Tag 01: Yay, we're flying to Hawaii!

July 23, 2022

At 4 a.m., the taxi is waiting outside. Since the media has been spreading horror stories about lost luggage, missed flights, and the expected crowds at the airport today, we feel compelled to be at the airport very early as well. We reach Terminal 1B at 4:15 a.m., where there is already an endless queue at Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. Oh God...

Our Air Canada counter is in between them, there is already a couple and a solo traveler camping in front of it. Great, we are number 3 in line. I hope all our luggage will make it onto the plane ✊🏻🙏

After an hour, the line behind us has already grown by about 50 people. When a lady passes by the counter, she explains that it will open at 7 a.m. What? It's 4:42 a.m.!!! This is surely a bad joke 😮 How are the people at the end of the line supposed to get through security by 9:20??? Boarding is significantly earlier. This will never work. Oh man, the delay is already a given 😱

Almost an hour later, a ZDF team joins us in line and interviews the travel group next to us, sitting in a circle on their suitcases as if they were at a Canadian campfire. 😂

10 minutes later, the film crew asks if they can also interview us. Our son doesn't want to be in front of the camera, so we let my husband and daughter go. The interview will be shown on ZDF Reportage on Sunday 😃

At 6:15 a.m., the counter is actually opened and we can check in or drop off our luggage. Unfortunately, we cannot change the seating problem, so we have to see if anyone is willing to switch seats with my husband so that we can sit together.

The line reaches from Terminal 1 b to the corner of Terminal 1c 😱

We go directly to security, where unexpectedly there is no line. But the line at passport control seems endless. When I take the opportunity to go to the toilet, I see that the line at the passport machines is much shorter. We go through quickly and sit at the gate at 7 a.m.

During a quick stop at the duty-free shop, we buy a bottle of rum. Everything is so expensive in Hawaii anyway, so we'll buy another small bottle as well 😇

Our Air Canada plane is already ready and we watch the loading process.

The gate attendant is trying to solve the seating issue. Comment from the lady at the gate:

'The flight is overbooked, be glad that you even have a seat!' 🫣

Boarding starts on time at 8:30. I never expected that. In the plane, the solo traveler who is supposed to sit next to me is willing to move 10 rows back so that my husband can sit next to me. Perfect!

We are sitting in the middle of row 23, right in front of the toilets, but no one is sitting behind us. That also has its advantages.

The two seats in front of us remain empty. Not all passengers made it onto the flight 😱

Now hopefully our luggage has also arrived in the plane, then I can relax 🙏

The flight is smooth. The entertainment system works great, with a huge selection of movies & more. Ordering my vegetarian meal also worked, I get a delicious veggie khorma. My husband and I treat ourselves to a mini bottle of wine 😇

After 2 movies and a few hours of sleep, we arrive in Vancouver at 10:15 a.m., 5 minutes earlier than planned. Wow!! Good thing we have 7h30 layover time now 🙈, our connecting flight is also delayed by an hour 🫣

We now have to 'immigrate' to the USA and switch to the US terminal. This is associated with another security check, where it says at the entrance that you are not allowed to bring liquids with you 😱 Good thing we have a bottle of rum   🙈

We are already imagining how we would empty the bottle of rum and sleep for the next 7 hours completely drunk... Okay, not an option.

But the lady at security is very nice and points out that we can take the rum with us if it is still sealed. She opens the seal, takes a sample, and seals it again. Now we can take the rum over to the US terminal.

There is hardly anything going on at passport control and we pass through quickly. On the US side, we find a table with chairs in front of a closed Tim Horton's and think about what to do for the next 7 hours.

The kids and I start a game marathon, my husband finds a place to sleep and is gone for the next 4 hours.

At 3 p.m. local time (our internal clock makes us think it's midnight), my eyes are almost closing.

In the shop across from our group's table, I treat myself to a small bottle of Canada Dry Ginger Ale for just $4 (and I'm afraid they're not Canadian dollars 🙈).

Then we go to my husband, who has discovered a few sofas where he slept for the last 4 hours. We now also use them for a 2-hour nap.

At 5:55 we finally continue. A fantastic sunset accompanies us on our way to Maui, where we land in the darkness at 9 p.m.

At Budget, we pick up a Nissan Altima, where unfortunately only 3 of our 4 suitcases fit in the trunk 😬, suitcase number 4 is between the kids on the back seat.

On our way to our condo across from Kamaole Beach Park III, we make a quick stop at Safeway and are shocked by the prices.

Oh God, we knew that everything here is expensive, but this exceeds all our expectations. With the essentials for tomorrow morning (coffee, milk, cereal, and water for $40), we drive to the condo.

The location is great, right on Kamaole Beach Park III with a view of the beach park (well, at the moment we can't really see much, but theoretically it's right across!).

The condo has 2 bedrooms (1 double bed, 2 single beds), living area with kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and a large balcony. It's a bit older, but clean and well-equipped. We eat the rest of our crackers and chips, tomorrow we will have to do some 'proper' shopping. Then we fall into bed. That was definitely the longest day ever....