"I miss Hawaii"

“I I Miss Hawaii”

It’s been a week since we left Oahu, and last night, this is the sentiment stated by our “sentiment stater”, Dylan.  A view shared by all.

We have settled into our usual summer bustle, but out thoughts return frequently and fondly to the wonderful, quality vacation we shared in Hawaii for two weeks. 

Sadly, we left last Thursday evening for the all nighter from HNL-SFO.  Even on the way to the airport, we shared a most humorous, and  memorable moment with Jed.  Somehow, the conversation had turned to CB radio, and Jed and I were explaining the CB craze of the 70’s.  No CB in CZ, so Rebecca listened intently.  Passing Waikiki on the H1 making our way to the airport, Jed pulls up the 70s song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall to illustrate the citizen’s band phenomenon.  While simultaneously, turning down the volume to the radio, C.W. McCall interrupts KPOI, 105.9  FM, Hawaiian rock station, “the rock you live on” (a double entendre), and the Honda Pilot is filled with the CB radio voice stating, “Ah, breaker one-nine, this here's the Rubber Duck”  Rebecca sang along as we all laughed at the lyrics, so apparently the trucker’s song had made it way to the Canal Zone in days gone by.  I stated that I could probably live another 40 years without ever hearing that song again, but the Citizens Band lesson was complete.

At the airport, we said our sad goodbyes to our gracious host, and I scurried off to claim a jumpseat back to the mainland.

My thoughts drifted back to the perfect day which ended our perfect vacation, and the much needed leisurely recuperation which we enjoyed.  That day was spent relaxing on the beach at Magic Island beach.  We reclined in beach chairs by the water’s edge as the 3 Pletcher kids and 3 Comerford kids made their final swim together, playing in the protected lagoon.  Another beautiful day, watching the surfers at the outer reef at Ala Moana, and the SUPers paddling by, a true moment in paradise.

At the airport, we were afforded the luxury of travelling light, since we had FedEx’ed most of our clothes and snorkeling gear home.  That proved to be a much more affordable and convenient option than the less than economical baggage fees charged by United.  Having one roller, carry-on bag lends itself much more suitably to standby travel as well.

Passing through airport security, the pilot in front of me was an old squadron mate from Pensacola who was flying to LAX.  I attempted to catch that flight, since the flight to SFO, that the family was booked on looked tight.  However, LAX did not work out, so I scrambled back to the SFO gate, and groveled my way into the 777 cockpit.

Rebecca texted me prior to pushback, once onboard, that they liked the 767 better than the 777 due to the inflight entertainment system installed.  My inflight entertainment was the cockpit crew as we conversed for the 5 hour flight from Honolulu back to the States.  No sleep for me, but I was offered a crew meal, by the most hospitable pilots via the purser.  Nice. 

That flight was delayed in Honolulu, awaiting connecting passengers from Guam, so it delayed our arrival in SFO.  That acted to compress our timeline quite a bit, and we missed our planned non-revenue flight by mere moments, as we took the inter-terminal shuttle from United to Southwest, only to watch our flight pushing back from the gate. 

Tired, but undaunted, we tried for a couple of other flights, and were able to get on a flight to Las Vegas, which  we intended to connect to Orlando on.  A bit of unusual circumstances at the operations podium there, but our flight crew from SFO-LAS demonstrated the true hospitality of Southwest Airlines as we wedged our carry on baggage into every conceivable crevice, being the last to board.  Again, in Vegas, our Orlando flight was full, so the Operations Agent sent us running to a flight through Nashville to arrive home.  We again, sprinted off through the airport, with ukuleles bouncing in the bags behind us.

We made it home late, but happy, after travelling for nearly 20 hours, with a most wonderful Hawaiian experience as this year’s vacation.    A memorable time, that even a week later, has us all exclaiming, “I miss Hawaii!”