the beat goes on

Just before we landed back on Canadian soil, I looked out the window in time to see vancouver island waking up. snowy mountain ranges, with here and there spots of light where households were arousing. I've never seen the island from the air before. Shawn and I both left little piles of sand in our plane seats. It was 6am when we landed. We missed the bus to the ferry, and had to wait, exhausted and shocked from the cold (which I, in my spring jacket, was not prepared for) at the casino at Bridgeport station. We bought a little pizza and wolfed it down, and shared a coffee which seemed to do nothing. Finally on the ferry home, we tried to sleep fitfully on the un-accomodating slippery seats. But during the last stretch I stood at the front of the ferry and watched the view with sentimental eyes. I am such a part of this land, and coming home always feels like returning to myself. Every time I return the feeling is stronger. I live in the most beautiful place on earth! Hawaii's got nothing on vancouver island. (a 'fub is nothing if not loyal, but it's true even beyond my personal bias..which I do admit to freely).

I am STILL tired from the trip, even though I did nothing but sleep and eat the first day and a half back.

When we arrived in Honolulu, the sun had just set. Before us was a complete unknown. We had no plan whatsoever, beyond that we were going to catch a bus to Waikiki, where we figured it would be easiest to find a good place. The airport was open to the air, and warm, moist wafts embraced us immediately. I immediately spring into a comfortable sweat. (what?)
On the bus, a man started complaining to me about people that made traffic wait in dove talk. I could hardly understand a word, other than that he was being negative. I do NOT have to cooperate with this, I thought, and turned around, refusing to listen. He just kept muttering away. Shawn and I watched dark, foreign streets go by. Finally, the bus was announcing Waikiki-everything, and we got off. We walked into one hotel and asked the cheapest price. $166/night. We decided to keep looking. That one was close to the water.
Let's go back a bit from the water...the prices will probably go down, I suggested. So we turned around and walked in the other direction, only to find ourselves confronted by waterfront again. What the...? How can the world be doing this to us?? I remember thinking in confusion. Of course it was simple...one one end was Waikiki beach, and the other, only a few blocks away, was the Ala Wai channel. But in the dark, we couldn't tell it was a channel we were walking up to. Anyhow, I'm making this too long. We ended up finding a good place on our 3rd try, for only $85/night, and our room was overlooking the Ala Wai channel. Very nice. So finding a place ended up being quite easy.

Actually, we did not do very good at taking pictures. I wish we'd taken less of ourselves, and more of Hawaii. But there it is!

Our hotel offered a complimentary breakfast each day consisting of toast, a little croissant, a tiny cup of pineapple, and juice n' coffee and all that. The croissant was usually soggy and mushy from the server's glove (wet with pineapple juice). But when one is travling in Hawaii with no real budget to speak of, one does not turn one's nose up at free food. Little baby-sized pigeons hopped about the tables picking up crumbs. The bottom level of the hotel was open to the air, so pigeons were everywhere.

We didn't go on any tours. Our enjoyment of Hawaii was simply soaking it all in. Our first day, we wondered around Waikiki - went surfing at the beach, and swimming, and checked out the international market place. Everywhere were t-shirts (6 for twenty dollah) and jewellery made from shark's teeth, boars tusks, and koa wood. Little dancing hula girls for your dashboard (gosh dang it, forgot to get one of those for Truck Filbert) and cheap ukeleles. And then - while crossing the street to the beach that first night - I got lai'd! (lae'd?) And it was made of real flowers! I think they were orchids. They were white and touched with lilac, and there was a white satin bow holding it together. It was a little old Hawaiin lady who simply walked towards me smiling, and put it on my neck. It was amazing!! Everything I thought it would be and more. Here is me right after the fact.

Here is me swimming at Waikiki beach for the first time. You could stay in that warm water all day! And it was so salty. I could float on my back, and even my legs were held suspended right on top of the water. (usually they are like bricks, sinking me down.)

