![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fraternity on Oahu
Feb. 21st, 2022 08:51 pmSo the main event yesterday was visiting with family. Jason, Lisa, Julian, Lucy, Rick, and Tracy.
We got together for lunch and had a terrific time talking (and noshing). There was a constant flow of adults about the table as various people ran off to the beach at various times to keep the kids happy. I couldn't really keep track of who was around at any moment (though maybe that was in part the one Mai Tai), but I was happy to talk with anyone there, as they're all terrific people.
Afterward, Jason and the gramps were going over to the lagoon so that Julian could swim. He's apparently very fond of everywhere that he gets to swim. But I had no swim suit. (It was at the apartment just a few blocks away, but it would have taken time to go there and back; I guess I should have worn the tourist uniform of constant-swimsuit while on Oahu.)
But, Lisa wanted to get a new phone cover because hers had broken, so I went trekking out with her instead. Which was terrific. Not only did I get exercise, and to offer my limited knowledge of Waikiki to find her a phone case store, but we also had a good time chatting, probably more one-on-one time than I've ever had with my SiL.
While we were nearing our final phone accessory store (after striking out at the Apple store), Lisa received a frantic call from Jason that the kids were getting tired and ready for naps, but we still had time to find her her phone case and hike back to meet them at the car.
And then the whirlwind meeting with family was done!
I was thrilled to see everyone. Well worth the trip to Oahu.
The previous night while on the zoom with my RPG friends, one of them expressed confusion that I'd fly to Oahu to see people. He likened it to someone flying from the East Coast to Arizona while I lived in California, and me flying out to see them.
I think you have to live on one of the neighbor islands to understand how casual it is to fly over to Oahu. Oh, it's $100 or a bit more round trip. But it's a short little jump, and you don't have to get to the airport that early on the neighbor-island side. I could really have flown over Sunday morning and back Sunday evening if I wanted. And we have done that before.
But I'm happier spending a few nights. Which is more expensive. But gives us a bit of urban time away from home. (Or in this case, gave *me* that.)
I didn't do much else yesterday. I was pretty zonked out after an afternoon of socializing and a few miles more walking.
(In fact, I was surprised to find my feet blistering after two days of walking. I was surprised because it wasn't unusual amount of walking. 6-10 miles or something each day. But the difference was that I'm not walking great lengths on PAVEMENT any more when I'm not on Oahu. If I do 6 or 10 miles, it's on dirt mostly. So I think the feet aren't up to the city walking I used to do any more, alas. In any case, after I got the blisters, I mostly wore my new slippas that I'm still breaking in, and they didn't hurt my blisters at all, though I'm still wearing one bandaid with them, for the aforementioned breaking in.)
As night approached, I got up the gumption to go out walking again and picked up some dim sum near Ala Moana which I brought home for dinner (and for breakfast today). Dim sum has definitely become an Oahu treat.
This morning I went for one last walk along the water front. I love the Waikiki waterfront, even if it's a bit crowded.
Then it was back to pack up the AirBnB and check out.
I was planning to do one more walk, out to Ala Moana Park, but I realized I had the time of the flight wrong in my head, and was thinking about arrival instead of departure, so I hopped on a bus instead. (Total transport costs this trip: $6. If you ignore the plane, of course. But Uber back and forth to the airport can be almost the cost of a plane ticket if they're doing gouge-pricing. So, bus is a lot cheaper!)
I discovered a bit of a disaster on the bus back to the airport: I'd left the shopping bag of BTS "merch" that Kimberly and I carefully picked out (via video) back at the AirBnB. I _almost_ hopped off the bus, which likely would have resulted in me missing my flight, but thinking it through I realized there was no way I was getting back into that hotel suite, because it was past check-out time and it was an independently owned apartment, so no way as the hotel letting me in. But, I contacted the host immediately, and even though they're some big corporate thing, by evening they'd located the bag and say they'll be sending it over tomorrow via USPS. Hopefully all there and arrives in one piece, but I'm feeling much better about it now, fingers crossed.
Honolulu airport was a MESS. I've been seeing it get worse and worse since our first trip a few months into the pandemic. Probably mostly normal now, which is not functioning great. There were such lines for TSA, that they almost backed over the end of the Pre-TSA line. And of course you often have to walk miles at Honolulu Airport. But I eventually got to my gate and tried to sit as far as possibly from all the people eating under the "No eating or drinking in holding area" signs.
I had a better boarding number this time because I checked-in within a minute or two of being able too. But somehow every overhead bin was full by the time I got onboard. I set down next to a polite couple who looked like they were wearing their masks properly, and it was a fine flight, even if I had to rest my feet on my backpack in the squashed seats.
It was very sad Kimberly couldn't make it to Oahu. As a result I had a big suite that I barely used. I think in the "bonus" half of the suite (as the suite was basically two hotel rooms put together), with the living room and kitchen, I only made use of the dining table, one plate, the microwave, and the ice maker and water in the fridge door. Which was still worthwhile. But there was a whole living room that I barely touched.
Ah well, next time.
