After the massive snowstorm that we had in Minneapolis (and subsequent bone-chilling temperatures), I was pretty happy to have the chance to travel to Honolulu, Hawaii to Pacifichem to give a talk. Of course, all of my flights were delayed, and the crossing from Seattle to Honolulu was, according to my extremely chipper captain, "the worst crossing I've had in several years" due to all of the turbulence. But, I did make it, and it totally could've been worse.
On Tuesday, we woke up with the sun (and the delivery trucks under our window) and decided to hit up Starbucks and walk from our hotel up to Diamond Head. The weather was incredibly pleasant (80 F and sunny), and we got to walk by the beach for some of the way. Once we got there, we discovered that the trails were all closed for maintenance, but we still had a pretty view and had our picture taken with the sign.
For the afternoon, we took a long-ish bus ride to Kailua Beach which is a quieter beach on a different side of the island. Waikiki is really a zoo, so it was nice to get out of the city and to a beach with lots fewer people. We swam in the ocean and bobbed in the waves and enjoyed watching some ocean out-rigger canoe team race back and forth.
Today, my University of Minnesota advisor Bill Arnold was giving a talk at the conference, so I left my hotel bright and early to grab a coffee and his talk. The walk should have taken me 20 minutes, so of course I wandered around for two hours before finally making it to the Convention Center. (The last 45 minutes my coworker Megan was giving me directions from her Droid!) I apparently have issues with directions.
I had to work on my talk this afternoon, since I present tomorrow morning, but late this afternoon Megan and I went to the Waikiki Beach and swam until sunset. This beach was much more crowded, but the waves were also wilder and more exciting. I stayed in for quite a long time, and I can still feel the waves, even hours later. It's funny to pick the chemists out from the crowd- even on the beach you can tell. Some people just look like professors. I overheard one girl say, "This is the best day of my life! And I'm working!"
Hawaii is great. Waikiki is a little too... tacky and over-contrived for me, but the warmth and flowers and sun and beaches and scenery really are nice, and once you get out of the city, it gets much nicer. It is really weird to walk around a big city and to see people barefoot and shirtless and in swimsuits and hauling surf boards all of the time, right next to people in business suits. Also, all of the Christmas decorations seem a little out of place. And we went to a restaurant/bar last night and had to get wristbands to signify that we were above 21 years old, only to have the live band serenade us with "Silent Night". I am pretty sure that I never would have thought to put beer and "Silent Night" together. Hawaii is a strange place.
I have my presentation tomorrow morning, so I have obtained explicit walking directions to the nearest shuttle stop so that I do not miss my own talk. (Knock on wood.) Wish me luck!
On Tuesday, we woke up with the sun (and the delivery trucks under our window) and decided to hit up Starbucks and walk from our hotel up to Diamond Head. The weather was incredibly pleasant (80 F and sunny), and we got to walk by the beach for some of the way. Once we got there, we discovered that the trails were all closed for maintenance, but we still had a pretty view and had our picture taken with the sign.
For the afternoon, we took a long-ish bus ride to Kailua Beach which is a quieter beach on a different side of the island. Waikiki is really a zoo, so it was nice to get out of the city and to a beach with lots fewer people. We swam in the ocean and bobbed in the waves and enjoyed watching some ocean out-rigger canoe team race back and forth.
I had to work on my talk this afternoon, since I present tomorrow morning, but late this afternoon Megan and I went to the Waikiki Beach and swam until sunset. This beach was much more crowded, but the waves were also wilder and more exciting. I stayed in for quite a long time, and I can still feel the waves, even hours later. It's funny to pick the chemists out from the crowd- even on the beach you can tell. Some people just look like professors. I overheard one girl say, "This is the best day of my life! And I'm working!"
I have my presentation tomorrow morning, so I have obtained explicit walking directions to the nearest shuttle stop so that I do not miss my own talk. (Knock on wood.) Wish me luck!
