Day 2...in which we embarass ourselves at the touristy food court

We had a whole day in Hawaii.

We stayed at Aqua Aloha Surf and Spa. It was about three blocks away from the beach.

That morning we woke up fairly early; probably around six. Maybe earlier. Tim went on a run. I took Jack down to the free breakfast buffet. They had a make-your-own-pancakes thing that delighted Jack.




The surprise of the morning was that Waikiki was crowded When you're out and about so early you expect the world to be a bit empty. It wasn't! It seems we weren't the only ones dealing with jet lag.

After Tim returned from his run and ate a quick breakfast, we put on our swimming suits and walked to the beach. I wore a new swimming suit that had looked much better when I was about five pounds lighter.





We had fun and looked forward to many beach days in Australia.

After we swam a bit, we decided to go eat lunch. Jack wanted to go back to the hotel and change into regular clothes. Tim and I are debated with him, saying we should stay in our wet suits and let them dry as we walked. Then after lunch, we could go back to the beach.

We walked and came to The International Market Place. Tim warned me it was a tourist trap. I said we were in Hawaii for only a day. We were allowed to play tourist. We didn't really have the time (or energy) to go off the beaten path.

We found a food court and all ordered Korean food. After the order went through and the food was ready to be given to us, we learned the place was cash only. We were almost two dollars short. How embarrassing! The woman working there was really sweet and accepted our promise to go get money later. We ate, and since I finished first, I offered to go to the hotel and grab some more cash. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get back to our hotel. I found a free-brochure stand that included a map of Waikiki. I called Tim. Using his guidance and the map, I was able to find my way back.

Oh! I just remembered something! The hardest part about getting back to the hotel was finding my way out of the damn International Market Place. Tim wasn't joking when he called it a TRAP.

While walking, I realized I had a bit of a discomfort. I had some kind of skin issue in my inner thighs. A rash! Ouch! I ignored it and rushed back to the food court. I gave the woman at the Korean restaurant the money. She graciously accepted. We then ate some ice-cream.

We went back to the beach where we swam. My rash stung. Tim buried Jack in the sand.



At night, we lacked creativity and returned to the food court in the International Market Place. On our way there, we picked up a brochure about the Lost tour. We decided we'd try to do it when we returned to Hawaii on our way back to Texas.

We went to bed early because we had to wake up early for our flight to Sydney.

And during all this, my rash became quite painful and disgusting. And I still had a sore toe. I wondered how I'd manage the long walks we planned in Australia. I wondered if I'd be able to swim during all our beach days.