18 June - Waikiki

The plan for today was to drive around Oahu island in a rented convertible. We had an early breakfast and walked around to the Hertz place a couple of blocks away. When we arrived there we realised that car hire price here don't include insurance of any kind - in fact you assume total responsibility for damage to your own vehicle and any other you come in contact with. Buying the 'optional' insurance just about doubles the price of the car and by then we were rapidly losing interest. So we decided instead to do the walking/shopping tour of Waikiki and one of the first place we visited was the Outrigger Reef hotel where we stayed on our last visit in 1997. It's obviously been spruced up and now features a Starbuck's Coffee shop where we had our first fix (after breakfast) of the day. Next door to the hotel is a US Army Museum which features a display of Hawaii's contribution to the various US war efforts. We spent quite a deal of time there and found it a fascinating and moving display. One of the most impressive exhibits was a Cobra attack helicopter, located on the roof of the building.

After the museum we wandered back to check out the various shopping centres on the way back to our hotel. After checking the menu we decided to have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory Restaurant. So, back to the hotel for gins and tonic and granny naps. By 06:30 our aching feet were rested sufficiently to walk to the restaurant for dinner. On our way we passed a park where a free performance of Hawaiian music and Hula was being performed and so we sat there an listened and watched as the sun set on another beautiful Hawaiian day.

Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (recommended by Mark and Donna) was fantastic despite the one hour wait to get a table. Our waiter had worked in Australia and was very familiar with Melbourne. Dinner was accompanied, as it is everywhere here, by two live musicians who were playing everything from George Benson, Bob Marley to Men at Work. During a break John and I gave them a tip and complemented them on the music. They responded immediately with their own rendition of 'The Pub with no Beer". There is live music everywhere here. Even our poolside breakfast features a live artist and a Hula dancer.

Eventually after a brief stop at the International Market Place, to pick up a small item of cabin luggage we wandered back to the hotel to get some sleep and build up the energy for tomorrow's adventure which is a tour to Pearl Harbour.