The problem with going to Hawaii is, well, it is Hawaii…..and it takes an awfully long time to get there….all times are Eastern Daylight Time.
Tuesday night – final packing, stay up to past midnight to watch the US and Mexico play to a scoreless tie in soccer.
EZ Bags: Suzanne bought these bags for the trip to Europe last year and they are out again….we end up each person’s stuff in three different bags (sorted by color; I’m green this trip) and put a bag in each luggage, that way if one piece of luggage gets lost one of us isn’t completely hosed. Pretty easy to unpack at the end of the trip too. We did have to order another set (black) for the other boy on this trip though…
5 am – Time to wake up. Get the luggage to the car, get the dogs straightened away. Boys wake up around 5:20, we are on the road at 5:40. Boys did have to finish the yard cleanup at 5:35 by finally getting the red frisbee out of the yard…
Dogs and cats will be staying at home; they will be watched by Julia for the duration. Madison started this adventure outdoors; will need to text Julia today to see if she made it back inside or not….
5:45 am – Dunkin Donuts stop. Sausage and cheese sandwiches on onion bagels, chocolate with sprinkles, vanilla, and strawberry donuts round out the meal…
7:05 am – Drop four family members at the departure area of Detroit Metro. I will go park the car; Suzanne and the boys will check the luggage while I am gone.
One real big downer of this trip is that for the first time in years I don’t have any kind of status with Delta…..so the luggage costs money.
7:35 am – I get back to the airport; meet up with the family, head through security and to the gate
(waiting at the gate….Matthew made sure he got a good frisbee with Ashton for the trip….
8:45 am – Leave for Los Angeles. On the plane is the St. John Marching Band heading to Hawaii as well. The plane is a 2-3-2; Suzanne, Kevin, and Matthew are sitting up front in the Economy Comfort seats that my status got for free when we bought the tickets; Cpher and I are further back in an aisle and window that we used my miles for. This plane has the individual entertainment system for each seat; Cpher watches Pitch Perfect and Twilight Breaking Dawn 2 or something like that; I watch some ESPN and read……
(it’s a long flight….)
1:30 pm (10:30 PDT) – Arrive Los Angeles. A long layover here…..and there isn’t much to do or eat in Terminal 5. Boys are clamoring for McDonalds….not really what Suzanne and I want so we walk over to Terminal 6 and end up eating at a Ruby’s Diner….and pay a whole lot more for burgers and fries that we would have at McDonalds. Oh well.
5:45 pm (2:45 PDT) – Leave Los Angeles. This plane is a 3-3; so, again, the same group is up front in the Economy Comfort seats and Cpher and I are further back…this time we are middle and aisle.
11 pm (6 HST) – Land in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. Get off, Suzanne, Cpher, and Kevin wait for the luggage while Matthew and I take the shuttle over to Hertz to grab the car. No daylight savings time in Hawaii by the way; too close to the equator, makes no difference here….
To Carry-On, or not to Carry-On: The one theme throughout the day was Suzanne’s disgust that we carried two smaller pieces of luggage on board with us. Suzanne is very much into ‘less-is-better’ on the plane, where when I travel I almost always have a carry-on so thing that it is no big deal…..especially now that we have to pay for each bag we put underneath.
So, the gentle-laughing-ration-of-crap level is high as we get the two carry-ons into the car; and Cpher and I carry them on the plane….and when finding a spot for them is annoying as we sit and eat lunch in LA…and Suzanne wonders often if we’ll have enough room in our mid-size SUV for this added luggage.
Turns out it’s a tight fit, but, all four big pieces and the two carry-ons barely fit into the back section of the Subaru Forester we are renting….
12 am (7 HST) – Clear the airport, finish dinner (pizza and hot dogs at Costco). On the road to the resort
12:45 am (7:45 HST) – arrive Marriot Waiohai…..unpack, stretch out….I think everyone is asleep by 10 HST. A long day……
