Hawaii Hotel Living

As I've mentioned before, when we first moved to Hawaii, we lived in a hotel for over a month (as many other military families do) while we waited for our household goods to make the journey from Erie, PA to the tiny island of Oahu, HI...way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (I never realized just how far Hawaii is from mainland USA.  It's far).  It was definitely a memorable experience, but as you can imagine, it had its pros and cons.  

And when I say hotel in Hawaii, it was not one of the luxurious resorts you envision when you think of vacationing in Hawaii.  We were literally right off the airport runway, far from the ocean/beach, and in a rather sketch part of town...but, we honestly cannot complain.  It was perfectly sufficient for our needs.

Although cramped, (especially with the dog and her large crate) the hotel room became our little "home." It was all we knew.  And since Dan started work right away, we had to make it work and create a sense of normalcy in establishing some routines. 

Now that we're settled in our home, we look back at that crazy first month with fondness.  It's all part of this fun adventure of living in Hawaii for a year.  And it was nice to take advantage of being closer to downtown Honolulu/Waikiki.  

Here are some photo highlights from the first month:

Dan went to and from work

Sydney enjoyed hotel living, going for rides, meeting new friends in the hotel dog park, and FaceTiming with family.

Dan's schedule in the beginning was more flexible than it is now, so we were able to enjoy a lot of time together.  We enjoyed walking along the Waikiki coast, seeing Diamond Head, and stopping for shave ice. 

Every Friday night there are fireworks in Waikiki.  We went a couple of times while we were still living at the hotel.  The sunsets and fireworks were beautiful!

We enjoyed Waikiki at night, too.  Throughout our month of hotel living, we were able to try new food and new restaurants all around the island. 

We made several trips up to Kailua, the town we'd soon be living in.  It quickly became our favorite beach (and Syd's favorite, too!)

While we still had the rental car, we purchased a futon for our future guest room. We found a great deal at the NEX Home Gallery, and since there was a tiny tear in the back, it was discounted even more! For a while, the futon was the only piece of furniture in the new place. 

My car arrived at the end of June! It was a very exciting day.  Once it was on the island, we could finish the complicated process of switching everything over to Hawaii.  Getting Hawaii license plates was my favorite part. 

We did some Army things, too.  My friend Kristie invited me to take Level 1 of the Army Family Team Building classes.  It was basically an introduction to military life.  It was nice to meet other people and we even earned our very own coin after completing the course. 

At the end of June, all of the new interns were invited to the General's house for a meet and greet.  The attire: Aloha Crisp (how fun!) The General lives in the famous Palm Circle on Fort Shafter. 

 And we tried to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the island as much as possible.  

I'm thankful we made the most of our time while still living in the hotel.  And I'm thankful for the time we were able to spend together exploring our new home. 

Keep Smiling...