Flying Solo

Finally, you all cheer (or at least sigh in exasperation.) She blogs about Hawaii!

Indeed, this is the first post in a series of many (expect many photos to come) detailing my two week trip to visit my grandparents on the fair island of Hawaii, where they just so happen to live.
I finished school on Thursday 15th, and flew out of Melbourne at 2pm (thankfully) on Saturday 17th. My parents drove me to the airport, helped me check in and ate lunch with me in the airport lounge, before walking me to my gate and awaiting the boarding call. Being the slightly over-anxious parents that they are, waving farewell to their daughter on her first big overseas adventure – all alone! – they were constantly double checking that I knew which passports to use (I have dual citizenship for Australia and the US, which is so convenient), which customs forms to fill out, which terminals to check in to, etc, etc. Fortunately I was able to check my bags through to Honolulu from Melbourne; one less thing to worry about. They stressed that I was to look after my passport and to call them at 8 am, shortly after I would land in Honolulu (though, of course, it would be Saturday morning there) and arrive at my grandparents’ house, so that they would receive the call Sunday morning at 11 am.

It wasn’t until I hugged my parents goodbye (I suspect my mother was crying) and continued to wave until out of sight as I made the long walk onto the plane that I choked up a bit myself and the enormity set in that this was it. I was really travelling to Hawaii by myself.

H o l y s h i t.

I was flying Jetstar, and the flight to Sydney was short and uneventful. I had an isle seat, but the window seat next to me was vacant (which was a whole lot more spacious.)

At Sydney airport things became a lot more hectic. My flight got in on time around 3.30pm and my flight to Honolulu was at 6pm. I switched terminals easily enough – that bus and I are old friends – and then had to check in, which was awfully time consuming – I waited nearly an hour in line, desperately busting to use the toilet but not willing to sacrifice my place in a line that stretched all the way around the airport, or might as well have.

Whilst in line, a suitcase behind me appeared to be abandoned, right next to some American students, who were talking about. One girl was saying if no one claimed it, she’d take it, while her friends were warning her that it could be bomb (she dismissed this). In any case, no one was willing to stand too close to it. Pretty soon security was sniffing about, radioing in backup and snipers, asking up and down the line if anyone had forgotten a bag. It turned out a young man had, which prompted the girl to say “See? I told you there was nothing wrong with it.”

I got confused as to which passport I should present, and ended up showing both of them (I’d worked out that I needed to use the one that corresponded to the country to which I was travelling, which worked for the customs forms, but I forgot this in my eagerness to leave the country) which made for a minor stuff up when presenting my boarding pass, but fortunately didn’t prevent me from boarding the plane.

The flight itself is 9 hours, and I’ve done it often enough, but it never gets any shorter. Although it was a night flight, I found it hard to sleep (I’m not great at sleeping on planes, though I’ve gotten better at it); again, in an isle seat, with another young guy next to me. It was funny, because he seemed to sleep quite a lot, but he told me that he thought I slept the whole time! Poor guy; my ticket was a package deal, so that I got meals, a blanket and a video screen (all extras on a Jetstar flight), and he wanted the latter two but they ran out. As it was, I watched Surf’s Up, which was funny but predictable, ate something chicken that was actually edible, tried to estimate the value of the gifts I was carrying for customs and waited impatiently for touch down around 7 am, Honolulu time.

Because of my American passport, I was able to zoom through Customs like Roadrunner (beep beep!) to find that my suitcase had already been pulled off the carousel (thank you, airport personnel!). As I had expected to be waiting at the curb at the front of the airport for my grandparents – I was early – I walked straight out of the airport and didn’t see my grandmother until she approached me, with a huge smile on her face, her arms spread wide to hug me. I could only feel immensely relieved to have arrived.

The timing of my stay could not have been better. My uncle had recently moved out, and so I stayed in his room on the second floor of my grandparents’ house, instead of in the pool nice. The pool house is very nice – it’s where my family and I usually stay when we visit; it’s two bedroom, with a kitchen area and bathroom – but my uncle’s room is so much more convenient, being in the house and just an intercom call away.

Now that I’d made all the necessary time zone adjustments, I realised my – and my father’s – error in our arranging the time for a phone call; we’d confused the 21 hour time difference as being forward, not back, so that at 8am in Hawaii, Saturday morning, it was only 5am in Australia, Sunday morning. I figured I’d wait until around lunchtime to give my family time to wake up. As it was, my father also figured it out and rang around 11am (Hawaiian time) to confirm that I’d arrived safely, on time, with my luggage, passport, etc.

And so the first day was spent catching up, unpacking and being able to truly relax; there were no more exams to be had, no more flight connections to worry about missing, baggage and passport to be stressed about losing, only two weeks of bliss stretching ahead of me.

That night my grandparents were taking my 18 year old cousin out to dinner for her birthday (though a couple of weeks late) to the Pacific Club, which was a really nice way to spend my first night. Of course, the first problem that arose was “What’s ounces in grams?” I wanted to order a steak and – knowing 300-350grams is about my limit – needed a conversion to ascertain the appropriateness of ordering a 14 oz. steak. Nobody knew exactly, except that it was 16 oz. to a pound and about two pounds to a kilo. (My family later suggested I could relate this to a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. Except that I don’t eat hamburgers.) I took a punt, ordered the steak and enjoyed it thoroughly.

My cousin stayed over that night, which was great fun and just like a sleepover (as she shared my room.)

The next morning saw brunch at the Kahala Hilton restaurant, Plumeria, a beautiful hotel which is right on the beach and serves a fantastic brunch. The hotel also has a dolphin pool, in which guests who pay can swim alongside dolphins, and passers-by can also enjoy a dolphin show, as I have several times. It was here that I was introduced to a delicious breakfast treat called a malasada, which is like a jam donut, but filled with chocolate cream (or something more savory), and yummy.

And in typical Hawaiian style, it rained before our meal came (dampening the bridal party enjoying the beach front) but was sunny – and mostly clear – by the time we were served.



And now, let me show you my grandparents' house:

This is the view from my room of the pool at the front of the house, behind which is a small spa. Even though it was winter, I swam in it most of the first week, because the weather was so humid and mild.

This is a view of the room over the garage from the balcony off my room.

When it rains in Hawaii - as it often does in the mountains, where my grandparents live - it is a beautiful thing. Obligingly enough, there were showers on Sunday morning at the house that I enjoyed during breakfast.

This was taken looking up through the glass roof of the lanai, which is at the back of the house, overlooking a beautiful, big backyard and a stream that separates it from the mountains behind. We ate dinner on the lanai every night that we didn't eat out.

Again, taken looking up through the lanai roof.

This shows the large tree in the backyard, the stream at the bottom of the garden and the mountains behind it. At top is the edging of the lanai roof.

Coming soon: a shopping trip, an iPhone, and a walk up Diamond Head.

x
Just a girl