DAY 1 – May 27, 2011
2:00 A.M.— the alarm was set but I was wide awake! So excited to be taking the trip of a lifetime back to where everything started for Greg and me 30 years ago. Got up and got showered and ready to go. We left the house right on time at 4:00 A.M. and got to the airport and checked in with time to spare. We boarded the flight out of Binghamton and were in the air headed to Washington Dulles Airport. Now it finally felt real! The flight was short compared to the fights we were facing the rest of the day. A little over an hour and we landed in DC. We had just enough time to find our next gate and charge our phones at one of the charging stations and our next flight to LA took off. We were on a very full 767 airliner. Lots of people headed out for a Holiday weekend! We had a very nice lunch—turkey sandwiches with provolone cheese on a pretzel roll, and a small box with fancy crackers, cheese and hummus. The flight was about 5 hours long, but we actually landed 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. Got off and found the Red Carpet lounge and got some snacks and drinks and relaxed for about 2 hours until the flight to Honolulu. We headed down to our gate about 45 minutes before the flight but we couldn’t find a place to sit so we headed across the way to find seating at a different gate. The flight was supposed to take off at 12:55 LA time and at 12:30 I said to Greg I was surprised we hadn’t heard an announcement about our flight boarding. We decided to check it out and found out that we had missed the announcement somehow and they were making a final boarding call just as we got to the counter! It was a very full flight so they were still people in line waiting to board—but that felt a little too close for comfort! The flight took off on time and once again we were treated to a nice dinner. I had an Asian noodle salad that was yummy and Greg decided on the turkey sandwich again. It was a long flight again! 5 hours! As the plane began to approach the airport I could look out and see the Hawaiian beauty and suddenly I found myself with tears in my eyes and memories FLOODING back from 30 years ago when this shy, 20 year old newlywed landed in Hawaii with her new husband who was stationed in Hawaii with the Marine Corps. What an emotional experience! We got off the plane and followed the crowd to the baggage claim area. We had to go outside of the airport to get to the baggage claim area and as soon as we walked through the doors the scent of Hawaii that I remembered hit my senses! The smell is un-describable! Flowers, flowers, and more flowers everywhere! There was a stiff breeze that just enhanced the experience. We got to the baggage claim area and ALL our luggage made it through. We were a little concerned about ou carry-on laptop/camera bag. They made us gate check it all the way through to Hawaii in DC because the flight was so full and there was no more room for carry-on luggage. We loaded up the baggage cart – 4 large suitcases, 1 rolling laptop case and two check on bags! Whew! Next we headed out of the airport to find a shuttle to take us to Enterprise to pick up our rental car. As we were headed out there was a kiosk where a Hawaiian woman was selling handmade fresh Plumeria leis – I stopped just to take in the scent of them and the next thing I knew I had one put around my neck – and Greg did too – of course the cash had to come out to pay for them but very worth it – just to smell the heavenly aroma that comes from Plumeria blossoms! We were picked up shortly thereafter by an Enterprise rental shuttle and taken to pick up our car. The service was impressive to say the least. We were greeted by a very pleasant driver and when we arrived greeted again outside by a customer service rep who gave us each a bottle of water and greeted us warmly. Greg went inside to complete the paperwork and I stayed with our mountain of luggage. Very shortly a beautiful young Hawaiian girl came out with keys in hand and asked if we wanted a silver or white Mustang convertible! We chose the white one and after loading all the luggage inside, putting the top down and having our picture taken with the car we were on our way up to the North Shore to find our cottage. It was rush hour in Hawaii so the traffic was heavy, but it was okay – we were in HAWAII!!! I looked in the rear-view mirror at one point and saw a beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky behind us and the tears came again for me! I love rainbows because they always are like a reminder from God that He is there and watching over me! The drive was a beautiful one full of lush green vegetation and bright colored flowers and the ocean to our left most of the way. At one point we had to pull over and put the convertible top up because of the “liquid sunshine” that was pouring in! That is one thing I had forgotten about Hawaii – those little showers can pop up suddenly and it is still sunny and beautiful while it is raining. Hence, the abundance of rainbows in Hawaii. We finally found our cottage and were very impressed! A cute little get-a-way just steps from the beach. It is nicely decorated and has everything we could need. After we unloaded the car and got settled in we decided to go to the Foodlion grocery store just down the street and pick up something to eat and get some things for me to make smoothies for breakfast. WOW talk about sticker shock – I couldn’t believe the prices for groceries!!! But the pineapples were only .99 cents and the watermelons were .29 cents a pound so I think we will be eating a lot of the locally grown things! Came back to the cottage and unloaded the groceries. Greg made a flatbread sandwich in the microwave – I wasn’t really too hungry so I just had a piece of watermelon. We sat down to finally unwind and I realized it was now almost 8:00 p.m. Hawaiian time – I had been up for over 24 hours!! We went to bed and it didn’t take long for us to fall asleep! But it also didn’t take long for us to both be wide awake! Our bodies were still on NY time. Greg was awake at 2:00 a.m. and I woke up at 4. I decided to checked in with Facebook and spent time acknowledging all the wonderful birthday wishes people had left for me. Greg was dozing on the couch and I tried to go back to bed and get some more sleep but a bird with a beautiful voice right outside my window felt it was his duty to welcome me to Hawaii! So I got up and started my journal.
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