Aloha Hawaii! Departure and Arrival

When my son and daughter-in-law invited us to tag along with them on their upcoming trip to Hawaii, we said "YES!" immediately. Life happens and before we knew it, it was February and I was packing, unpacking, repacking and panicking about the imminent snowfall. Because, of course, here in NC, where winter weather is rare, a major storm was predicted the day and night prior to our departure. And of course, we had a 6:00 am flight to LAX. 

We reported to work on a white-skyed Wednesday and with our Bossman watched the snow start, then pick up, stick to the ground. and then the road. Bossman let us off work early and we headed, very slowly and very carefully, towards the airport hotel we had booked the day prior. En route, we stopped for Bojangles takeout where there was no-one in line. A glance across the street revealed the parking lot next door at Hooters was jammed. With temperatures dropping, ice forming on the the roads, and the sky darkening I have no explanation for their uptick in business but I sure hope the patrons tipped their servers well! 

Work lunch with bossman 

                                     

Hub and I spent a restless night, arising at 2:30 am to start our short drive at 3:30 am so as to arrive to the airport at 4:00 am. I was surprised how bad the roads were, but we sallied forth and much to my delight, our flight left on time. We overnighted at an airport hotel in Los Angeles and at 7:15 am the next morning our flight departed for Honolulu!  The plane was sparsely populated so we had a spare window seat next to us. I slid over and enjoyed racing the sun to the west coast. 

(A NOTE ABOUT EARLY MORNING FLIGHTS:  People who keep their seat in the recline position for the entire flight should be drawn and quartered. People who trash airplane bathrooms should be made to wear a hat made from paper toilet seat covers for the remainder of the flight. Women who chat at max volume like over-caffeinated starlings over their favorite TV shows while it is still dark outside should have their beverage and snack service priviledges revoked. But I digress.)

The first thing I noticed upon landing was the embracing warmth. Our journey to baggage claim included a walk along a lovely elevated exterior walkway where we were welcomed by soft island breezes. Ahhhh..already we had a taste of paradise. 

We did the expected: grabbed a rental car, made our way to our hotel airport, picked up our kiddos when their flight arrived, and battled intense traffic to Waikiki to find supper. I loved seeing the new-to-me flora: palm trees, banyans, and monkepod trees along the way. We stumbled into a food court in an upscale mall (one of many!) and found ourselves at Waffle and Berry where I got a delicious sugar high that lasted for the rest of the evening. 

Bayon Tree in Waikiki     Creit: Trip Advisor

Monkeypod Tree   Credit: Only in Hawaii

 (Note: Waikiki was astonishing. If Godzilla visited he would have a hell of a time knocking down the surplus of high rises like dominoes! Mrs. Godzilla would have a blast shopping at Prada, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and the like. She would charge her Kaiju Am-Ex to the max.) 

Waikiki      Credit: iStock 

That night, we settled into a deep sleep. We'd arrived! 

NEXT UP: Pearl  Harbor!