With the exception of getting up early for a couple of tours, my days have started with waking up at around 7:00 am. It’s been nice to slowly wake up to a nice view and not with an alarm while it’s still dark out! After breakfast on the balcony, I go out for my morning walk on the boardwalk along the beach. 30 minutes later I’m ready for whatever the day holds – an adventure of some sort or maybe just being lazy at the beach or pool.

Everything is expensive here, and food being no exception. I eat cereal and yogurt in my room for breakfast to save on at least one meal. When I’m at the hotel for meals I’ve eaten a lot of seafood salads and freshly made turkey sandwiches – each being under $8.00. When I’m out and about, I have to get whatever is available for whatever price it is. Drinks are $8.00-$10.00.

I don’t have a rental car here because there is a charge for parking at the hotel and traffic and parking wherever you may want to go is a hassle. Waikiki is very crowded and busy. Instead I have a trolley pass and can get on and off as I wish. The only problem with this is that it is a 10-15 minute walk to the trolley depot to get the red, green, or blue line trolleys. The pink line is just down the street, but the things I have wanted to do are on the other lines. Once I get to the trolley depot I have to wait for the trolley – I try to time it so I’m not waiting too long – and then ride to where I want to go. When I’m ready to return to the hotel, there isn’t one that just goes back that way – I have to ride it all the way around to all of the other stops before getting back to the trolley depot. So it’s not the quickest way to get places. The other option is the bus. They go just about anywhere on the island that you might want to go.

After dinner I go for another walk –this time on the beach through the surf. The sand is fairly deep, so it is more like trudging along instead of walking, but the sunsets are beautiful!

The weather has been perfect, sunny 80 degree days, with only a few sprinkles of rain. I missed an 11 inch drop of snow back home, so I’m feeling very fortunate to be here!