day 1 in oahu

we're here!!!


yipeee!!!!  vacation has officially began!  we arrived in honolulu after a 5 hour flight from san francisco.  we were greeted to a perfect 80F weather!  i hardly ate anything during the flight  so by the time we landed, i was starving so we went straight to highway inn for some hawaiian food.   highway inn was recommended to me by a friend of mine who now lives in oahu.  the food was good and i enjoyed the meal and the friendly service.   =)   


after lunch, we went to safeway to get groceries.  we'll be here for almost a week so we'd be saving a lot of money by cooking some of our meals at the hotel/condo.  groceries here are soooooooooo expensive.  strawberries were $4.99 when at the safeway in california, it would only be $2.99.  onions, $1.69/lb; back home it would be $0.69/lb.  it's an island, so a lot of the island's supplies get shipped in...we already knew this so we expected it but i guess, sticker shock is...well, shocking.  it's still cheaper than eating each of our meals out and since we have a full kitchen, might as well take advantage of it, right?

next stop, the marriott ko olina beach club.  i love how the lobby is open and breezy with a view of the pool and the beach.  when we walked in, it really felt like we were on vacation.  we haven't had the chance to explore the entire resort yet because we're tired from waking up so early + the long flight but from what we've seen so far...it's beautiful!!!  our 'villa' is big... almost 1,000 square feet i think (about 90 square meters).  we got a full kitchen like i mentioned earlier, and a large bathroom (large tub with a view of the marina and separate from the shower). there is a separate bedroom too and a king sized pull out bed.  i love how it feels homey and comfortable.  we have a lanai with the view of the golf course and the marina.  

we spent some time in the pool (salt water pool i think) and had some fun in the sun.  even my dad took a plunge!  i don't think he's gone swimming in about a decade!  it's nice to see him in the water again.  he's a pretty good swimmer.  batang lungos e!  while the four of us were in the pool (paul, me, michelle and daddy), my mom just watched us from her lounge chair (di marunong lumangoy, takot sa tubig).

tomorrow, it's snorkeling at hanauma bay and a drive to lanikai beach...at least that's what we planned for tomorrow.  i could just stay here at the resort and be happy pero sayang naman if we don't explore the rest of what oahu has to offer right?  


more to come!!!