long weekend in paradise

Yeah! We made it to Hawaii without a screaming baby. What a relief. Caitlyn managed to sleep about two hours on the way there. It was great, as she got a seat to herself.  Hawaiian airlines did a great job of providing snacks, drinks, and a full meal! Much better than the five dollar sandwich Chris had to buy on Northwest airlines.

Chris met us at the airport with leas...very sweet considering he was on his lunch break from class. I couldn't believe how large the Honolulu airport is! Thank goodness I had the stroller! We went back to the room to rest while Chris finished class.  When class was finished we took a drive over to Kailua to see the beach. They were moving the sand around with a tractor and dump trucks. Caitlyn loved it! At around 4:30 we headed towards Waikiki to find the Hale Koa hotel for our scheduled luau. Wow....it is gorgeous! Especially compared to our room on base. The luau was fabulous...great food and a free drink with admission. Chris' mai tai was too strong for me, so I had a pina colada. They also had a good Blue Hawaiian. I tried seaweed salad, poi, and other Hawaiian dishes. They were all very tasty. The poi, though, has to be an acquired taste. It was good when eaten with the kalua pig. I definately don't recommend eating it alone! We saw dances from many different areas, but our favorite was the fire dance. That was amazing! Caitlyn fell asleep half way through and I was dragging by the time it finished. Being awake for 20 hours is a little much on 4 hours sleep!