Monday March 9th:
When I finally checked into our flight I discovered that the airlines had placed all 4 of us at different places in the airplane. This seemed very irresponsible as we were flying with a 5 year old and purchased a seat for an under 2 year old. There were no seats available to make the situation any better so I tried to call as I figured that waiting till we got to the airport would narrow our seat options. After waiting on hold for 2 hours I had to hang up with no resolution, and just hope and pray they would fix it, because I was NOT going to be okay with my little kids not sitting next to one of us parents.
Tuesday March 10th:
I woke up before my alarm at 5:45 AM, even though I had went to bed just after midnight. I knew that staying in bed for 15 more minutes wouldn’t actually result in sleep, so I got out of bed to do a quick 15 minutes on the elliptical before getting ready to go to the airport. We pretty much had everything packed the night before, just had to grab a couple last minute things like chargers and snacks. Nate got the kids ready and fed, we loaded the car and headed out around 6:30 AM. When we were only about a mile away from home Nate realized he forgot his work phone and so we turned around to grab that before carrying on to the airport.
It was a very crisp morning as we parked in economy parking at PDX. Our toes and fingers very quickly felt freezing cold in the 34 degree dark morning. Luckily after about 5 minutes a bus arrived to take us to the terminal. Traveling with kids can be quite the challenge as there is more luggage than hands available. We had one large suitcase, plus Kailey’s car seat and Landon’s booster seat, plus three carry-ons and two backpacks. Luckily Landon was able to roll one of the carry-ons. I had a backpack leash on Kailey just to make sure she couldn’t run in front of cars or something since I didn’t have extra hands to hold onto her.
While dropping off our large checked bags and car seats I was able to get the agent to switch our seats so the kids and I could sit by each other. It was the last row, which meant the seats wouldn’t recline, but it was more important for me to be by the kids.
Luckily since Nate has TSA PreCheck the rest of us got it too. We go through security but for some reason they have to send my backpack through again, and end up pulling it aside for additional screening. I have to stand and wait, not really knowing what is going on for probably close to 10 minutes. Finally a guy grabs my bag and brings me over to look in it. I totally forgot that I had put Kailey’s milk cup in the backpack!! Oops! I’m allowed to have it since she is under 2, but they have to test it to make sure it’s not something dangerous. Finally we are able to walk to our gate. Nate takes the kids for a walk while I stay with the bags at the gate. I noticed one of our pilots sitting just across the way, and I wanted to ask her about the CARES safety device, which is a child harness that is approved for airplanes. If a child is under two and you purchase them a seat they are required to use this device or sit in a car seat, but since Kailey’s car seat is so large I didn't want to use it. I wasn’t sure if there was access to the back of the seat if I could use the CARES in the last row. She said she didn’t know but would ask the head flight attendant when she saw her and let me know.
We had planned on boarding early with the kids when they allow families to board if they need extra time, but we were caught off guard and weren’t ready. Nate had taken the kids to go get some food when they made the call, luckily he was able to cancel the order and rush back to the gate. We had to take the kids to the bathroom quickly before getting on so in the end we didn’t really board before we were supposed to anyhow. Luckily there was still room for our bags overhead.
Once getting on the plane I used disinfectant wipes to clean our area, wiping down arm rests, tray tables and the window area. I had a package of fruit snacks for each kid to slowly eat on take-off and landing in hopes that their ears would pop and not hurt. As the plane revved up the engines Kailey put her hands over her ears, so I dug out her headphones to help cut down on the noise. The 5 hour 20 minute flight went fine. I had downloaded some movies on my tablet for the kids to watch, although I think Frozen was the only one they both watched in its entirety. Kailey was getting a little antsy towards the end, but did well overall. As we landed in Kona and got off the plane into the open style airport we were instantly very warm in our jeans and T-shirts. We collected our luggage and then had to find our rental car shuttle bus.
We rented an SUV and got to choose any of the options in a certain row. We picked a white GMC Acadia. After folding down the third row and getting all loaded up we headed out to find some lunch. Our plane landed just after 12, but by the time we got the car it was after 1:30 and we were hungry. We decided as lame as it would be, to just find some fast food. We headed to Burger King which due to it being Hawaii still cost us around $20, probably about twice the price as home.
