Return to Oahu! (Day 1)

SMF > SFO > HNL + Cat Cafe

Friday, April 9

Early morning Zumba for me before we left at 5:15am for our 6:47am flight to Honolulu via San Francisco. We took advantage of Mr. E's United Club membership to get some snacks and wait in the comfy chairs during our layover after we completed the pre-clearance process and got our special United paper bracelets as part of the Hawai'i Safe Travels program (other steps included ordering DIY at-home saliva COVID-19 test kits, taking the test with a Zoom monitor three days before the flight, creating a Hawai'i Safe Travels account, uploading our negative test results, and completing a general health questionnaire 24 hours before travel day). 

Our flight wasn't full, so we ended up with the middle seat empty between us, which was quite lovely. Once we arrived, our blue bracelets helped us avoid any other processing at the Honolulu airport, and our checked bags came quickly so we then contacted our pre-arranged Charley Taxi for pick-up and transportation to our hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott Waikiki Beach. The first room wasn't a true suite since there was no solid door in between the living room and bedroom, so Mr. E called the front desk to inquire about other options, and we were put into a much larger suite with fully separated rooms and a large lanai on the 3rd floor, overlooking [busy] Kuhio Street and a bustling bus stop. The space was awesome, but the proximity to the street and buses wasn't so great, so we only used the lanai to hang towels and wet clothes and to get the breeze but not to sit out on enjoy the scenery. Luckily, the buses didn't run all night, and keeping the doors closed with a/c on for sleeping was just fine.

After we unpacked and settled in, I called Hawai'i Bike Tour to see if my dietary restrictions could be accommodated for the Waikiki Foodie Tour and received positive results, so we booked that activity for Tuesday afternoon. Then we headed out along Kuhio Street to Kapahulu Ave, with a brief stop at Duke's Marketplace for some lunch (loco moco for Mr. E -- see photo below), to check out the Hawai'i Cat Cafe. We spent 30 minutes there with the adoptable cats from the Humane Society, enjoying the feline company and the conversation with the staff about animal rescue conditions on the island. I procured branded tanks for me and E as a souvenir!

On the way back to the hotel, we did more stocking up of food and beverages since our room had both a mini fridge and a microwave. Quite a few shops were still closed, and some were completely boarded up, clearly demonstrating the negative impact of the significant decrease in tourism on the economy and the life here. Mr. E took note of the musubi options for a later time.

We refreshed with a dip in the lovely pool, which we had all to ourselves for a bit. Then shower and change and back out for a few more errands, including a stop at the nearby Ross to look for real glasses, since the hotel only provided flimsy plastic cups in the room. I found a four-pack of stemless glasses for $5.99 and saved the box so that we can bring them home with us!

Dinner in the room with the goodies we'd picked up earlier, then yoga and bed for me as Mr. E stayed up to watch his show(s) on Amazon Prime.