For some reason this photo did not work in my last post. This is Julie and I at Pearl Harbour.

Hawaii and beyond

So I know I'm behind on the blog already...just trying to find my way through the brain fog of being in 3 different time zones within a week.
I'll try and keep it shortish.
Melbourne:
The rest of my time in Melbourne was really lovely, catching up with my Grandmas. I do miss not being able to pop over and see them whenever I want, so it was good to spend some quality time with them. Plus I got to see some beautiful parts of Victoria. My only regret is that I would get so engrossed in talking with people that I forgot to take photos. I have one of me and my friend Hannah (who I have known since I was 5). We are looking puzzled as we were trying to figure out how my new camera works when taking a selfie.

Hawaii:
Julie and I found each other without too much hastle at the airport and made our way to our hotel a short walk from Waikiki beach. We were both pretty tired from flying all night and after finding some lunch went back for a nap in the hotel. Julie wanted to buy a book to read so we walked to the mall (probably took us around 40 mins) and we found a second hand bookstore. Afterwards we walked back along the canal to our hotel and then found a good burger place for dinner. We tried to watch a movie but both kept nodding off so went to sleep pretty early. The next day we thought we would try and find a nicer, less crowded beach to swim at. After missing 2 buses we decided we could waste our whole day waiting to catch a bus rather than swimming so we went down to Waikiki and joined in a gay and lesbian parade that was happening...not really. We just walked beside it until there was a gap where we could cross the road. We weren't sure if they were parading or protesting as they seemed to be doing both. We finally found a less crowded spot and bobbed about in the waves for quite a while. Was lovely and clear water. We read on the beach but could hear music and singing coming from somewhere so went to investigate. In a neighbouring park there was a little festival going on, and we discovered it was the end of the parade. So we sat and listened to the gay choir sing. After lunch we then did our own walking tour of Waikiki. My back was sore from walking on concrete so we sat down and had fish and chips in the International Market where we were also treated to a traditional hula dancing show. I'm not really sure how 'traditional' the glitter grass skirts were though. It was all rather dramatic but a lot of fun. The next day we decided we would educate ourselves so found the bus that would take us to the Pearl Harbour memorial. It was really interesting (and free) learning about the history leading up to the bombing and the effect the bombing had on the Japanese American residents living in Hawaii at the time. Julie wanted to take a last dip in the warm ocean before she headed back to much cooler Vancouver but I was wiped from jetlag so had a nap while she went for a swim. We parted ways and I went in search of dinner. Went to the International Markets again and looked around the stalls. And that was my last night in Honolulu.

California:
I arrived into LA where my good friend, Will picked me up. I was totally not with it so when I arrived at the house I was supposed to be staying at I couldn't find the key (the problem with not reading emails thoroughly). We gave up searching for it in the dark as it was 1:30am and we were both tired. So I went back to his boat and slept the night there. There are a lot of weird noises on a boat at night so I didn't get much sleep at all. The next morning we came back to the house and found the key...where it was supposed to be. Oh well. A story to tell. I was so tired I blobbed for the rest of the day. Today I went out in the car and am proud to say that I never really got confused on which side I should be on. I also popped in for a surprise visit to see my old friends, the Pankhursts, who I used to live with. Was lovely to catch up with them.

So that is my not so shortish update. If I do anything interesting tomorrow I'll let you know.
R