aloha

I leave Hawaii tonight, going to Sydney via Auckland. In Auckland I'll meet up with Priscilla, a good friend and my travel buddy for Australia!

Honolulu's been great - here are some of the highlights:

- Getting lei'd at check in (they're so friendly here! this happens to everyone!!)

- Hiking up diamond head crater

- Running along the beach

- Lying on the beach :)

- Food-wise, the guacamole cheeseburger from Cheeseburger in Paradise (this restaurant is aptly named!) and malasada doughnuts from Leonard's Bakery... I am generally not a doughnut fan but this thing was amazing - warm, moist, doughy, sweet - can you really ask for more?

- The retail experience - while I wasn't planning to do much shopping here (packing space is at a premium) I did do some (since my skin couldn't tolerate full days of sun exposure, plus a girl's gotta look!), and found in store staff to be consistently helpful and happy.

I leave here with a few things I didn't have before - a new pair of shoes (which brings my total to 4), a credit card that will work for the duration of my trip, and a tan (by Aili standards)! :)