And the travels begin...

So I finally did it!  Yesterday, well today (I have had two Monday 21st November this year), I flew out of Brisbane.  Of course with a few tear, a boat wasn't quite necessary, but saying goodbye to Mum, Tim, Leanne, Bailey and Lily was definitely hard.  The flight from Brisbane to Sydney seemed to fly by and with no trouble at all with the transfer from the Domestic to International, met up with Amy.

Leaving home

The flight to Hawaii was long and although I attempted to sleep for about 5 hours of it, I wasn't all that successful.  I think I was too excited!  We landed about 7am Hawaii time, after going through customs and collecting our baggage (40kg checked luggage each btw plus the slightly over weight carry on bags) we were greeted by two local Hawaiians and were each given a beautiful real frangipani lai.  The transfer to our hotel including a short guided tour between from the airport pointing out the local sights.

Arriving at the International Airport in Hawaii

This morning, first stop, Starbucks for coffee!  Followed by a morning of walking around Waikiki shops and the beach and breakfast on the verandah of a nice little place.  As we are beginning to become aware food is very cheap.  Breakfast this morning for me included scrambled eggs, 2 rashes of bacon and 2 x pancakes for $4.50!  Following breakfast despite our want to continue to continue exploring, we gave into sleep.

At about 4.30pm we continued our exploration around Waikiki.  Discovering the cheap and convenient transportation of 'the Bus' for $2.50 per trip anywhere on the island (which we plan to make the most of over the next week).  We made our way to Ala Moana the largest mall in Hawaii for a spot of shopping.  I bought a pair of jeans on clearance for $8.99!  We ate a late dinner at an Italian place at the food court of the mall, $6.50 for both of us!

Back at the hotel now, we are attempting to get our sleeping patterns into Hawaii time.  Lots planned for the rest of the week!  Very exciting!

Luv always

Heather