Day 1-2/5/08

After a long flight over the Pacific Ocean, we arrived at the Honolulu airport around 3:30 in the afternoon (HI time). I was very happy to be off the plane because I really don’t like sitting in one place for that long, but we were lucky to have a direct flight. Right away we got to go outside, across this walkway that took us to baggage claim. John’s co-worker, Rich (who also lives in Cache Valley) had told us we would notice the way things smelled differently, and he was right. The air was much sweeter than anywhere else I have been. Of course I started snapping pictures.

First Hawaii sights/smells

Honolulu airport

Can you tell how excited and/or tired we are?

We were met at baggage claim by Alan and Jim, who are John’s bosses, (president and CEO, respectively) and they had leis for everyone in the group, which of course smelled wonderful. Our flight got in the same time as a couple of other couples so we all piled into the rental cars and headed to Kailua, the town where Alan lives. The freeway cuts right through the mountains where everything was so green. It was amazing! It was raining a little too, which I think just enhanced the colors of everything.

We got dropped off at our rental house, which ended up being right across the street from the beach. We were sharing the rental with Mark and Janene, Rich and Teri, and John and Ellen (who had not arrived yet). Our room was one within the main living area of the rental house with the full kitchen and living room, while Mark and Rich and their wives had separate quarters.

The house was so great! We had a private backyard with a pool and it was furnished and stocked with everything we needed. Right away we walked across the street and over to the beach to check it out and wade in the ocean a little. I was in love with Hawaii by this point and couldn’t wait to soak up some sun on the beach!

Our next stop was a local place called Buzz’s Steakhouse where we stopped for some pupus (appetizers) before heading over to Alan’s house for more pupus/drinks/mingling with everyone else who had arrived. It was fun to get to hang out with everyone and get to know everyone a little better. We stayed at Alan’s house pretty late into the evening because 2 couples didn’t arrive until much later than everyone else because their flight had been delayed. Alan kept us well fed though, including the most delicious pineapple I have ever tasted! I also tried several different kinds of sushi and I was pleasantly surprised that I like them all! The company and conversation was great, but we were very tired from our day of travel (not to mention the 3 hour time change), so we headed back to the beach house and called it a night.