Next on the list was Costco. I wanted to buy some protein shakes to help me stay on track while on vacation. Usually I drink them for lunch at home, but I thought they could be used as breakfast or snacks as needed. We also bought some croissants and berries to have for breakfasts.
As we drove to the Hilton Waikoloa Village we were surprised at all the lava flows. Some of it was smooth looking, like you would expect, while most of it was sharp and jagged looking like someone tilled it up with a huge tractor, although obviously that hadn't truly happened either. We were trying to figure out what would create with different kinds, and if maybe they were different ages etc.
We arrived at 3 PM while check-in was at 4 PM, so I went to see if we could check in. They said our room was ready and gave me keys and directions. This complex turns out to be huge. They have two trams and two boats that run pretty much all day, and to get to the building our room was in would require riding down two stops to the Palace Tower. Nate unloaded our car and we waited for him as he parked the car and walked back up.
While waiting for Nate a lady mentioned it being smart to bring some of your own food. I had asked her what they had liked to do on the island and she said they had gone to the volcano the day before. I asked her about the roads, not sure if they were good roads, or more like the narrow road to Hana on Maui. She said the roads were great, which I was happy to hear. She said the saddle road that cut through the island was fastest.
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| Riding the tram to Palace Tower |
We decided to check out the pools so we would know where they were when the time came. We hopped on the tram and had to go three stops down back past the main lobby. The pool was really neat with a big water slide, and waterfalls you could walk and swim under. Plus they had a volleyball net up over part of it, and at the far end there was even a shallow sand entry.
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| There are walkways that connect all the buildings, and the hallways are lined with old artifacts. This is a drum. |
For dinner we decided to go to Romano’s Macaroni Grill, which is one of our favorite restaurants from when Nate and I lived in AZ when we went to college. Our favorite dish was a little different than it used to be, with different noodles, but it was still good. We could have gotten away with sharing a dish though as we had eaten a late lunch.
After we ate I went into Island Gourmet Markets which I think is a partner of the ABC store. I was able to buy a jar of “Smuckers Goober Strawberry” which is peanut butter and jelly in one jar. I also got a few disposable knives so I could spread it on our croissants for breakfast.
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| At the Island Gourmet Market, they had Clorox wipes, and Lysol, something that was not available at home. (I didn't buy it, just observed that they had some) |
When we got back to the hotel instead of taking the tram we decided to take a path that went behind a waterfall and by the lagoon. When we were on that path we realized that there were dolphins in some large pools and you could watch them swimming, which was really cool. It was dark however so not very easy to see.
By the time we got back to the room it was time for showers/baths and bed, we were exhausted from a long day of travel.
Kailey and Landon were going to share a hide a bed, which was a first time for that. Luckily I had switched Kailey to a toddler bed a month before so she would be used to sleeping in a bed, and hopefully stay in bed. She did wake up 3-4 times that first night, but I would just reassure her she was okay and we were right there and she would go back to sleep.
Wednesday March 11th:
Around 6 AM we woke up and got to watch the sunrise over the mountain from our balcony. We ate some croissants and fresh berries for breakfast and got ready to go. As much as Nate thought we were being slow getting ready we walked to our car at 7:30 AM. We decided to walk back past the dolphins in the morning so we could see them better, and then headed to the car.
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| Sunrise from our balcony overlooking a golf course. |
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| Dolphins playing with a trainer and some teens who paid for an encounter. |
The day was beautiful with sunny blue skies, and as we drove the Saddle Road listening to 105.3
The Lava towards Hilo we were surprised to see wild goats along the side of the road! Most of the way it just seemed like lava flow after lava flow until we finally started getting closer to Hilo. As we tipped over the mountain we could see clouds off the coast, and suddenly there were more trees and plants everywhere.
