What month is this again? So here I sit in a tiny cybercafe on Kuhio Street in Waikiki. We just bought some t-shirts and some way cool vintage postcards -- David's on his way to drop them at the hotel before we go whale watching at 11. That's a.m. It's 9:45 a.m. here, which means it's 2:45 on the East Coast. I wanted to recap some of our days so far because I know I'll forget some of the great details by the time I get home. Well, not forget them forever. But forget them enough not to post them. And I want to remember because it's so beautiful here. The trip here was looooooooooong. But pretty smooth and uneventful. Thank God. A screaming baby on each flight. But they didn't scream for very long. I wonder if the altitude hurts their ears. It bothers mine sometimes. I was worried about that since I'd had a cold, but everything was fine. Anyway, who wants to read about that stuff? No. You want the good stuff. And there is some good stuff! Sunday night: We got to out hotel around 10 and got upgraded (nice!) from a city-view room to an ocean-view room. We surveyed the room (it's OK, nothing fancy) then went down to the "barefoot bar" in our hotel. As we sat drinking our beer (him) and our Lava Flow fancy schmancy drink (me!), we noticed this guy hanging out just outside the perimeter of the bar's terrace. To say he was weird would be an understatement. He was wearing shorts, a leather vest with chains and some of those leather wristbancs. He had scraggly blond hair (well, it probably was blond at some time). He was doing all these arm movements, like he was catching a wave and sometimes like he was lifting weights. Sketchy. And people kept taking his photo. We didn't. But now that I've talked about him, maybe we should. Hmm. Monday morning: Hiking up Diamond Head. Now. The guidebook saya "anyone can do it!" Well. I made it most of the way, but David braved the steps and the little tunnely thing you have to crawl through alone. I was fine with that. But the view was great. When we got to the top, he could see all of Waikiki. I just got to see the other side -- montains and valleys. Which was just as gorgeous. So there. On the way out of the park, some Japanese tourists insisted on taking a group photo with me. David and I have a running argument that they were just making fun of me. But I'm paranoid like that. He says they weren't. Monday evening: After showers, we went to a luau on the beach at the Royal Hawaiian. We thought we were in trouble when we were seated at this really long table right next to a group of seniors. But then some people our age came along. We talked with them all night. They're photographers from Milwaukee. You'll hear more about them. Oh yeah, and there was a show with a guy playing with fire. We got some great photos of that. Tuesday: We picked up our rental car and drove along the windward side of the island and up to the North Shore. Actually, we kind of call what we did the "restroom tour" because we had to stop so many times. I think I'm worried that I won't drink enough water while we're on vacation, so I overcompensate. Anyhoo. The mountains are so awesome. I can't remember the name of them right now. Maliavale? (She can help!) And we saw Chinaman's Hat, which is a little island that looks like a chinaman's hat! And the waves on the North Shore. Wow. HUGE. We stopped at a shrimp truck for lunch (OMG YUM) went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and then stopped at the Dole Plantation, but we got there right before it closed. So we drove back to Waikiki with the plan to go back on Wednesday. When we got back to the hotel, a girl asked if we'd gotten our free tickets for one of the restaurants in our hotel. I said "No!!" Then she said if we go to a presentation, we'd get $100. Hmm. OK. I didn't realize until later that it was a time share thing. Anyway, we went. We got our $100. But that pushed our trip to the Dole Plantation back some. I know this is long -- but here's where it got interested and all interconnectedy. We went into the pineapple maze. I got bored quickly, but David wanted to find all the little secret stations, so I said I'd go take the little train tour of the fields. When we reconnected, he said "Guess who I saw?" I asked him "Who!?" We're in Hawaii! Who could he possibly know here? "Sarah and Stephen!" The couple from the luau! Cool! So we talked for a long time at the plantation. They were leaving that night so we wouldn't get another chance to get together, so we all went to another shrimp shack. That one was different from the one we went to Tuesday, but wow was it good! When we finished eating, Stephen set up the camera to take a group photo. As we stood there talking, we wondered when the shack would close. One minute, the music was playing, the lights were on and then the next minute it all went out. And then we saw a guy in a golf cart driving away. With the generator. I think that's the first time I've ever closed down a joint! We exchanged e-mail addressed and Web sites and went our separate ways. We were sad to see them go. Well, that was last night. Today, it's off to whale watch! But first... I have to go find a restroom! I have more stories to tell, but I already owe $3.33 for using this computer, so I better save my money for dinner. It's expensive here, you know!