The journey to the airport was uneventful. Traffic not as bad as I expected and planned for. Long Term Parking was all messed up. Apparently they are repaving the roadways, so you end up in a hamster track of a roadway leading to a parking spot. And no matter how or where I park, I end up taking a grand tour of the parking lots on the shuttle. Good times indeed.
Security was quick and before I knew it, we were in the "secure zone," drinking coffee and chatting up a friend that works at the airport. She loves visitors. I could tell. Then it was off to the plane. For some reason, we were some of the last people on. It was kind of nice being able to just walk on, with no pushing and shoving, sweaty, stinkyness pressed against me. Plus the overhead bins had tons of room left. Imagine that. The kids had their own row and we had ours, right behind them. Then it was time to settle in for a 6 hour flight.
I decided to rent one of those personal entertainment units for the trip. Meg and I watched Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Let me just say that Matthew McConaughey has pretty much jumped the shark. And for that matter, so has Jennifer Garner. Total dreck. That pretty much sums that movie up. The nice thing about this entertainment unit was that the kids could use it afterwards. They ended up watching another movie plus a bunch of other shows. It kept them and me occupied for at least 3 of the 6 hour flight. The rest of the time was spent reading and spacing out. It kind of reminded me of some people's day at work.
The flight was 90% great and 10% bumpy as hell. Several times during, the pilot had everyone buckle up, including the flight crew. Now I am comfortable with a bit of chop, but there is definitely something a bit disconcerting about flying over the water, hundreds of miles away from any land, rolling up and down like a roller coaster. It will certainly wake a person up.
Finally we landed. Walking out of the plane and into the terminal was like walking into a sauna. With your clothes on and luggage hanging off of you. Perfect. By the time I got to the car rental desk I felt like I had taken a swim. Fortunately the rental had a cranking AC. Brain freeze AC. Then it was off to Costco. I thought Costco's in California were tough. This one was like the size of a small grocery store and 3x's as crowded as any Costco in Oregon. There was literally no place to stop with your cart and just shop. You have to move, all the time. You have to watch where you are going and who is behind you, all the time. How I maintained cool is beyond me. But, with a 1.5l of Skyy and a bunch of food in hand, it was now time to head to the condo.
Our place is about 28 miles from the airport in Kahana, outside Lahaina. The drive was nice. Slow, but nice. Traffic is tight here. But I am in paradise, on vacation, so I forced myself to remain calm and unaggressive. By the time we got to the condo, we were all ready to get out. Pulling into the underground parking space, we first found out that all the beach equipment that we thought we would have to rent, was already here for us to use. Then, on the 6th floor, was the greatest condo ever. The views are insane. The facilities very nice. 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. 2 decks, both looking over the ocean. 1 deck, nice and private, part of the master bedroom. Needless to say, we were all very satisfied with the "digs."
Because of the time change and all the travelling, we decided to eat dinner out, grab a few more groceries from the market and then call it a day. We ended up eating at a little Mexican place. The food was not bad, but it was not all that good either. Filling, somewhat bland and expensive. But it was quick and easy. The grocery store was quite an experience. $5 for a loaf of bread. $7 for a bag of salad. $5 for 1/2 gallon of milk. I think you get the idea. A few basic items to round out the condo food options and I was down another $47. Add that to the $110 at Costco. I am blowing thru the coinage!! Ahh vacation.
We did suit up and head down to the beach, even though it was dark by the time we got back. The water is so freaking warm. Kieran and I dug some sand moats to hold back the tides. Such a fruitless yet fun endeavor. Then we all cooled off in the pool and now I am catching you all up.
I have no idea what is in store for tomorrow. I imagine there will be water. I also have a strong sense there will be money changing hands. If anything like today, lots of money changing hands. So, stay tuned and goodnight.
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