Day 1: Up up and away

No ink in the printer started the day in a panic. Luckily we'd basically packed the day before, so after a quick Office Works trip we were all printed and back to relax town! First stop was Rusmanis Manor, to park our car, get a coffee with Beth and Michael....AND a much appreciated lift to the airport. This really was brilliant Beth! Thank you.

Instead of the usual 3 hour early arrival, we did just on the two hours and really only sat for a very short time before boarding. Luckily we checked in online and skipped the big bag drop queue. After purchasing a couple of new books, it was time to board for our last likely trip overseas together for a little while.

Felt ripped almost immediately, as we only had a 20kg bag limit, NO provided meal and we had to pay for everything. Damn you Jetstar. The flight was good, but as I originally used QANTAS points, we were annoyed after payment to learn that we were put on this crappy budget airline. On the upside, at least with one of us being pregnant, there wasn't a wasted opportunity to drink! 

We landed in the wonderful land of Hawaii 6am local time on the island of Oahu. By the time we landed, cleared customs and found our shuttle dudes to take us to town, it was only 7:30am when we arrived at the reception desk. Another upside for travelling on Jetstar, was that we really didn't eat properly, so at least we could go out for a nice breakfast and we were actually hungry. At reception we also found out that we were going to be able to check in early at 10am! What a bonus. Better than being unshowered, tired and without your stuff till 3pm. 

We were recommended the famous Duke's on the beach for a nice buffet breakfast. It was actually quite nice and the view if the beach was incredible! After breakfast it was time to take a walk around to find our bearings and to work out where some of the things that we wanted to do were located. Without waiting for a long time, we were able to go back to the hotel to claim our room and a nice shower! 

The 'pregnant koala' had a cheeky little nap, but it really did help when we were totally refreshed to walk down to zoo and have a nice day out. The zoo was good mostly, although there were a few animals missing from cages which was a bit disappointing, but it was still a worthwhile excursion. Heading back from the zoo, a woman held out a sign that said "hungry" and she said "excuse me miss" to which I replied "no thanks, I'm not hungry!" Oops she was a homeless person not a hawker. Dumb moment right there!! 

Tonight were attempted to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, but being told that it would be a 2 hour wait, we decided just to go somewhere else. We ended up across the road at Jimmy Buffett's which was a Hawaiian themed restaurant and actually served up some nice food. 

It was a very relaxing first day.