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| We were surprised to see wild goats along the roads. |
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| Lava flows everywhere. |
I had a couple places I wanted to check out on this side of the island. Our first destination was going to be the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo, but as it was sunny I decided we should check out the rainbow falls as you can only see the rainbow early in the morning when it’s sunny. Luckily this was just a few minutes out of our way.
Rainbow falls is an 80’ drop into a pool, and if you are there under the right conditions in the morning you can see a rainbow. When we were at the bottom we could see a slight rainbow, but there were some stairs to get a higher vantage point, so we went up there and boom, rainbow! It was very pretty, and worth the stop, especially since you don’t have to pay to park or anything.
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| Couldn't get the kids to cooperate for a picture, oh well. |
Kailey wasn’t happy to get back in the car after already being in the car for around 2 hours. Luckily we only had about 15 minutes to get to the Rainforest Zoo. We did swing into a gas station and I bought a muffin and some BBQ Pringles and extra water for a quick snack for the kids.
The Panaewa Rainforest Zoo is actually FREE! Hard to imagine much of anything free in Hawaii, but it’s true. They do take donations, but it’s not required. It’s not very big, and there aren’t a ton of animals, but the kids still enjoyed it. They normally have Tigers, but they were working on the Tiger exhibit while we were there, and so couldn’t see the tigers. They did have lots of different kinds of birds, as well as lizards, frogs, monkeys, alligators, and goats.
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| Kailey was nervous sitting on the Tiger bench. |
Next we went back into Hilo to find some lunch. Since the clouds were moving in we didn’t want to take long, so we just went to Jack in the Box. We are using hand sanitizer anytime we get back in the car from being out someplace, and before eating.
Nate’s back was really bothering him so we stopped into a grocery store so I could buy pain meds and a few other things. I found really long lines, but I can’t say for sure if this is normal or not.
We finally get heading to the volcano and it starts to rain just as we get close. But hey, we are from Washington, a little rain can’t hurt us! When we get in the parking lot we change into our proper shoes, and put pants on the kids. In the visitor’s center we find out some information about the 2018 eruption. The eruption added 875 acres of new land to the big island. Due to the loss of magma the crater caldera collapsed dropping down about 1600 feet. There is currently no active lava to be seen, but there are tons of steam vents that you can see, and even get close enough to feel/smell them.
We drove to an area where you can see/feel/smell the steam vents and just standing at the edge you can feel the HOT steam, it was very interesting, and a little creepy when you think about the fact that you’re standing on a volcano that seems like it could roar to life at any moment. In all reality it’s probably less likely since it’s venting it’s steam, but easier to think you’re safe when you don’t see the signs of activity.
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| Feeling the steam. |
Next we drove to check out Nāhuku, also known as the Thurston Lava Tube. We had to hike to it from a small parking lot. At first we put Kailey in the back pack carrier, we were hoping she would fall asleep as she was very tired from being up early and awake too long. She didn’t sleep however, instead she bawled her eyes out until we finally let her out. Not that the crying stopped, but it did help for a little while. On the hike to the lava tube there were some awesome views of the volcanic crater, at least the upper most crater. The lava tube is lit up for most daylight hours, and it only takes maybe 10 minutes to walk through the tube. On the way back Kailey was being really whiny again so we mainly hightailed it to the car. It was sprinkling lightly on our hike, but shortly after getting back in the car it really started raining.
At this point we started driving back towards Hilo, and then decided to go on the north road around the island. Landon fell asleep pretty quickly in the car, and we had to pull over to lean his seat back a little because he was falling sideways almost out of his seat. Kailey fought sleep for probably almost an hour before she finally fell asleep!
By the time we got back by our hotel it was dinner time so we headed to Ippy’s Hawaiian BBQ which was a little place in a food court.
When I was done I decided to try some shaved snow. I had first picked strawberry flavor, but they were out, so I ended up going with mango. It was very dry and fluffy like snow, because unlike shaved ice the flavor is in the ice already so they don’t add any liquid to it afterwards. On my first bite the cold hit my tooth that is very sensitive to cold and it really zinged! This tooth caused me on and off pain which got worse as time went on throughout the trip.
