Hawaii, day one

I'm back from Hawaii and settled in at home.  Next week will actually be a full week of work at work (well, maybe Friday will be remote).  Bizarre!  There is plenty to catch up on, and I thought I would take Hawaii day by day since there are many photos, and a decent amount of narrative.  Ready?  Let's go!

Hawaii, day one, is really the tale of getting there.  And the tale is not an arduous one, I promise.  Heck, I didn't even have to get up early for my flight!  I got the airport late morning and parked in the lounge to do a little bit of work there. 

The flight was scheduled for about 1:00 in the afternoon, and I was in business class on the way there

(cute little amenities kit!). 

I got on the plane, had lunch in the air,

dozed a bunch, watched some things on my iPad (The Gentlemen on Netflix, a few episodes, funny stuff), and read a little as well (Underland by Robert McFarlane).  The flight took us over the Channel Islands on the continent side of things,

and then after a long while, the Big Island came into view. 

I was happy to have the window seat!  We flew past Honolulu and approached the airport from the west, coming in over the suburban communities there.

The trip was scheduled for a work matter that I'll get to in a later post.  I took advantage of that to enjoy a few days in Honolulu and invite Marie to join me.  She wouldn't arrive until much later that evening, though, so I had a handful of hours to myself.  I booked us a suite at the same hotel where I was told to stay for the work, and the suite proved to be a nice one.  It was roomy - I gave Marie the bedroom

and took the pull-out sofa for myself

- and the view of Manoa and the convention center and the canal and even a glimpse of the water was welcome. 

Yes, you did have to crane your neck a little for that water view,

but not badly so, especially out on the balcony.

I got myself unpacked, and then it was to the mall.  Oh yes.  We were staying at the Ala Moana Hotel, and that meant we were right at the one end of the Ala Moana Shopping Center.  Now, I'm NOT a mall person, generally speaking, but Ala Moana is really something else.  Super high-end designer stores, inexpensive souvenir shops.  Multiple department stores.  Groceries.  It's a big complex, and just going end to end helps the step count.  Marie and I would visit it several times, but on that first day last Wednesday, I had one thing in mind:  musubi.

I think it's funny that so many people disparage Spam.  Yes, it's processed, full of fat, sodium, and sugar.  But it also uses up animal parts, and I appreciate that.  Besides, since when do we not like fat, sodium, or sugar?  The people who make a fuss to me when I post about Spam are the true food snobs, a label that has been leveled at me many more times than I find amusing.  But no, there I am, eating as much Spam as possible on the trip, starting with that delicious treat.  I picked it up at Foodland along with some snacks, water, and wine for the room, and I didn't really eat much more than that for my dinner that night.

Sunset,

and then, as it does in Honolulu, the sky grew dark quickly. 

I hung out, waiting for Marie.  Not long after she arrived, it was time to crash - at this time of year, Honolulu is 3 hours behind us in SoCal, so it was past 1AM for me in reality.  Marie and I had a few days together to enjoy, and we wouldn't miss out by getting a night of sleep.

the return (mostly)

The trip to Pohnpei took days thanks to the vagaries of connections.  The return also took days, but that's because I stopped in Honolulu for a few days, meeting Conrad and Van (or is that Comard and Fan?).  Postings for another day.  For now, let's talk flying home.

The college shuttle took us to the airport where President Teresa

and a few others on her team

awaited us with leis

and - after we cleared immigration services and security - more food.  Yes, more!  Of course we weren't seated all together on the plane, so in a small way, after a super week of working and traveling together, this was kind of a last hurrah with my colleagues. 

I so enjoyed working with them.

Oh, and yes, it rained again.  The daily, lunchtime rain. 

Which abated in time for boarding.

So we ate much in the VIP room, then streamed out onto the tarmac and aboard the Island Hopper.  I had bought an upgrade.  Come on:  it was supposed to be about 10.5 hours in total to get to Honolulu.  I think an upgrade was a good idea.  Despite the very loud family (oh so loud, those two small children) behind me until the last leg.  Ah, but children.  They are sometimes loud, right?  So no big deal.  Noise-canceling headphones help, as does enjoyable conversation with the person next to me.

Oh, that person?  Stevenson. 

