Australian
Beach Crawling
The frozen and wet Northwest
Frozen Northwest
We left behind the frozen, wet, and icy Pacific Northwest today and braved the COVID infested world to travel to warm and inviting Australia, my homeland. Well, I guess, the USA is also my homeland as I have lived here almost as long as I lived in Australia; but I digress.
Thousands of feet above the Pacific Ocean we tried our best to filter out the virus that might be emanating from our fellow passengers on the very full Alaska Airlines flight to Hawaii, our first stop on the long and perilous journey to Australia.
Protection
The plague is horrible. It is, however, mostly no longer a death sentence, but it is unknown what the long-term effects are from contracting this disease. So, we took every precaution we could think of to resist this scourge. This is why we look like surgeons in the photo.
Here’s hoping we do not contract this horror, as the main purpose of our visit down-under is to be with my dad, who is in an assisted care center now and not well.
First stop
Kapolei
Kapolei is a planned community in Honolulu County, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. It is colloquially known as the "second city" of Oahu, in relation to Honolulu. It is far away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki beach, which we wanted to avoid on this leg of our trip. We scheduled this stop so we might slowly adjust to the time and weather changes as we move past the equator and on to the Antipodes.
We have been to Waikiki many times before, but we have never been to this part of Oahu. There, of course, are resorts here near the beach, but this is more of a residential area and very pleasant.
Beach Time
Julia and I slept for 12 hours last night and are feeling warm and welcome at our new home for the next two days.
The four lagoons
Oh, my goodness it is so nice to have a warm day, on a sandy beach, and swimming in blue waters. We spent the whole day on the beach, soaked in the sunshine, and rested before our long, long flight to Australia.
We swam at each of the four lagoons here in Kapolei. We started at the Ulua Lagoon, where the water was warm and the sky blue. Then we walked to Naia Lagoon, where the sand was yellow and the grass green.
We are ready
Then we went on to Honu Lagoon, where the warm breeze gently caressed us. Then we continued to Kohola Lagoon, where we rested from the long ordeal of our day. We ended with a beer and Mai Tai at the Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa.
We are now ready for Australia.
Australia: Getting There