Hawaii Day 1: Travel Day

- January 04, 2014

This morning I woke up at 5:30 a.m., put on my snow boots and went out into the garage to work out. Why my snow boots? Because I had already packed my suitcase for our trip to Hawaii and I didn't want to unpack my tennis shoes. After a shower and extra coat of deodorant, I packed the last few items into my carry on and we headed to the airport. We used a parking service and they shuttled us right to the ticket gate. We were able to get through security with no issues. We boarded our flight to Houston at 9:45. This may have been the most cramped airplane I have ever been on. Try as I might, I could not stay awake during this flight. I had big plans to finish my book but the hum of the engines knocked me out cold. This flight wasn't too terribly long. We had a quick connector flight to LAX (no, I did not see any celebrities - trust me I looked hard).this flight was a four hour flight and it was much more comfortable than the first, we were on the the plane for approximately four (4) hours, but it seemed shorter given the roomier cabin space (we sat in the emergency aisle so we got some extra leg room.)

Once in Los Angeles, we grabbed our suitcases and headed for the international terminal. Once again we checked our bags and went through security. We were starving by this time so we stopped to eat supper as it was 5:30 p.m. our time. I had a panini and Michael ate buffalo chicken tenders from Burger King. We sat there for about an hour and discussed our cynicism as a couple. Michael believes that he may be a bad influence on me. Not too long after dinner we boarded Hawaiian Airlines for our flight to Honolulu. I assumed that I would really enjoy this flight, I assumed wrong. The accommodations were nice, but it was a five (5) hour flight. My hands started to swell, my feet started to swell, I contracted jerky leg syndrome and jerked myself awake no less than twenty (20) times. To make matters worse I was gassy throughout the entire flight - meaning my stomach hurt for Five (5) hours. I could not relieve the pain in my stomach as it would be rude to pass gas on a plane. Michael and I were in a middle row in between two people we didn't know. The lady sitting next to me used my armrest the entire time. Michael read an entire book on the flight while I jumped back and forth from activity to activity to pass the time - it didn't really help. I really thought I would go crazy - I had a completely irrational desire to scream on the top of my lungs and open the hatch to let in some fresh air. I didn't do it.

We touched down at 8:30. David and Sharon picked us up from the airport and drove us to our hotel. David surprised us at the baggage claim while Sharon circled the parking lot. When we made it to the hotel it was 9:00 Hawaii time and 1:00 our time. Tommy and Deniece met us in the lobby and helped us navigate the enormous property. Before checking into the room we went to the ABC store onsite for a few essentials: cokes, bread, cheese and sandwich meat. These few items cost $38.00. I was floored. I knew at that point that our stops at the ABC store would be limited.

Our hotel is incredible. It is an entire village. It has four/five major restaurants, small restaurants (pizza places), ice cream shops, coffee shops and no fewer than thirty (30) retail stores. We are in the Tapa Tower on the 15th floor. Our room is great! Very homey and very clean. We made it to bed around 10:00 Hawaii time which is 2:00 a.m. our time. We were so exhausted. I completely dread the trip home already.