Black Hawaii Friday

Ok, so the promised Black Friday adventure!! This is my second Black Friday in Hawaii. And the lesson still applies, you have NEVER done Black Friday until you've done it Hawaii style. Every year, the hubs and I gear up and head out early to catch those amazing sales. Last year, in preparation for the 5am sales, we got to Walmart on the other side of the island at 2am only to discover that half the sales start at midnight!!! :( We still got most of what we went for so it wasn't a complete bust.

So this year, we were ready. We packed up and headed out and got there at 10pm!! Only to see that HUNDREDS of people were already there. Seriously? I mean, half the sales (like the TV's and Computers) still don't go out til 5am. These people were camped out and planning on staying there til 5! Thankfully, we weren't after anything big, just some movies, some Rubbermaid containers and some towels. Tame, I know. But it's the adventure that is so much fun!!

Anywho, this year was certainly an adventure!! The hubs, Mrs. R, and I had split up around 11:50 so that right at 12:01 when the items were opened we could grab what we wanted! At around 11:59, screams tore through the store as people decided to start tearing plastic anyways! Items were falling, getting passed around, and people were screaming and running. At this point, the Walmart employees didn't know what to do other than try to calm the crowd and keep the items in the plastic. Shouts of "Put the products back!" and "Hands in the air" were heard as Honolulu Police Department tried to stop the mayhem and protect the employees and shoppers. Over at the $99 Basketball Goals, several people were hit by falling Goals.

It was certainly unlike anything I have experienced before and DEFINITELY worth the trip out this year. In addition, we got 8 movies for $35. Not a bad experience if I do say so myself. :)

Here's the crowd around 11:30, before the frantic incidents happened....