After eating we headed back to our hotel, as I was checking out the news on my phone I discovered the COVID 19 had been declared a world pandemic! We were all exhausted, and headed to bed.
Thursday March 12th:
We woke up early again, but instead of eating we got ready to head out and went to Island Lava Java for breakfast. I had found this place while researching restaurants before our trip. I wanted to have their Island Breakfast which was pancakes with macadamia nuts and bananas and coconut syrup and fruit. Kailey got some eggs and bacon, so I shared pancakes with her and I had some of her eggs and bacon. Nate had a breakfast burrito with kalua pork and Landon had pancakes, and all the food was really good. There was also a guy playing Hawaiian music and singing right next to us, it was really fun.
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| Yummmy! |
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| Wild chickens and roosters can be seen all over the islands. |
My tooth and jaw were still hurting from the night before so we decided to drive down to Kona (about 30 min drive) to go to the Walmart so I could get Orajel to numb my teeth, as well as a mouth guard for sleeping. I had one along but the cleaning crew had thrown it away when they cleaned the room, I’m guessing on accident. Luckily it was a disposable one, but I need to sleep with one as I grind my teeth at night.
We found Walmart busy, but they still had most things on their shelves minus the toilet paper and sanitizing wipes. I don’t think they had any confirmed cases on the big island of Hawaii yet, and only about 6 total in the island chain.
Finally after returning to the hotel we got our swimsuits and sunscreen on and headed down to the pool. This was 3 stops down on the tram and took around 17 minutes to ride there. Even though we had nice weather in the morning, by the time we were getting to the pool it had clouded over. As we tested out the water my first reaction was “burrrrrr.” I expected the water to be warmer, and it took several minutes to work myself into the pool. I then helped Landon in and he immediately wanted out because it was so cold. Eventually Nate and Landon and Kailey got in the pool. We had Landon with a little floaty thing that went around his chest and arms, and Kailey was in a toddler tube thing. Poor Kailey was really cold and not enjoying it very much. I tried to push her around like a little boat, but she wanted out. It also started raining, and so we decided to just get out and head back to our room.
Instead of waiting on the tram we walked the 5 minutes or so to the main lobby area, and then we hopped on one of the shuttle boats for the first time.
One of my favorite things to eat while in Hawaii is fish tacos, and so we really wanted to find some for dinner. After researching in our room we settled on Kuleana Rum Shack which was in the Queens Marketplace a couple minutes drive from our hotel. This place usually needs reservations because of its popularity, but they had a no show and we were able to get a table in only about 5 minutes. The fish tacos were really good by the way. A little different than any I had before with a pineapple slaw on top, but yummy!
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| Landon and Kailey testing out a hammock. |
Friday March 13th:
Woke up and checked my phone to find out it was snowing back home in WA, this seems crazy as we haven’t really had snow all winter, and this is really late in the year for us to have snow. Then my sister said that school had been canceled in WA state for 6 weeks! My mom also tells me that I should bring diapers home with me because our cousin said the store was out. All this seems crazy and so hard to believe.
We decided to go check out a beach today, and so after getting dressed and putting on sunscreen we headed north of us to Black Sand Beach 49. As we are following the GPS it looks like we have to go into a gated community, and we are thinking bummer, but then an attendant at a little gatehouse comes out and asks if we wanted to go to the beach, we said yes, so she gives us a pass and opens the gate. After driving past some really nice homes we come to a little parking lot. The Beach isn’t as black as the one on the road to Hana on Maui, but it’s still a nice little beach. Kailey however is freaked out by the sand and doesn’t want to touch it! I finally try to put a towel down for her to sit on and she still is trying to climb me like a mountain to escape the sand! Due to her disliking the sand so much we didn’t actually stay there very long. I had hoped to take some pictures of the kids on the beach for their 5 year and 2 year pictures, but that kind of went down the tube.
After we left we decided to check out a different beach that was a little closer to our hotel and near Lava Lava Beach Club. We had heard about this restaurant from someone staying at our hotel, and wanted to check them out for lunch to try their fish tacos. First we walked to the beach and we found some remnants of a lava flow by the ocean. Walking on the rocks we started to see all kinds of little crabs in and around the rocks, and even some really tiny fish in little tide pools.
