So a little while ago we decided to go here...
and I'm not going to lie, it was fabulous! Getting there of course was an adventure, so buckle your seat belts as we embark on this journey.
Our flight to Hawaii was leaving at 9:30 in the morning. Everything was set and ready to go. We had Paige's bag of bribes (I mean activities) all set and we were on our way. We make it on to the runway and Paige is just staring out the window. And then the pilot comes on the speaker. Apparently something was wrong with the air valve and was preventing the engine from working correctly. (Side note: My first thought was, "Something's wrong with the philange!") I also point out that this happens to be the engine that is right outside my window, so yes, I would very much appreciate if it was working correctly. We taxi back in to the gate where we are told to sit tight and hopefully it will be a quick fix. The pilot comes over the speaker 3 times over the next hour as we sit to let us know each time that "what they just tried didn't work but we have a few more tricks up our sleeve". Eventually they run out of tricks and we are told we need to get off the plane because they need to order a part for the plane. We receive lunch vouchers and are told to come back in a couple of hours and everything should be good to go. So around 1:30 we return only for them to announce that our flight has been delayed until 11:15 that evening. Wonderful! Thank goodness for our many wonderful friends who offered to come pick us up so Paige could get a good nap in her own bed before we needed to head back to the airport. We watched the BYU game (which according to our day I shouldn't have been surprised they lost) and went out to grab a bite to eat (because I very efficiently cleared out my refrigerator of nearly all our food). Then we head back to the airport around 9.
Paige was wired to say the least. She is absolutely fascinated by airplanes, so really, an airport was not the worst place in the world for her to be. We get back on the plane and cross our fingers. As we taxi out again Paige exclaims, "Oh no, again!" My thoughts exactly. :) Thankfully, all the philanges and everything else were in working order and we were on our way. Even better, Paige did sleep for a couple of hours (which we thought would never happen!). And finally we land. But our journey does not end there...
I had called ahead to the rental car company and explained that our plane was delayed. The guy I was speaking to asked for our flight number and says, "No worries. The most important thing is you guys get here." So I figured everything was all good.....nope! At 2 in the morning, everything is dark at the airport. The sign at the car rental station says wait for the shuttle to pick you up. So we go and wait for the shuttle. And slowly everyone else from our plane gets on shuttles to hotels and other rental companies. Kevin goes and asks the crossing guard (yes there was a crossing guard at the airport at 2 in the morning :P) if this rental shuttle would be coming. He assured Kevin it comes all the time. Kevin's thought was "all the time...at 2 in the morning?" So he gets on the phone and gets the call center. The lady on the line informs him there was no message left regarding our rental so I must not have called. And there was no one at the rental place but if we would just wait until 4:30 they could get us all set up. :D Once again we needed to rely on our angel friends. Melanie was so great to come get us at 2:30 in the morning and even more fantastic because she broke into her brother-in-law's car to come get us. :D Now that's what I call hospitality!
The rest of our trip was blissfully uneventful. We spent most of our time on the beach. We spent one day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. And Melanie and I spent A LOT of time catching up. Muchisimas gracias to Kevin and Mel for being so wonderful to us. We loved our time with you guys and you made our trip absolutely fabulous. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
Needless to say, we'll be back again someday!
