Kim and Glenn got up early with us at 2:30 AM to drive us to Indy. We left Adry behind. After some small check-in problems, we were well on our way! A stop in Chicago for some Garrett's popcorn was pretty much all we had to eat, as the 9-hour flight from ORD to HNL did not serve any meals (although we purchased a snack box). After what seemed like endless miles of ocean, the islands finally came into view from our little airplane window. At first it was difficult to see from our side of the aisle, but then the airplane did a complete 180º and the view of the city (Honolulu), the coast, and the surrounding mountains was breathtaking.

The airport was CROWDED and our wait for the small economy car at Alamo seemed to take forever, but finally we were free and on the way to our 3-night destination hotel: The Aqua Palms and Spa. But then there was the freeway traffic. Billy took an exit and we went exploring through the city streets, while Kelly told her mom we made it OK! Honolulu was right on the coast, so we drove alongside the ocean as we found our hotel next to the famous Waikiki area.

The Aqua Palms and Spa was about 11 stories, and our room was on the 10th floor, facing the mauka (or mountain) side of the island. It allowed for great views of the city and other tall resort buildings in the area. We had to drive up on the sidewalk and run down some pedestrians to check in… but then had unlimited access to the parking garage the rest of our stay (for a fee).

Right across the street from the Aqua Palms was the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which featured many local shops and eateries. We originally wanted to eat dinner at the Kobe Japanese steakhouse immediately across the street from us, but decided to explore the Hawaiian village when we saw they didn't open until 5:30PM (it was about 4:30… but that's already 10:30PM Eastern Time, so we were starving!!). After looking in some shops, we checked out the gorgeous man-made lagoon at the Hilton and what we thought was Waikiki beach (Kelly pointed out later that technically it was Fort Derussy beach or something) and just soaked in the Hawaiian atmosphere. There is definitely something relaxing about this place.

We finally decided to eat at Benihana's since their food was ready 30 minutes before Kobe and was basically the same style. We both had hibachi chicken and Kelly tried some of Billy's Sapporo. Kelly also had her first "real" sushi roll, which was a California roll.

After a long day of traveling, we were exhausted, and hit the hay early.