was not one turtle. It was at least three of them. Swimming around and eating sea grass or whatever they eat. The most amazing thing with the sea turtles is that they seem so clumsy on land but are so gracious in the water. And they are eating among the rocks while quite big waves come crashing in. And with full control of where they and where the rocks are.

Later we had oven baked salmon on a bed of vegetables. I had to go to the grocery store twice to get all the ingredients. That is the price you pay when you are “baka’ (stupid).

Going to Kauai

Early rise to catch the 9:50 am flight to Kauai. The shuttle bus picked us up at the hotel at 7:15 am. But at least that made us up early enough to watch the sunrise.

Sunset in Honolulu

The flight to Kauai takes just about 30 minutes. And from the airport it is a short bus ride to the rental car location. Where we picked up a full size car instead of an economy as we reserved. They were out of economy size. The full size was not as noisy as the economy but the economy is more convenient for two people, and for the environment.

Anyway, bot types of cars can take us to Poipu from the airport. It’s a 25 minutes ride. When arriving at Poipu Plantation Resort we were welcomed as if we were part of the family. It’s at least our third time here. Our room was already available so we did some unpacking before going to our favorite beach, Kiahuna. Although we only spent the afternoon there and most of it sleeping or reading we still had time to play in the waves.

Johan at Kiahuna beach Chie at Kiahuna beach

After the beach we were really exhausted. It is hard work sleeping and reading in the sun. We still had to go to Big Save in Koloa to buy dinner and breakfast. And we had to make dinner at home as well. Pasta Putanesca and salad.

Shopping in Honolulu

First thing in the morning was to go directly back to the airport. To pick up Chie. She arrived 9:20 am with a Northwest (soon to be Delta) flight from Narita. The again the shuttle bus to the hotel where we got ready for serious shopping. But first a stop at a Korean restaurant for lunch. We needed some energy to have strength to shop.

After lunch we took the bus to Ala Mona shopping center. Chie wanted to check Nieman Marcus, Nordstrom, and the Apple Store. I wanted to check the Apple Store. Chie was quite lucky because Nieman Marcus had an April drive giving $200 gift certificate for each $500 purchase. So Chie got a summer dress for only $25. At the Duty Free Store they also had a drive. That resulted in another $60 gift certificate. Free cosmetics for Chie.

The only thing I bought was running shorts and two t-shirts from Lululemon Athletics. The sports clothing was really nice and I never seen it in Sweden so I think I will be the only one wearing it at the gym.

Chie at Duke's

By 5 pm we were at Duke’s for dinner. A little bit early but we had decided to have an early dinner and then get back to the hotel. Chie wanted to see if her favorite American Idol, Jason Castro, could make it or not. It was elimination time at 8 pm. He made it!

Long Day to Honolulu

Today I flew to Honolulu, Hawaii. Started out from my home in Stockholm at 6:30 am, which would be 6:30 pm 21th in Honolulu. I had a direct flight to Newark where I changed to a direct flight bound for Honolulu. First more than 10 hours over the Atlantic Ocean. Then more than 10 hours over the USA and the Pacific Ocean. Arriving 6:20 pm in Honolulu. Exhausted.

Took a shuttle bus to the Waikiki Sand Villa. Left directly to make a reservation at Duke’s for tomorrow night. Then bought dinner at Food Pantry before returning back to the hotel where I had my dinner. Took a hot bath. And slept like a dog.

Returning to Tokyo

Woke up early to catch our flight to Honolulu. At the Honolulu airport we had a few hours to kill before returning back to Tokyo. We killed the hours by walking around and checking the duty free shopping. We also had a lunch. Then just before boarding we bought a sandwich and water to bring on board. We had ordered fruit plates as meals on board so the sandwich was a great supplement.

Honolulu airport Honolulu airport

The flight was uneventful. We watched some movies, read some, and slept for an hour.