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......

Come fly with me

Come fly with me.....those words are suppose to evoke feelings of excitement, dreams of adventures to be had, and most of all....freedom!  There have been many a song sung about flying and all that it brings, yet those words cause nothing but fear and trembling for me.   I know, I know, I have a better chance of dying in a car accident than an airplane, but by golly at least I can pretend I'm in control as I'm slamming on the brakes and steering wildly.  And you know, somehow those many seconds of freefalling from 10,000 feet just seem like they would take way longer than that same amount of seconds trying to avert disaster on a roadway somewhere.  So why am I pondering such morbid thoughts anyway, because flying is just what we are going to do in 2 short days.  The Brandt's are going to Hawaii!  We've been planning this trip for a few years now and it's finally happening.

Our first attempt was 2 years ago.  We were going to take the kids to Hawaii and show them where we were  "Just Maui'd" on the island of Maui (I know very not punny), for our 20th anniversary.  We scrimped and saved and came up with the bucks to buy the airfare, which was a ridiculous sum....one could say it was enough to buy a whole new furnace/AC system for a house. Too bad one said that, because that is just what we had to do.....buy a whole new furnace/AC.  There went our plan, our trip to the tropics, and looking through the glass half-empty, we could've been a little disappointed.  However, looking through the glass half-full, it was a miracle that we had the money to get a new AC during the height of summer.  God is good and His timing is better.  Can you tell which glass I'm lookin' at?  As it turns out, we find ourselves in October 2012, having saved enough to make that trip.  We won't be going to Maui, but we will be spending time on Oahu and the "Big Island".  And rather than celebrating an anniversary, we will be celebrating Paul's 50th birthday.  Also, having spent the last 2 months of our school year studying Marine Biology and Hawaiian History, we will get to put our new found knowledge to the test and live and breathe it for 15 days.  There will be tours, tales of daring-do amongst the sea creatures, and another state capital to add to our "been there, saw that" list.  But the highlight has to be the chance to be in Kona to watch and experience the excitement of the Ironman World Championships!  I think in the end, this will be a greater experience than what we had hoped and planned back in 2010.

So come along and enjoy this diary of our trip.  It's written to share our experiences and the wonders of God's creation, as well as keeping my memories for me, because well, my brain is getting as bad as my eyesight.