On April 3, 2004, Kara and I boarded a plane in Newark, New Jersey, ready for our two-leg journey to Honolulu, Hawaii. We had been planning and anticipating the trip for months. It was a chance to visit Lindsay at school and to see a state neither of us had ever been to! We were really excited to get there, but not at all looking forward to the 11-hour travel itinerary ahead of us. However, it had to be done and so we got on the plane and landed several hours later in Houston, Texas.
The first sight that greeted us from the airplane was what became known as the "Sludge River," a brownish-yellow looking body of water, and the views did not become more impressive. Because we were simply in the state for a short layover before boarding our much longer flight to Honolulu, we never really saw the outside of the Houston airport. It was simply a chance for Kara and I to say, "Hey we're in Texas!" However, it did have it's uses: we managed to get chips, miniature Snickers and Creme Savers (a breakfast of Champions, clearly), which then gave me the world's biggest stomachache (not good for a seven hour plane ride!). The airline (Continental) also provided us with a food - pretzels and a nut roll. We spent the entire flight (stomachache aside) watching the movies on the individual screens.
When we touched down in Hawaii, we could hardly believe we were finally there! We got our luggage immediately - in fact, it was the fastest I have ever received luggage in an airport (it was actually crusing along down the conveyor belt when we arrived in baggage claim), and then got into a taxi to take us over to the Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki (which has a REALLY cheap internet deal). Checking in caused a problem when they wouldn't take my expired driver's license as i.d. (which is just stupid - expired or not, it's STILL my picture - I didn't expire!). However, everything ended up working out and we settled down into the hotel room (see picture below). Just minutes later, Lindsay arrived bearing Orangina and after looking at the views from the hotel room a bit, we headed out for dinner.
We had dinner at Buca di Beppo, a family-style Italian place in Honolulu (which translates to massive amounts of food, the only way to eat!). Next to our table a family was celebrating Bill's 50th Birthday Party. We had a lot of fun watching the raucous group enjoy their party, and we all agreed that Bill bore a striking resemblance to Henry Winkler.
After dinner, quite full, we headed back to the hotel and fell asleep (the jet-lag having finally caught up with us!).
Coming Soon: Day Two of Hawaii 2004
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