Finally we were getting hungry due to eating just a small breakfast in our room, so we headed to the restaurant only to find they didn’t open for another 15 mins, around 11. So we sat and waited, and then were the second people to be seated when they opened. We both had the fish tacos and they were also really good, with a mango and pineapple salsa on top. The toppings were more the star of the dish, where the other night at he Rum Shack the fish was the real star, but both were good!
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| The kids enjoyed the chicken strips and fries. |
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| The birds seem think little kids must drop food! haha! Kailey kept trying to shoo the birds away. |
After filling our bellies we went back to the hotel to discover that the turntable that switches the tracks for the trams stopped working, so they could only run one tram, this meant that wait times for the tram were most typically 15-20 minutes unless you happened to catch it at just the right time, so we walked back to our room, which from our car took about 30 minutes, about 20 mins from the lobby.
We wanted to go swimming again so we got ready and headed out. After swimming for 15-20 minutes Kailey was too cold and was over tired, she actually started falling asleep in Nate’s arms in the pool, so I took her back to the room. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the tram, but there was no way I was going to carry her all the way back to our room.
Once back I quickly changed her into regular clothes, and laid her in bed, she was out in less than 5 minutes.
After a good nap Nate and Landon finally got back to the room and we got ready to head out for dinner. We decided to try a pizza place down in Kona which meant a 30 min walk to the car, followed by a 30 or so min drive in the car. I actually ordered the pizza on my phone on the way and then it was pretty much ready when we got there.
Saturday March 14th:
The next morning we had scheduled a glass bottom boat tour, it was a steal of a deal, only $60 for Nate and I and the kids were free. We ended up being the only ones who had scheduled the tour so we had the small boat to us and the captain. When he picked us up from the shore he said there was a momma and baby whale that had been hanging out and wanted to know if we wanted to go see them. We said yes, so we went out to a little deeper water to the area they had been and it wasn’t long before the baby whale was coming up for air. He told us that the babies can’t hold their breath for as long. We watched the whales for probably 20 minutes, at one point we were looking for the whales and I thought I saw them swimming under the boat (I had polarized sunglasses and so could see through the water better), then sure enough they came up on the other side of the boat, and finally the momma also came up for a breath or two. By this time it was time to head back to shore, on the way we did see a turtle which was cool for the kids to see. Also Landon got to captain the boat for a couple minutes which he thought was so awesome!
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| Baby whale. |
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| Captain Landon. |
The day before Nate had checked on prices to rent a paddle boat at the lagoon at our hotel, so that was the next thing on our agenda. After getting our swim gear on we headed down to the lagoon. We were able to get life jackets for the kids and Nate and I were up front peddling and the kids were in the back. At first it was really challenging because the seats were so close to the pedals it was hard to be comfortable even for me, then I discovered you could adjust where the backrest was to give you more leg room, and so after that it was so much better. We had rented for an hour, and so we paddled around the lagoon to see if we could find anything cool. We did end up finding several turtles, and also saw some fish jumping out of the water! Because the water was fairly shallow the kids could see the turtles and fish easily. After returning the paddle boat and walking back towards our room we actually saw a small stingray in the water while crossing a bridge over the lagoon.
Afterwards we decided to check out a different pool that was closer to our hotel rooms, and found they had a couple smaller water slides. Landon had really wanted to go down a water slide, and these were perfect for him because he didn’t get going too fast, and Nate was able to catch him at the bottom and help him back around. Kailey decided she also wanted to try, and saying she loved it was an understatement! Almost as soon as she would enter the water at the end of the slide she would say “again!” or “more!”. I was pretty much kept busy just going and picking her up from the bottom of the slide and bringing her back up to the top again.
Today my mom told me the shelves at the grocery stores at home were getting bare, almost no meat, produce, and even canned goods. It’s a little stressful since I’ll be needing food as soon as we get home, hoping things improve by that time.
