Hawaii: Day 2

The best laid plan of mice and men was the theme of this morning. When Eric called the cab company, he used our "trip at a glance" as a guide for when to have the cab pick us up at the hotel. Unfortunately, I put down the wrong time on said guide and instead of needing to be picked up at 7:30, we had to be at the helicopter tour's office at 7:30. (Insert panic here.) As soon as we realized this fact, Eric called the cab driver and asked if he could pick us up early. Nope. I called the helicopter tour office (not open yet) saying we might be late due to the cab's timing. Fortunately, the cab driver called Eric back and said he was on his way and would be able to deliver us on time. (Cab driver = our new favorite person!)

When we arrived at the Mauna Loa Helicopter office, we were greeted by our helicopter pilot (named Eric ... how handy!) who helped us load our luggage into their offices and welcomed us to Kona. He then handed us off to two incredibly friendly employees who got us checked in and oriented while Eric (pilot, not our Eric) did his pre-flight tasks at the helicopter. The two guys were studying to become helicopter pilots and were very eager to do well at their new trade. One even offered to drive us to the other end of the airport after our tour (the distance between the passenger flights terminal and the helicopter tours area was more considerable than we initially expected. (He drove us in his own car... bringing him to "new best friend status" with the cab driver!)

After getting weighed, signing our lives away, showing proof of health (the "no I don't have COVID" QR code is our best friend, along with the cab driver and helicopter trainee who drove us), we walked with our pilot to the cute yellow helicopter that would be our tour home for 2 hours. Eric (ours, not the pilot) and the kids sat in the back row while I sat in the front with Eric (pilot, not ours).

Ready for takeoff

 We donned our life vests (required because we were to fly over water) and headsets (because we're helicopter people now), learned how to user the push-to-talk system, and learned (me) what not to touch.... I was near more of the electronics because I was in the front seat. 

And away we go!

Co-pilots Conor and Annika

Co-pilot Eric

Co-pilot Meredith

None of us (aside from Pilot Eric) had ridden in a helicopter before and had no idea what to expect. Here's what to expect: a lot of shaking and shimmying. Also, a much slower speed than when traveling in an airplane.

Look how helicopter-y they are!

Happy girl

Eric (pilot) took us on a loop around the entire island and shared a vast amount of information about what we saw. What did we see? Well, we saw Mauna Loa, Kilauea, Haulalai, Mauna Kea, lava flows, lava holes, lava hills, macadamia nut tree groves, clouds, craters, steam vents, waterfalls, gorgeous cliffs, former sugarcane fields, lush valleys, the bluest water we've ever seen, and so much more. 

These huge holes are the result of underground lava flows

Steam vents in the Kilauea crater

Holei Sea Arch

Eric (pilot) said on a few occasions that we were incredibly lucky with the weather. We could see for days and got to explore the valleys in a way that not many people get to due to weather/clouds. The beauty of a private tour is we could ask Eric to make a second loop around something really neat or hover for a little bit so we could take some photos. Talk about an incredible opportunity!! The views were truly amazing and picturesque.

Before we knew it, two hours had zipped past and we were back at the airport. We gushed our thanks, loaded our luggage in to the car, and popped down to the main terminal so we could check in for our flight to Maui.

We realized what Eric (pilot) meant by how lucky we were with the weather. As we waited for our flight to board, the sky had already gotten quite cloudy (marine layer) and the wind had greatly picked up.

Our flight to Maui left a bit late, but we were on Island Time. No biggie!

Talk about a short flight. We were barely at our cruising altitude before we started our descent! The 30-min flight was over before we knew it. Like the day before, we zipped through our arrival thanks to our magical "pre-clear" bracelets from Alaska Air and got our luggage quickly. We boarded the tram to get the rental car (side note: we spent more time at the rental place than we did flying from Kona to Maul! The gal kept trying to upsell us and it took forever to get out of the parking garage). Eventually, we got our freedom and took it straight to Costco!

Eric and the kids dropped me off while they hit Subway to pick up a late lunch for us. The continental b-fast we inhaled before leaving the Kona hotel had long worn off. Small world - I met a gal from Auburn, WA in the Costco and she helped me find the LAST big suitcase in the store. Win!

Our poor rental car was packed to the brim between us, our luggage, and the Costco trip. Good thing the gal upsold us from a sedan to the SUV! :D

Even bigger win - Eric had a SB coffee waiting for me. (He tried to get us SB before we left the hotel but it ... like McD's ... was only a drive through and he was on foot.) The sight of that coffee cup almost made me shed tears of joy, I tell ya! As we pulled out of the Costco parking lot, I saw a chicken and her chicks. At first, I thought someone's pets must have escaped, but Eric and the kids said they saw chickens near the Subway, too. Apparently, Maui has wild chickens. Huh!! Later, I saw more chickens in the Safeway parking lot. They are everywhere!

We got to the timeshare about 20 minutes after leaving Costco and ate our sandwiches while we waited for our condo to be ready. At 4, we got the green light to pick up our keys and get into the condo. All four of us felt like this was when we could really start to relax. The trip, up until then, had been go-go-go. Being able to unpack and really stop to catch our breath was a very welcome thing.

Conor was visibly exhausted. In fact, he was sawing logs at 8:00.

Sweet, sleepy boy

Our Hawaiian Adventure Begins

We made it! We actually made it to Hawaii. After 3+ years of planning and a forced 2020 cancellation due to COVID, we FINALLY made it to Hawaii.

We got up bright and early in the morning to load up the car, drive to the car lot, shuttle to the airport, check in for our flight from Sea-Tac to Kona, and (eventually) whoosh up in the air. 

Dropping off the car

Excited travelers

On the train to our gate at SeaTac

Our flight left an hour later than planned, but that was small potatoes after waiting this long for the trip. Fortunately, the flight was uneventful and very smooth. Easy peasy. 

Ready for takeoff!

Are we there yet??

Conor relaxing with a movie

See ya later, Puget Sound!

There are no words...

Upon arrival in Kona, we were hit with a wall of heat and humidity. Neither was a surprise, but still got our attention. 

Hello, Hawaii!

Threatening clouds ahead of us upon our arrival.
Blue skies to the right and left, however!

After getting our luggage, we looked for a taxi to take us to the hotel. No taxis could be found. We considered getting a Lyft, but the app warned us that cars were few and far between (what the what??). Eventually, we opted for looping back around to Plan A and waiting for a taxi. After a generous half hour, we finally got one. Our drive to the hotel took about a half hour but we didn't care. We were in AC and on our way to putting our feet up.

We got checked into our hotel room and I offered to walk a block away to the McDonalds (gasp!) that we saw to pick up a quick (and late) dinner while Eric called cab companies to try to find a taxi for the next morning. I walked up to the door and found it was a drive-through only thanks to COVID precautions. On to Plan B. When we checked in, the gal at the hotel said there were a few restaurants very close that we could go to, so I continued to hoof it down the street. I came upon a Thai restaurant that offered take-out. Perfect! And (bonus) it was next to a Starbucks (mental note taken for the following morning!)

We gobbled up our dinners, played a few rounds of Marvel Fluxx, and were grateful to be settled for the night. The kids decided they wanted to do a little night swimming, so I offered to sit poolside and read while they cooled off and splashed around a bit. The pool was lined on one side with plumeria trees that smelled Heavenly. The breeze swirled the bloom's fragrance in a delicate way and surrounded me in the best way possible.

Happy nighttime swimmers

Plumeria galore!

When we got back to the room, it was time for bed (Eric was already sound asleep with his Kindle still in his hand). We had another early start and hectic day ahead of us. 

Sleepy Eric