Happy to be home, though that of course means I'm back to all the things that need to be done, including two days of Blockchain Commons work starting tomorrow (and finishing up my tax packet and getting some tax forms sent off and ...)
We got together for lunch and had a terrific time talking (and noshing). There was a constant flow of adults about the table as various people ran off to the beach at various times to keep the kids happy. I couldn't really keep track of who was around at any moment (though maybe that was in part the one Mai Tai), but I was happy to talk with anyone there, as they're all terrific people.
Afterward, Jason and the gramps were going over to the lagoon so that Julian could swim. He's apparently very fond of everywhere that he gets to swim. But I had no swim suit. (It was at the apartment just a few blocks away, but it would have taken time to go there and back; I guess I should have worn the tourist uniform of constant-swimsuit while on Oahu.)
But, Lisa wanted to get a new phone cover because hers had broken, so I went trekking out with her instead. Which was terrific. Not only did I get exercise, and to offer my limited knowledge of Waikiki to find her a phone case store, but we also had a good time chatting, probably more one-on-one time than I've ever had with my SiL.
While we were nearing our final phone accessory store (after striking out at the Apple store), Lisa received a frantic call from Jason that the kids were getting tired and ready for naps, but we still had time to find her her phone case and hike back to meet them at the car.
And then the whirlwind meeting with family was done!
I was thrilled to see everyone. Well worth the trip to Oahu.
The previous night while on the zoom with my RPG friends, one of them expressed confusion that I'd fly to Oahu to see people. He likened it to someone flying from the East Coast to Arizona while I lived in California, and me flying out to see them.
I think you have to live on one of the neighbor islands to understand how casual it is to fly over to Oahu. Oh, it's $100 or a bit more round trip. But it's a short little jump, and you don't have to get to the airport that early on the neighbor-island side. I could really have flown over Sunday morning and back Sunday evening if I wanted. And we have done that before.
But I'm happier spending a few nights. Which is more expensive. But gives us a bit of urban time away from home. (Or in this case, gave *me* that.)
I didn't do much else yesterday. I was pretty zonked out after an afternoon of socializing and a few miles more walking.
(In fact, I was surprised to find my feet blistering after two days of walking. I was surprised because it wasn't unusual amount of walking. 6-10 miles or something each day. But the difference was that I'm not walking great lengths on PAVEMENT any more when I'm not on Oahu. If I do 6 or 10 miles, it's on dirt mostly. So I think the feet aren't up to the city walking I used to do any more, alas. In any case, after I got the blisters, I mostly wore my new slippas that I'm still breaking in, and they didn't hurt my blisters at all, though I'm still wearing one bandaid with them, for the aforementioned breaking in.)
As night approached, I got up the gumption to go out walking again and picked up some dim sum near Ala Moana which I brought home for dinner (and for breakfast today). Dim sum has definitely become an Oahu treat.
This morning I went for one last walk along the water front. I love the Waikiki waterfront, even if it's a bit crowded.
Then it was back to pack up the AirBnB and check out.
I was planning to do one more walk, out to Ala Moana Park, but I realized I had the time of the flight wrong in my head, and was thinking about arrival instead of departure, so I hopped on a bus instead. (Total transport costs this trip: $6. If you ignore the plane, of course. But Uber back and forth to the airport can be almost the cost of a plane ticket if they're doing gouge-pricing. So, bus is a lot cheaper!)
I discovered a bit of a disaster on the bus back to the airport: I'd left the shopping bag of BTS "merch" that Kimberly and I carefully picked out (via video) back at the AirBnB. I _almost_ hopped off the bus, which likely would have resulted in me missing my flight, but thinking it through I realized there was no way I was getting back into that hotel suite, because it was past check-out time and it was an independently owned apartment, so no way as the hotel letting me in. But, I contacted the host immediately, and even though they're some big corporate thing, by evening they'd located the bag and say they'll be sending it over tomorrow via USPS. Hopefully all there and arrives in one piece, but I'm feeling much better about it now, fingers crossed.
Honolulu airport was a MESS. I've been seeing it get worse and worse since our first trip a few months into the pandemic. Probably mostly normal now, which is not functioning great. There were such lines for TSA, that they almost backed over the end of the Pre-TSA line. And of course you often have to walk miles at Honolulu Airport. But I eventually got to my gate and tried to sit as far as possibly from all the people eating under the "No eating or drinking in holding area" signs.
I had a better boarding number this time because I checked-in within a minute or two of being able too. But somehow every overhead bin was full by the time I got onboard. I set down next to a polite couple who looked like they were wearing their masks properly, and it was a fine flight, even if I had to rest my feet on my backpack in the squashed seats.
It was very sad Kimberly couldn't make it to Oahu. As a result I had a big suite that I barely used. I think in the "bonus" half of the suite (as the suite was basically two hotel rooms put together), with the living room and kitchen, I only made use of the dining table, one plate, the microwave, and the ice maker and water in the fridge door. Which was still worthwhile. But there was a whole living room that I barely touched.
Ah well, next time.
Happy to be home, though that of course means I'm back to all the things that need to be done, including two days of Blockchain Commons work starting tomorrow (and finishing up my tax packet and getting some tax forms sent off and ...)