Can You Accept What is Out of Your Control or Do You Just Bitch?

Yes, I have returned from my twelve-day jaunt to Oahu, Kauai, and Maui. If you recalled this was something that our children insisted upon when we had to cancel our original 50-year anniversary trip plans during the COVID year.  My husband and I were graduate students at the University of Hawaii and met there and married there.

As I have written, I was not excited or thrilled about his trip and it was mostly due to my pessimism toward projects when others have great expectations and for which there are lots of details.  There were so very many details in moving eleven people from island to island and making sure there were reservations when needed for restaurants, boats, or even helicopters.

So how did it go (?) you may ask.  Reasonably well I may answer considering all the moving parts.  It was not outstanding because there were a number of hiccups throughout.

The night before our arrival in Denver to change planes on the first leg of the journey, there were some serious thunderstorms across the mid-US which led to over 1,100 plane cancellations.  Some say this was the biggest mess of the travel season in the U.S.  No, our flights were not among the canceled, but it did mean the airport was filled to capacity with passengers trying to make new connections.  We were stuck on the lower floor of the airport where the shuttle trains broke down and could not run to bring people to their gates for at least 30-minute intervals.  Some were stuck in those shuttle trains shoulder to shoulder with the doors closed, while the rest of us stood outside waiting for the trains to move so a new train that was empty would appear and let us get on.

There was much shouting and cheering and when we finally caught our 6.5-hour flight to Honolulu I was exhausted.  We checked into our hotel on Waikiki Beach, walked around a bit, ate a light dinner, and then collapsed in our hotel room.  

When I got up the next morning, I was still tired and thinking it was jet lag, pushed myself to Mount Tantelus for a familiar view and a brief hike.  We did not rent a car and found ourselves Ubering everywhere.  Even with the limited cell service up Mount Tantalus, we were able to get an Uber back after a short hike through the forest.   We then visited our Alma Mater, the University of Hawaii.

I was surprised that my old Hall did not look the same and the library had changed quite a bit from over 50 years ago.  My husband could not visit his office building without a code so we peeked through the door and talked to some graduate students outside.  The trees on the campus were 50 years older and provided much-beloved shade while the footprint of the campus seemed smaller somehow ;-).

Hubby had gotten a blister on Oahu and we literally got lost at the gigantic Ala Moana Shopping Center looking for an athletic shoe store.  People must get lost there every day.  Terrible design, very few maps, and way too many stores for the rich people!

Two days later I was still not feeling better and took a COVID test, and sure enough, I had caught COVID, probably in Denver.

I was not coughing or sneezing, just tired and achy.  This is my second bout with this virus.  I started wearing a mask and did not cancel my flight to Kauai to meet up with my family.  I told them and they were disappointed both for me and also disappointed that I could not babysit the little one while the parents took a helicopter flight over the island.  My daughter took my place, but it was tough because the baby was cranky and jet-lagged.

Most of my time was spent in the hotel room and out of the lovely pools.  I did finally get a negative result and could re-enter the family at the same time that the baby got sick.  Perhaps with COVID, but we will never know as it was a 48-hour fever and then she was back to normal.  

We stayed in only the nicest places because it was a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.  Too bad I was hotel bound mostly.

In the middle of the trip when we took our vows on the beach and went out to a fancy dinner we were all well.  The vows were beautiful but the dinner was served 45 minutes late!  Another hiccup.

One of the evenings my crazy daughter thought we should visit the Food Truck park in Maui where dozens of vendors provide all kinds of food.  The food was delicious and varied, BUT as in ALL of the Hawaiian islands these days near tourist places, non-indigenous and very aggressive birds hang out to steal anything you may drop.  The picnic tables were covered in bird poop...COVERED!  I was the only one that seemed to be bothered.  Even at the fancy resort on Maui a nasty Myna attacked my infant granddaughter to eat some rice she had in her hand during our outdoor breakfast.  If you do not believe me about these invasives, go here!  Mynas do carry salmonella and bird flu.

Well, I must wind this down and perhaps will post some of the best parts of the trip in the future.  Yes, there are always good parts and we must focus on that.