Our second day, we ventured to the other side of the island. The famed North Shore. Specifially, Hale'iwa (which means house of the big bird), the arts and cultural centre of the  north shore. The bus ride there was very, very long. It took us 3 hours in total, but there were two guys on the bus who started acting like our tour guides, and telling us about everything we passed. We were starving when we finally got there, the meagre bread + pineapple breakfast having long been hungrily absorbed. It happened to be the first day of the Thanksgiving weekend, so a lot of places were closed, but we found a restaurant called Pizza Bob's, and got a table outside. It was cloudy, and the air was warm and wet. This is were we were introduced to loco moco. I'd seen it mentioned for the first time about a week before on a special Hawaiin Iron Chef, and so when I saw it on the menu I told Shawn he HAD to get it. Two over-easy eggs a-top a beef patty on a bed of rice, smothered in spicy gravy and sprinkled with green onions. Add ketchup and hot sauce, and you have a major comfort food on your hands. It sounds really simple, but the ingredients all together are rather luscious, and if you are super hungry...I don't think you could do better! I forgot to get a pictue of it unfortuneately, but it was huge. Two different people approached Shawn and asked what he ordered. My own cajun fish sandwich was quite forgettable. The fish was soggy. But I didn't care. I was just so happy to be adventuring in a new place and on vacation.

After our meal, we wandered around the town weighed down with full tummies. We ended up at the beach where there was supposed to be a surf competition going on - but there wasn't. The waves weren't big enough. The sun came out hot, then dissappeared. A smattereing of rain refreshed us.

The rest of our time, we spent mostly in Waikiki, returning once more to the North Shore - Waimea - the most beautiful spot I saw. We hung out at pipeline and watched the surf, but it was pretty small that day. Definitely no signature huge, hollow waves breaking. The wind was onshore, meaning it was pushing the backs of the waves, causing them to collapse before a hollow tube could form. But the waves were still big and close to shore, which was neat. In Tofino when the waves are big, they always break so far off shore that you can't tell how big they are. So it was neat.

At the bus stop waiting to go back to Waikiki that first time in the north shore, we came accross a humorous spectacle. There was a couple from Germany - he was short and bald, and she had thick frizzy black hair - and they were waiting at the bus when we got there. The thing was, he had a fluffy pink lae wrapped around his shiny bald head, and two colourful ones around his neck - and she was the same!! They were totally decked out. Anyway, we started talking, and turns out they'd been to Tofino!! They were very cheeful and funny and actually, quite delightful. They had met some friends from Chilliwack in some earlier travels, and those friends had invited them to stay for free in the condo they owned on Maui, but they were staying for a couple days in Waikiki first. Lucky buggers. We rode on the bus with them, and got pictures with each other when we parted ways.

In Waikiki, we often found oursleves wandering the main strip at night, enjoying the warm air and performers everywhere. There was a man walking around with two parrots, and he wordlessly came up and put one on my hand, and one on Shawn, and took a picture. Give it a kiss! he told me, and as I did the parrot stuck out it's tongue. It was dry - it felt like a thumb on my lips. The pictures he took were super blurry, so I won't even include them. I also got a picture with a mime!

as you can see, I am a little over-exited to be 'hanging loose' with a mime..

Shawn and I in total vacation mode (hair still wet and sticky from the ocean and the pool):

 The ramp outside our hotel. I get sentimental about weird things.

This was me on our first day. I don't have a tan yet.

Shawn enjoying an iced coffee, with feet in the ocean at Waikiki. (he's wearing the cheap sunglasses I bought for myself while there)

I am modeling my new Hawaiin Island Creations top I got for 40% off at a black friday sale. It is my one Hawaiin momento, along with a small packet of polished shells me and Shawn plan on making into a picture frame. Also note the lovely pearl necklace made special for me by Verushka. She's Shawn's mom's best friend, and a good friend of mine now, too. She makes jewelry and essential oil potions for a living, and her especial thing with jewelry is pearls. She gave this necklace to me as a surpise gift after I picked out my favourite pearls (freshwater black ones - they are a coppery brown) and style - right before our trip. I thought I was going to buy it from her later, so it was super sweet of her. They are hung on brown silk. Anyways. Random.

Well, that was pretty much our vacation. We met another really nice old couple in our hotel, and kept bumping into them. They were in their 60's and she reminded me of a young grandma B. They had twin girls who married twin boys. We never got a picture with them, though. But they were lovely.

Our last day we spent almost entirely at the beach, swimming and sitting on the low stone wall that extended out into the water, seperating sections of beach. waves would come in and roll over the wall and you. There were also sooo many turtles. HUGE turtles. We were fascinated by them. Once, one came up for air right beside us while we were swimming. We literally spent hours watching them, and at one point a woman came up to us and showed us the amazing close-up photos she'd been able to take on turtle beach when one [turtle] came right up on the sand. She chatted with us for about an hour. She was Canadian, but had married a Texan and was living there now. Shawn and I did not realize how often we said "eh" - but people kept pointing it out to us while we were there, guessing we were Canadian. Well, it's just such a conveniant little word..! right?

Alright, I believe this does conclude the post.