This is an unsettling time. The economy is still recovering slowly while the unemployment rate remains about 9.8%. The government is talking about major retrenching in spending and the State government is laying off workers. What makes things worse is the wicked winter. Unlike prior years when there were short warm spells dotted throughout the winter season, this winter season has been consistently cold in our region. Snow wise, we are better than last year, there is no 20 incher in the DC area, but the northeast had been hit hard, especially New York City and Boston. What should one do? Vacation in Hawaii!!
We’re spending 5 days in O’ahu and 4 days in Kaua’i. We’ve been to both islands before, O’ahu back in the mid 90’s and Kaua’i in 2005. The flight from DC to Honolulu is a long one, with a 3 hour layover in Los Angeles. We fly United, our second favorite carrier (the first one is Virgin Atlantic, cheap and top notch service). When we walk off the plane, the warm moist tropical air just soothes our senses. There are signs of rain earlier, let’s hope the weather will clear up tomorrow morning. By the time we arrive at Waikiki and check in, it’s already 9PM local time.
Outrigger Reefs Suite
We are staying at the Outrigger Reefs on Waikiki Beach. We luck out, they upgrade us to a big corner suite with ocean view. We are really picky with our room; quietness and cleanliness are top on our list. By quiet, I mean absolutely no annoying air conditioning humming noise, no ice machine clanking noise, no fire exit door banging or neighboring TV noise. There is no complaint so far. The Costco hotel travel package is quite a good deal.
10PM local time means 3AM east coast time. We are still wide awake and a bit hungry, so we venture out to look for a quick bite. P.F. Chang, a Chinese restaurant chain that we are familiar with is just 5 minutes walk away. Many other stores are closing, so we just quickly decide on PFC. We have good experience with this restaurant chain before in DC, so there shouldn’t be any surprises.
WRONG!
The grilled salmon is bone dry, the mahi mahi in cilantro rice is also over done. The snap pea side dish is the best among the dishes but that doesn’t say much. One star at most. Very disappointing for our first dinner on the island.
