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  so shirley was in town for her last few weeks of freedom before graduation ... let's hit up all her favorite food joints ... in-n-out ... we really went light w/ the #1 combo ... and we chilled out w/ just two plates from original thai bbq ... but we're working on our hawaii bodies, right?
right ... can't go wrong w/ what you know ...
     and my bro's gf's parents were in town ... all the way from japan ... so for this special event, we took the party on over to yamashiro in the hollywood hills ... great view, great location, good food ... a little pricey ... so there were gifts exchanged and shirley and i snagged some decorative artsy obama chopsticks ... one of the main artsy crafts famous in the town of obama ... in japan ... newly touristy because of the new president, which is cool by me ... had a little sake w/ the dad ... he's a cool guy w/ a few bottles of the good stuff in him ...
  and last week was the big hawaii trip ... haven't been on a plane in a few years, but that's not gonna stop me from white-knuckling it to the islands ... a few lessons learned early on in the trip ... united airlines blows ... probably one of the few airline companies that will charge you 15 dollars to check in your one bag ... and NOT put it on the plane that you're on ... or the next plane ... or the next plane ... or put it on any plane for that mattter ... until you get there and spend a half hour yelling at ahmed in another country who will give you a $250 united credit, which, frankly, is like offering a poop baggy to a guy when your dog just shit on his bare feet ... they said it would be there by noon the next day and they'd deliver it to our room ... whatevs ... luggage issues aside, most everything else went w/o a hitch ... brand new nissan versa rental ... swanky hotel digs ... we drowned our sorrows in margaritaville at the beachcomber hotel ... decent steak and so-so pasta ... and walked off the extra calories on waikiki beach ...    i'm not sure i can describe the awesome of walking around in 70-80 degree weather 24/7 ... that was day one in a nutshell ...
 so yeah, we made do w/ the carry-on clothes and took a stroll during the daylight hours ... we also got a nice sampling of the hawaii travel industry ... part of the travel package i booked came w/ a complimentary breakfast, tote bag, and "orientation" w/ pleasant holidays, inc ... let's just say quickly that it was an hour of upselling ... we're talking 2 hours of kayaking for the low low price of $100 dollars ... per person ... and we bought it ... consider us morons ... so we left w/ a bad feeling in our wallets and got hit with some papers from a street vendor ... 4 hours of the kayaking for the low low price of $46 ... total ... ouch ... yes we are financial morons ... so we did a quick phone call cancellation ... stupid pleasant holidays ... while we were there, we realized that there are a few ways to do tourist-y activities ... 1) cheap/free if you sit through a timeshare meeting, 2) expensive, 3) and not-so-expensive (less than 1/2 price of option 2) w/ quasi-shady people ... we opted for choice numero tres ...      so we checked out the oldest hotel in waikiki ... and random shopping areas ... got in the car and drove out for some zippy's chili ... deliciously convenient and overpriced ... and then we got all sunblocked and dressy for our first not-so-expensive tourist-y activity ... the paradise cove luau ... widely touted as the best middle-of-road luau in oahu ... not as ghetto as germaine's luau ... and not as uppity or long-winded as the polynesian cultural center ... the best choice in my book ...   so before they bust out the hawaiian-themed buffet, they'll hit you w/ the activities ... spear throwing ... arts/crafts ... canoe-ing ... it's pretty awesome especially since they give you 3 free booze-y drinks while you throw spears ... let's just say i stayed away from sharp objects ... but now i see why drinking/boating is such a rad combo ... and then we got into crafting our own leafy headbands ... shirley is a weaving genius ... me? i think i'm weaving-impaired ...   so we got some temporary island tatoos ... and then checked out the traditional luau dance numbers ... lots of parts to that luau ... a fishing demonstration ... showing us how to put on a sarong ... mini-cheer camp ... and then the traditional unearthing of the super cooked pig and song and dance ... pretty cool ...  very very fancy sunset action going on and the show/dinner was awesome too ... if we had our luggage, we might have even had long-sleeved clothing for the slightly too-cool breeze coming in ... eventually our bags came in though ... but yeah, i'll put up video of the parts of the fire-twirl-y show and we'll ooo and aah ... that's it for day 2 ... more coming probably monday ...
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| | Posted 4/29/2009 7:02 PM - 48 Views - 8 eProps - 4 comments
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