Day One- Hawaii

My first daytime view of Hawaii was the one at right from the hotel room balcony. It was early morning and the clouds were trying to burn off over the mountains.

Michael had to go to the job site, so I spent the day just recuperating from the flight. When I looked down from the balcony, I could see that there were some vendor tents going up in the parking lot below. I got dressed and went down and bought some fresh fruit and veggies. I also got a few things to experiment with, like bittermelon, apple bananas, and long eggplant.

I have found the locals to be very nice if you show interest. I asked the older vendor what I would do with bittermelon, and she assured me that I knew how to use it and told me, "You know- chop it up and saute it with eggs!" Would not have never come up with that combination on my own. She said it would also be good with eggplant or chicken, sauteed, not raw.

At the other vendor site, I got coconut Thai chicken for brunch with a side of Baklava.

Putting away the groceries must have made me very tired, since I laid down on the bed to rest my swollen feet and woke up 3 hours later.

While waiting for Michael to finish up his work day, I used the recreation deck on the 6th floor that includes a snack bar, pool, and hot tubs. Off in the East, I could see where it looked like storm clouds were coming, but they never seemed to make it to the city, no matter how dark the clouds got. It remained hot, with a brisk wind, and and the clouds kept producing rainbows. I understand now why there are rainbows on the Hawaii car plates.

After Michael got back to the hotel and used the pool and hot tubs, we went out for a little shopping and dinner. There is sushi and Asian cuisine every where, one of our favorites, so we had a sushi dinner on the Waikiki Beach strip and then went to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean. I was surprised at how warm the water was. Can't wait to see the beach during the day light hours.

We already bought some souvenirs. Michael has purchased the must-have Hawaiian shirt and some light blue board shorts. We will have to get a photo of him in his shirt some night when we go out to dinner.