Waikiki To Oakland

The last day was pretty uneventful. I think Monica and I were both sad to leave, especially because the very next day it was back to the grind. Oddly enough though, this felt like a real vacation. I didn't think about work at all during the trip, something I've never done before. I've always bitched that all I have to look forward to when I get back is work, but this time it seemed like truly another world. I am so so happy I went. It is a magical place, once you get out of the city.

Mostly we just lounged around in our room, took a quick walk to see the fantastic world, and then went downstairs to wait for our bus to the airport, that I reserved at the beginning of the trip, being the smart person I am. 30 minutes after it was supposed to arrive, it came, and we got on, after being a little worried. One of the hotel staff came out to make sure we were okay and called the company - that was pretty cool. They sure do know how to take care of their tourists.

The ride was uneventful, but in another shot of that'll show 'em! I didn't tip the driver, for being a half an hour late, and kind of an asshole on the ride there. What's funny is one thing he said was while we were passing a condo place being built, something like, "If ya want to live there, all you have to do is slap down $700,000!" and the rest of the bus laughed, but Monica and I turned to each other and said, "That's it?" Truly, Bay Area prices have given us an edge when coming to other parts of the world. Certainly we can't afford it, but goddamn if that was a lot more affordable than we thought.

Anywho, driving back was semi revisiting old places, it was fun to see how far we walked and where we went. At the airport we ended with a better meal than we had the night before, at a place called Sting Ray's. It had tacky decorations and everything, but it was cheaper than Horrible Burger, and the quesadilla that I stole from Monica was fantastic. And we got a little boozed up for the flight. Our other obsticle was trying to squish a billion pounds of souviners into two bags. What was incredibly funny was us talking to the ticketing agent, and then frantically switching shit around our bags in the middle of the airport; something I'm very familiar with, but with Monica, it was a little more newer of a phenomenon. It was very sitcomey though, and then we made it with 49.5 pounds. With Professor Layton in hand, the plane ride back was fun and occupied.. very simple. And my mom picked us up! What fun it is to see a friendly face after being on a plane for so long. I love getting out and meeting people at the checkpoint at the airport.

What can I say about the trip? It was amazing. Hawaii is a fucking fantastic place, when you get out of the city areas. But still, even in those areas, there still is a different spirit there, from the free beaches for all to the cheap touristy shit you can see on every corner, to the ABC Stores that are as prevelant as Starbucks... moreso, really! So I want to go back. I want to live there. I do already have a job there... in the field that I love... and maybe I can go to school there... I'm outta here!