Day One – The Trip Begins!

It was 6:00 am when the alarm sounded. Kim was worried about getting the last minute details and packing finished before we left. There were piles of clothes and electronic goods around the bags. In an hour, everything was packed somewhere and the Mini was filled with bags. Before we put up the top, it almost looked like the Beverly Hilibillies.

We decided on parking at Behrend and Jason was nice enough to give us a lift to the airport. Hopefully the Mini will survive the two and a half weeks at Behrend.

Our flight was a little delayed as we left Erie. It seemed like a bad sign that we were barely started and we were having our first delay. We sat on the runway for 10 to 20 minutes before we took off. Upon arrival we had to run from the C terminal in Detroit to the A terminal. If you have been to Detroit’s airport before, you know that is not a short walk! My legs gave out about a hundred yards from the gate, but Kim was worried that the plane was going to leave without us and she sprinted ahead of me. We barely got on the plane.

The last two hours of the flight to Honolulu were not fun. It was uncomfortable in the seats and we were getting very tired. To us, it was 2:00 am in the morning! Finally the flight was over. In all of the movies about Hawaii, there is a Hawaiian girl with a stack of Lei’s greeting everyone as they get off of the plane. We did not see one at our arrival. It was disappointing not to get lei-ed when we arrived!




We got our bags and headed for the rental car counter. We got a Dodge Challenger. It is one of the cars that looks like the 1970’s version of the model. When we arrived at the B&B, it was great to lie down to sleep.