Hawaii - Day 13

Well, this is my last blog from Hawaii. The next time you hear from me I'll be back home in TO.
This morning we woke up nice and early as we were going on a tour to Pearl Harbour. While it was interesting I wouldn't recommend it as a must see if you are visiting Waikiki, unless you are really into that war history stuff. It's interesting that Pearl Harbour is one of the most popular tourist attractions but was not built for a tourist attraction. The memorial is built over part of the US Arizona and when you are going over to it (by boat) you are told to treat it as you would a burial site. Show respect, keep your voice low etc. When we were in San Francisco we went to Alcatraz not expecting much, but it turned out to be really interesting. I think that was what we were thinking Pearl Harbour would be like too. Don't get me wrong, I did learn some things but I can think of other ways to spend my last day in Hawaii.
We got back to our hotel around lunch so headed to Cheeseburger Paradise for a bite to eat. I managed to eat somewhat light by having a chicken salad sandwich. Half way through I got tired of eating the bread so just ate the chicken salad. It was one of the first times I haven't stuffed myself silly.
Back at the hotel I sat on the balcony for a bit and finished reading my Marie Claire magazine. Raju had been texting with his friend Simon about meeting up but we hadn't heard back from him about a time, so I crawled into bed and took a little nap. Raju had a little nap as well. Around 4:30p.m. he managed to speak with Simon and we headed out to Duke's bar to meet with him. I had never met him before so this was a new friend for me. He was super nice. He's here working on a film project with his wife (Tia Carrera). After a couple of hours Tia and their daughter met us as this was the hotel they were staying in. It was nice to meet Tia but I was much more enraptured with Bianca, their 3 year old daughter. She is gorgeous and very loving. Hugs and kisses for everyone. She kept petting my face and my hair and saying "very pretty". It was just a quick visit with them, as they are also leaving to head back home tomorrow and had to pack.
After they left, Raju and I headed upstairs to the Hula Grill for our last dinner. He had the Tandoori Opa while I had the shrimp stir-fry. Both quite delicious. We also started to think of things we're going to miss about Hawaii. Here's a few things we came up with:
1) The ocean view
2) Not wearing a watch
3) The weather
4) Open toed shoes
5) The quietness of our lives (i.e. no obligations)
6) Not hearing a phone ring (I haven't missed my cell phone at all)
I'm sure I could come up with a few more but why dwell on it. It has been a fabulous trip and a break from real life. I do have to say though, that there are many other beautiful places in the world, so I'm not sure Hawaii is really worth the amount of money it costs to visit here (not that I regret spending one penny). If we were to return, our favourite island was Maui, but there are many other places to see in the world first.
I also realized that this blog is a good thing. I was able to share with you all our events as they happened and it will serve as a diary for me when we return.