So they packed up their bag and flew to Hawaii

 

If you are familiar with my travel stories of old, you will recall me referring to my dearly beloved as the "Travel Nazi" and true to form, this trip is no different, Herr Brandt is at it again.  He's not a bad man, and he has shown me the world and surpassed my traveling dreams, but he does have tendancies that make our trips challenging, this one not-withstanding.  Did you know that the airlines are looking for new and more inventive ways to make money?  Now, not only do you get to pay a ridiculous sum for your ticket, which includes the privilege of getting strip searched at the gate, squeezing into a seat like a sardine, a peanut or two for a mid-flight snack, and the opportunity to watch your neighbors for hints of shoe bombs and such, but now you have to pay extra for any checked luggage.  That's right pay for luggage, errr isn't that kind of like going to the restaurant, ordering your soup and then having to pay for a spoon to eat said soup?  Anyway, that's how the whole challenge began, Paul, in his ever so non-chalant way said...it went something like this, (think Mission Impossible music) "As you know we have 6 people flying on this trip and at $25/bag that adds another $150 to the tab, your mission Deanna, should you decide to accept, will be to provide clothing, shoes, toiletries, swim stuff, cameras, laptop, math books, surfboards, and snorkeling gear in one carry-on per person." Huh????, 6 people, 15 days, 1 carry-on per person?   After complaining, stewing, bargaining, getting him to drop the surfboard requirement, and allowing one suitcase and a large duffel to be checked; and armed with a secret weapon, I accepted the challenge with the utmost confidence.  What is the secret weapon you ask?  Well my good friend Angela M. gave it to me, when she suggested I put everything in a space bag (you've seen those late night infomercials where you put your clothes in a giant ziplock bag and then vacuum out the air so your stuff only takes up half the space) and  put it in the carry-on.  And voila', the challenge was met, one carry-on per person, we are only out $50 bucks for the checked luggage, and everyone is happy.  But wait, we have learned that if you want to sit next to your children then you have to pay extra (double HUH????).  The question is....what size space bag do you think Olivia, Lily, John and August will fit in???? Hmmmmm......

Coffee, Tea, or Space Bag????

 

 

The not so Impossible Dream

 

 

All kidding aside, even with all the irritations and inconveniences, what a time to be alive...to have the ability to board an airplane, fly over 4000 miles to a tropical island, and be in a completely different mindset, all in about 8 hours.  Pretty cool......