Sunday March 15th:
Both Nate and I woke up with our backs hurting from all of the lifting the kids out of the pool for the water slide yesterday, so we decided to go back to the big pool this morning, so we didn’t have them asking about the slide. The mornings have pretty consistently had nicer weather with it clouding over or raining in the afternoons.
After spending 30-45 minutes swimming/by the pool Kailey was done so we decided to walk by the dolphins on our way back to the hotel room, since the tram was still having issues. The trainers were feeding them when we walked by and so they were being pretty active.
Kailey is like the princess and the pea, if she gets one grain of sand on her foot she cries until you take her sandal off and remove it. Even when we walk on pathways that don’t really seem to have sand, somehow she ends up crying what seems like every minute or two, and with our backs hurting we don’t really feel like carrying her everywhere, so we decided that unless we are going to the pool, she will be wearing her regular shoes.
After changing and finding a restaurant we wanted to check out we headed out, on our way to the car I got a text from my brother saying my Dad’s cousin Neal Karlsen was just in a head on crash while on their motorcycle ride, and he was in some need of prayers. This was so shocking, and we started praying for him right away.
As we get our lunch, we are learning more information about how serious a condition he’s in, and as we are heading back up to our room after lunch we got news that he didn’t make it. This is a huge gut punch! Especially since the Friday before we left a young mother and daughter from our church community were also killed in a different freak auto accident, leaving two other young kids in ICU and the husband a widower.
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| Rest in Peace! |
I was going to take Landon out swimming again and Nate was going to stay with Kailey while she took a nap, but I didn’t feel like doing much other than crying and talking to family so Nate took Landon, and I stayed in the room. I called and talked to my grandmother who was his aunt, and just let her know what I knew, and talk about how fragile life is, and what a crazy time we are living in right now.
After Nate and Landon got back and cleaned up we decided to head down to Kona for dinner. At this point it was raining and it matched the dreary mood I was feeling. I could see far off the the sun setting, but there were clouds covering the sun. I said a little prayer “God, I could really use a rainbow right now” and literally seconds later the clouds parted for a few seconds displaying a rainbow. Then in the sunset clouds there was a little rainbow in the clouds that lasted for probably 20 minutes, longer than any rainbow I’ve ever seen. I was thankful for God's promises, and answering my prayer.
Monday March 16th:
Our last full day before heading home we decided to go back to Island Lava Java as we enjoyed our breakfast there the first time, plus we wanted to save our few croissants and last of PB & J to take some snacks on the airplane as we didn’t know when and where we would be getting food the next day.
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| The kids named this penguin "Tacky" like from the kids books. |
After our breakfast I wanted to take a few pictures of the kids while in their cute outfits before changing into swim clothes.
Once again we let the kids go down the water slide, but this time we were better about how we were picking the kids up to make sure our backs didn’t hurt the next day. This was the nicest pool time we had our whole trip. The sun was out and it was the first time the pool didn’t feel too cold to get in right away.
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| Kailey called this car the "Batman car" and would look for it every time we went to the car. |
We decided to eat lunch at Harbor House which was a restaurant recommended to us by the people Nate sat next to on our flight over. I had the fish and chips, which I think is the first time I’ve ever ordered that at a restaurant. They were good. I really wanted to get some shaved ice as we hadn’t had any yet this trip and it’s one of my favorite treats in Hawaii. I found they had an Ululani’s Hawiian Shave Ice down in Kona which is the same one we love on Maui so we head there. We couldn’t find any parking though so the kids and I got out and then Nate came and picked us up once we are done and ready to go. I got Tiger's Blood and Melona, Melona is my favorite, it’s similar to a honeydew flavor. We then drove to a parking lot to enjoy it.
When we got back to our hotel I really needed to pack our bags and check into our flight. I was relieved that they had given the kids seats next to me, so that was one less thing to worry about. Nate took Landon exploring one last time and Kailey stayed with me. They came back with some snacks and food for a light dinner.
