Today was not necessarily our chosen day to depart. There were many variables. For one, Nicole had to work until 4pm. Second, I was supposed to have been flying all day (and night), but called off from the trip after returning home from Vancouver, where I gloated about eating a large omelette at a place called Eggspectation. Fun fact: Canadian eggs are mostly insulated from the price jumps and avian flu problems that American eggs are experiencing due to a difference in how they are farmed. Second fun fact: the number of confiscations of Canadian eggs at the U.S. border has jumped exponentially in recent months far exceeding fentanyl — making Canadian eggs the clear gateway drug.
What was I talking about? Ah, yes. There was some thought that getting a morning flight to Hawai’i and changing planes on the same day to get to American Samoa would be more efficient (and cheaper), but for whatever reason, every flight going from Los Angeles to Honolulu is packed (and there are lots of flights).
There was an evening United flight on a massive 777 that we thought might have a couple seats, and so we embarked a day early. Nicole and I arrived at LAX around 445pm to board a flight that was leaving at 520pm. And despite TSA Pre-Check being the slowest I have ever experienced at LAX, we boarded the aircraft in separate seats, but economy plus (whose positive aspects were negated by a man who had absorbed poor Nicole’s armrest and half of her seat). We booked a hotel and rental car once we were confident that we wouldn’t be kicked out, and settled in (as much as Nicole could anyway). The flight seemed long, and is perhaps best we split the flights over two days.
There is always something odd about arriving in Honolulu, especially when we view it as an almost inconvenient layover. I suppose it’s like changing planes in Cancún or Tahiti, which incidentally I have also done to get somewhere else. We arrived after 8pm, and picked up our rental car before driving to the Hampton Inn – Kapolei. That’s right! Despite having lived in Waikiki and having a piece of my heart there, we didn’t want to deal with all of the stuff that goes along with being in Waikiki — like presumably following our entire plane of people there, and I don’t think Nicole cared to see her absorbent seatmate ever again.
It was about a twenty minute drive to Kapolei. The Hampton Inn is next to an outdoor mall, which doesn’t sound all that appealing, but it was nice to be able to grab a quick pizza at nearby CPK for a late dinner. If you look closely at the tv in the picture above, you will notice that Nicole is still being greeted as a Hilton Honors Diamond member. Just thought you should know. Tomorrow, we are trying to get on a flight to American Samoa in the afternoon. The availability of seats on this flight is unclear, but we shall find out soon enough.
passports & pepto bismol 