Hotel first impressions were great. It had a huge lobby area and check in was accompanied by cold wet hand towels and a welcome seat instead of the usual stand in line.
The room had an 'ocean view' - ok - you could see the sea from the balcony - but not really what you would call a view - basically just water. But the hotel was well located right on Waikiki beach. It seemed really busy and with the time difference and the 5 hour trip there, we were both pretty tired. We had some food in the hotel grill bar, a drink or 2 and then turned in for the night early.
Day 7 - Thursday 23rd April
This was a dull day - the first dull day of our holiday and unexpected for Hawaii. We even felt some rain that day, it was warm though. We had to navigate our way to the Marriage Licence place at the Department of Health. It was in an area with lots of really lovely municipal buildings, including the palace of the former queen of Hawaii. We had to fill in a form with all our details and then take an oath - captured on a pic. It all began to feel very real. The people there are lovely though and there was no queue and so the process was pretty painless.
We wandered around the area, visited the Maritime Museum which provided a history of Hawaii's links with the ocean as well as interesting background on the migration of the populations of the Pacific. We had lunch in a cafe on the waterfront and strolled in the Aloha Mall under the Aloha tower. We saw a massive cruise ship in port and investigated some dinner cruises.
After a re-charge at the hotel, we found the Yard locally with over 150 beers (!) - a very popular place. Maurice had a half yard or two - I was scared I'd drop the yard glass so stuck to a normal glass. Went to the Chinese up the road for a meal and then returned to hotel for the night.
Day 8 - Friday 24th April
The weather was kinder to us on the Friday and started out as a lovely sunny day. In our complimentary newspaper, there was an article advertising Sheryl Crow in concert the next night in Waikiki! So we decided to try to get tickets. After a bit of a faff with Ticketmaster - US version - that didn't recognise us, we finally got tickets with a 'will call' proviso. So that meant we could pick them up at the venue. We decided to try to find the venue after breakfast.
The instructions seemed straightforward although 15/20 minutes walk was a bit of an underestimate. It was actually a really good walk and we enjoyed the hustle and bustle along the way.
When we got to the venue, there was no sign of life, but at least we got a good look at the place. A friendly cop reckoned 'will call' would only be available on the night - so at least we knew that.
We then hopped on a bus and found ourselves heading in the direction of Pearl Harbour, so we investigated the bus schedule - which was excellent - and navigated our way right to Pearl Harbour.
We visited the USS Arizona war memorial - which was very moving. The weather had dulled down a bit so the place was even more atmospheric. Well worth the trip and very interesting.
We returned to the hotel on 'thebus'. This turned out to be the slowest bus ever - Honolulu in the rush hour is practically at a standstill. Back at the hotel we had the usual beer followed by a snooze. We went out to the Yard for a few beers then to Ruth's Steak Restaurant next door. Maurice was 'merry' and my steak was not great. Day 8 over.
Day 9 - Saturday 25th April
We had a pool day - the weather was lovely and we took full advantage. After a late buffet lunch in the hotel, we got ready for the Sheryl Crow concert and set off once again on 'thebus'. Again it was dead slow and stop - others on the bus were going to the concert and we all gave up and walked. It seemed longer to walk than the day before for some reason - was now dark and finding our way was a little more difficult.
When we eventually got there, there was a short queue and we collected our tickets and headed on in. We were stopped for a bag search and the security folks point blank refused to let me in with my camera. I had no idea that there would be a search and that this type of camera was banned. And they wouldn't let us check it in anywhere - helpfully suggesting that we return to the hotel to drop it off! That would have meant about an hour round trip so not an option. By this time it was nearly 7.30. I started playing the Scottish tourist card, promising not to use the camera and the security lady eventually let us in. She then stopped us just as we breathed a sigh of relief - I thought 'what next!' - but all she wanted was a chat about English Premier footie with Maurice! She was an Arsenal supporter - bizarre!
The concert itself was fantastic! We had 3 changes of seat until we found the right ones. We'd been put in the very front section originally - then moved to VIP seats before ending up in more distant rows. Actually that was better as the folk at the front were dancing right in front of us - and were real pains.
Back at the hotel we went to the Karaoke bar - which was naff and yours truly got drunk on 3 glasses of wine for some reason - lightweight! A good night though.
Day 10 - Sunday 26th April.
Another pool day. The weather was a bit mixed. We lunched at a little snack place just outside on the beach - it was not great. We just chilled out on our last day of freedom! In the evening we went to Giovanni Pastrami which was ok.
Wedding Day
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