Remember how his buddy who drove us around?  That same buddy works for United.  And played a wicked joke on Stevenson.  He mocked up a sheet that had three photos, including Stevenson's, and had written across the top "Wanted for questioning by Interpol".  And gave it to the immigration folks.  Who kept Stevenson at the counter being questions for several minutes before showing him the paper and cracking up.  Stevenson thought it was a hoot.  And hey, his buddy?  Upgraded Stevenson all the way home to Majuro for being such a good sport.  So I had him next to me, and I got to see photos of his country and his family.  That was most enjoyable.

First leg:  PNI --> KSA

Kosrae is another state in the Federated States of Micronesia.  As with Chuuk, we were unable to get off the plane.  That hop meant a last look at Pohnpei from the air,

and then seeing Kosrae as we landed.  Wait, are those beaches down there? 

Alas, no time spent there for us off the plane.

Second leg:  KSA --> KWA

A new country!  And wait, a gold course running along the runway on the atoll.  Oh yes, no more high islands until Hawaii.  Atolls for us.  Kwajalein is a big US military base, so while we may have been landing in the Marshall Islands, we could not get off the plane, just stare at the terminal. 

Of all the stops, this had the fewest people getting off and then back on.

Third leg:  KWA --> MAJ

Stevenson's island.  Another atoll, and from what I could tell in the dark as we landed, it's narrower than Kwajalein.  Ah, the dark.  According to Stevenson, our stops leading up to Majuro were longer than he has experienced before.  So it was that we got to see a sunset in the air

(and hey, a glimpse of an atoll below),

but no, no Majuro in the daylight.  However, they did let us off the plane there.  We thought there might be a chance to get some local handicrafts, but there was only a little refreshments kiosk.  A nice opportunity to stretch our legs, though, and get a photo proving that we set foot in the Marshall Islands.

 

 

What was interesting is that as we waited to re-board, United staff sought out people to give up their seats.  For $2000 in credit plus hotel accommodations.  Which would have been until Monday.  Oh, I was tempted, but the guys were awaiting me in Honolulu, so....  Onto the plane!

They did take time after boarding to move people upward in the plane, though, trying to rebalance it.  This wasn't a little prop plane either, but a 737.  That was interesting.

Fourth leg:  MAJ --> HNL

We were due to land at 2:55.  AM, that is.  So there was a bit of dinner on the plane and then some snoozing for me.  And we landed, but not until 3:55.  Pretty much exactly one hour late, which means the trip was about 11-12 hours in length overall.  Immigration, luggage, a cab to the hotel.  I think I made it there at about 5:30 or so.  Conrad and Van woke up to greet me (though they had woken up already to see that I had landed), and then I spent a half hour or more blathering on about the trip before trying to get some sleep.

A failure, alas.  I was exhausted but not drowsy, far too wired.  I threw clothes back on and headed to a nearby Starbucks for a very very very welcome decaf latte. 

A short stroll, and back to the room, where I crashed HARD for a few hours.

And then the Hawaiian part of the journey could really begin!

flying south

Still catching up here, and returning to that Aruba trip from almost a month ago now. Four weeks since the first lecture? Is that right? It seems so very long ago in some ways, and yet it wasn't.

I wrote a quick first entry on the work aspects of the trip, and I think on reflection I should re-emphasize this point: this is not a blog for me to discuss work, to discuss libraries. Incidentally, perhaps, but not the focus. I'm not particularly comfortable bringing my professional life into this blog (though happy to talk with you about it one-on-one), and so I gave that aspect of the trip short shrift. I am, however, proud of what Nancy and I undertook. I thought we made did a very good job of addressing our topic, and I found meeting with colleagues and others in Aruba quite rewarding.

But this is a blog about food and travel more than anything, so again I'll turn from talk of work and focus on some of the more interesting aspects of the trip. And for tonight, before I head off to bed, some aerial photos.

One of the many many great things about Conrad is that he flies a lot for work, and there are spillover benefits to me. Most recently, I've acquired his elite status on United. On the Aruba trip, that came in handy: upgrades! I found myself on the flight from Newark to Aruba sitting in Business Class in a window seat on the left side of the plane. I cheerily took advantage of the view (when I wasn't watching The Descendants or reading The Hunger Games) to check out the view and speculate on where I was:

New York City poking through the clouds.

The Carolinas?


Cuba?


Over Hispaniola?



Flying into Aruba.







Puffy clouds, turquoise waters close in to shore. It was entertaining in and of itself, and I found myself surprised time and again that I was actually making this trip.

The day that travel doesn't hold some small magic for me, I should relinquish my status and stay at home. May that day never come.