Our time in Hawaii has been pretty laid back – basically a recovery week before we head back to work

Most of our time has been spent sleeping, eating, shopping, swimming, and sun baking.  However we have done a few little side trips whilst we are here.

We checked out Pearl Harbour and the USS Arizona Memorial which was pretty moving.  We then went on board the USS Missouri which is where the Japanese surrender in World War II was signed.

Paul went Mountain Biking on the other side of the island.  When he booked it he thought it would be just a nice ride through a valley, but when he got there he realised it is the valley where hollywood does a lot of filming.

Like Jurassic Park

Like Pearl Harbour

Like Godzilla

Like Lost

… and about 50 other movies or TV shows.  The scenery was spectacular, but unfortunately the ride was cut a little short due to the fact that the Lost production crew were there filming scenes for series five of Lost.

Whilst Paul was Mountain Biking, Kerrina and her family when for a bus tour around the island.

We all went to a traditional Luau and ate Pig that was cooked underground, and watched some attractive locals dance and run around in grass skirts.

Finally we have ate a few meals at Duke’s Bar at Waikiki, which has to be one of the best places to eat in Hawaii (and conveniently downstairs at the Outrigger where we are staying).  Duke was the guy that pretty much started modern surfing, and there are a few memorials around the place for him.

Today as I write this is our last day in Hawaii, and the last day of our holiday before we hop on a plane home.  Tonight we leave just before mid-night on our way to Auckland, and then back to Brisbane.  We totally skip Saturday 20 September this year due to crossing the International Date Line, which basically means we are back to work sooner than we really want to be!

We will post a few more photos up here when we get home… but for now, thanks for reading about our holiday and we both hope you have enjoyed seeing what we have been up to!

Paul and Kerrina

Hi all,

After what felt like a lifetime… we finally made it from Brisbane to Toronto.  All up it took about 30 hours to get from home to the hotel room.  Here is a quick recap of the highlights.

1. Brisbane Airport – Paul got the explosive trace test and special hands on treatment by a very nice security man at Brisbane Airport - the security guard must have been bored because we were the only ones going through security at the time.
2. NZ136 (Brisbane to Auckland) -  Air New Zealand’s in filght entertainment was pretty good, managed to catch three episodes of 30 Rock.  Paul scored a middle seat.
3. Auckland Airport – We spotted Mark Occhilupo (the old Aussie surfing world champ) getting on our flight.  Also we think we saw the kid from Billy Elliot… although now he doesn’t look like a kid, more like a guy with really skinny legs.
4. NZ6 (Auckland to Los Angeles) – 12 hours of economy class sucks.  Period.  Managed about an hour of sleep each which meant that the flight felt like it lasted forever.  Movies that we caught include The Worlds Fastest Indian, Kung Fu Panda, and Drillbit Taylor (the later being responsible for our sleep, because it sucked!).  Paul scored a middle seat
5. Los Angeles Airport – We spotted Mark Occhilupo getting off the plane.  No sign of Billy Elliot.  He may be still on the plane stuck in a crack between two seats.  Went through Customs, did the fingerprint and photo thing.  Collected our bags and noticed that somewhere along the journey someone had ripped the tags off, which meant having to re-check in at the Air Canada desk.  Not a problem until we realised because we checked our bags in twice for this flight that it put us on the “Special Treatment” list by the TSA.  Which mean that Paul got the special hands on treatment by a nice black man this time.  Kerrina got to join in as well, apparently her black woman had very soft hands.
6. AC744 (Los Angeles to Toronto) – We sat beside what has to be the only Chinese man who lives in Townsville.  Had a got chat to him which kept us awake for the 4 hour flight.  Paul scored a middle seat AGAIN!
7. Toronto Airport – We landed on the runway at Toronto airport where an Air France plane landed a few years ago and burst into flames (not that they told us that on the plane).  The Canadian border control chick looked like Avril Lavinge, and acted like her too…
8. Toronto Airport to the Hotel – roadworks on the highway leaving the airport (just like the Gateway at home!).  Spotted the CN Tower in the distance, which at night looks spectacular - they light it up with different coloured lights that cycle through).  Finally got to the hotel about 12:30am (about 2:30pm Brisbane time).  And then finally some sleep after a couple of very sleep deprived days.

Paul and Kerrina