Hawaii Day Ten

Not much to report today, as we spent much of the day traveling and running other errands. There is no direct flight from Kauai to the Big Island, so we had to fly first to Oahu, and then on to the Big Island. Then we spent over an hour in the car rental office, trying to sort out our rental, as they didn't have available the car I'd reserved. After we refused to take the first car they offered (which had clearly been smoked in, often), as well as all the other inferior "upgrades" they offered, we finally ended up with this sweet ride:


So now we'll have to find some offroading opportunities.

The home we're renting here is probably the best place we've ever stayed in our travels. It's a three-bedroom home in a quiet, gated residential neighborhood, beautifully decorated and landscaped, with a great view of the ocean. We both feel very at home here.



This evening's sunset from our back yard:


We went to dinner tonight at Jackie Rey's, which we both really enjoyed. Jerry claimed his fresh catch special (ono, for the record) was one of the best things he'd ever eaten. I'm sure he's not counting my cooking in that conclusion, right?

Hawaii Day Three

We decided to hike Diamond Head today, and needed a big breakfast for the energy. We headed out fairly early to Eggs and Things, a popular tourist trap breakfast establishment. We arrived at 7:15 a.m., but still had to wait a good 20-25 minutes for a table. While we were waiting, I snapped this photo of a rainbow. Breakfast was pretty good here; fresh ingredients and reasonably priced.



Diamond Head from Waikiki:

We decided to walk all the way from our hotel to Diamond Head Crater Park, about 3.3 miles one-way, and then climbed to the top. The views from the top were breathtaking and worth every minute of the climb.


Proof that we made it!




Total round trip miles for the hike were just over eight. That deserved a glass of wine or two and a view of the sunset.


We went out walking a bit aimlessly this evening, in search of someplace for dinner (without reservations, a bit of a gamble in busy Waikiki). After walking all over, we finally settled on the Ocean House, which was of course right across the street from our hotel! This turned out to be the best dining experience we've had thus far; the restaurant was right on the water, the atmosphere was elegant without being stuffy, the service was impeccable and the food was really good.