Awake in Paradise

I awoke this morning to the sounds of tropical birds, gently swaying palm fronds, and the sound of 100 Marines running in formation. Life is good here in Hawai'i.

Of course, things didn't start out that way yesterday. Six hour plane rides are never a good thing. Sorry, no attempt at humor here. They just aren't. (Tomorrow is a ten hour flight. Shoot me now.) Then when I got here I found that the Honolulu International Airport is very cute. By cute, I mean it has a rustic, provincial feeling and tremendous lack of signage. After almost turning the wrong way and having an unpleasant discussion with a TSA official I found the baggage claim. Then I had to find the rental car counter. Then I had to find my way out of the parking lot which was much more difficult than it should have been. Getting to the BOQ would have been easier if I had remembered to print out a map but such is life. A couple of buildings and government servants later I was able to get to my room. Then sleep happened.

This morning was check in type stuff and now I have some free time before leaving for Korea. My observations about Hawai'i? 1)Most of the buildings are standard designs but with a touch of Japanese influence. 2)They have the most amazing birds, one of which is bopping around while I'm typing this and he or she has a peach and brown coloration and looks like a small cardinal. 3)McDonald's transfats taste the same here as they do on the mainland. 4)They spell their state differently than we do.

Stay tuned, more to come..