It took a long time sorting everything to pack. I was trying to keep all the dirty clothes in one bag and make sure I located any little toys. Putting chargers and things we might need on the plane in our easy access bags, and packing things like our coats in one easy place so I knew where to look for them when landing in Portland. I put Moana on for Kailey to watch while I listened to the latest news.
Tuesday March 17th:
In the morning we get up and dressed and head towards the lobby. There is still only one tram running, but we are not rolling our luggage for 30 minutes to get to the car. We wait the 10 minutes or so for the tram and hop on.
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| Kailey hitching a ride. (Only for a few feet) |
We decided to head towards Jack in the Box for some breakfast, which meant going past the airport and then back after we ate, but we had time. When we went to go into the restaurant they had a sign on their door saying their dining room was closed due to the COVID 19 pandemic. This was the first time we had seen that, and we were glad we were heading home. We ended up going through the drive through and then sitting outside and eating before heading to the rental car place.
When we got back to Alamo it was a quick unload and double check before catching a shuttle to the airport. As with anytime you fly from Hawaii we had to put our bags through the agriculture screening and then we were able to check our bags. It’s so much nicer to not have to lug the huge car seat and large bag very far.
We once again had TSA PreCheck, and this time I made sure we didn’t have any liquids to stop us. We were very quickly on the other side of security and very warm as we sat in the open air airport. We sat in some shade and eventually I went and found us some cold bottled water.
As we were getting about an hour from our flight we were going to move closer to our gate, and Nate was trying to figure out what he did with his hat, we remembered that he had taken it off during security so he went back to check and sure enough it was there. It must have fallen off the belt or something as it hadn't been with the rest of our stuff. when it went through screening. As we walked over to sit by our gate, it actually felt pretty nice as there was a big fan above the seating area. I was a little confused as to why they hadn’t updated the screen at the gate for our flight, and as our boarding time came and went with no announcements about our flight I went to look for answers. They had made a couple announcements about delayed flights to Honolulu, which our flight was to Maui, but nothing about our flight.
When I finally spoke with a flight agent they informed me that a small plane had flipped on the runway in Maui shutting it down for several hours and causing a delay, plus there was really bad weather on the other islands and the two planes that were currently at the gates we supposed to land on Oahu but had been diverted to Kona to grab more fuel and wait for better weather. We also found out there had been some tornado warnings on Kauai and possibly one even touch down which hadn’t happened in like 12 years.
As we waited and waited we finally got word that our plane was on its way, and as soon as all the people we off we loaded very quickly and took off again. The flight attendants were still doing their little safety briefing while we were taxiing towards the runway!
Even with a 20 minute flight to Maui we still would have missed our connecting flight, so we were relieved when the captain told us they were holding planes for people trying to connect, and he asked everyone who didn’t need to catch another flight to let those who did get off the plane first.
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| Gutters overflowing! |
As we rushed to our gate we discovered that they hadn’t even started boarding our plane yet because they were waiting for the caterer to bring the food for the flight. So we had enough time to use a real bathroom before having to load. It was raining pretty hard on Maui, the gutters were overflowing, and when we finally took off there was some pretty bad turbulence as we climbed the skies out of Maui. Luckily no one sat next to Nate who was in the row in front of the kids and I, so Landon actually went and sat by Nate. There were probably around a dozen or so empty seats on the plane.
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| Landon was so excited that he got to watch several episodes of Ninjago! |
The flight seemed longer on the way back, probably because in part Kailey really needed a nap, but was fighting it tooth and nail! Eventually I was able to get her to fall asleep for the last hour or so of the flight. We finally landed at 1:01 AM, and then had to go gather luggage and catch a shuttle to our car. Luckily I knew where my keys were and Nate installed car seats while I loaded the luggage. We finally got home around 2 AM and then after putting the kids to bed we were finally able to crawl into bed around 2:30 AM.
So to sum up the trip: this wasn’t the best vacation to Hawaii we’ve had! There was sadness over the loss of loved ones, and my tooth pain which was almost constant during the trip. Plus the stress of a global pandemic which luckily didn't affect us too much but we were still grateful to go and have some fun with the kids. Hopefully someday we can make it back under better circumstances. Aloha!
