Today was a good day. I spent quite a bit of it alone because my family all wanted to go out on a boat ride. I don’t know exactly what this ride entailed, but even though they said it was a good time, I couldn’t wrap my mind around the $140 price tag.
Instead, I decided to walk into Hanalei. I did some exploring, bought a rash guard shirt, found some fish tacos for lunch, and got my second snow cone.
This walk took about two hours, and the only reason I decided to Uber back, was because there was hardly any shoulder on the roadside to walk on. Quite a few times on the way into the city, I had to duck into a bush so that I wouldn’t get hit by any vehicles.
Every Town Needs A Crazy Person
When I got back to the house, I took a little abit of a nap. About two hours later, my family got back from the boat tour.
Matt and I made dinner tonight. We made a hash with pineapple sausages, onions, peppers, and potatoes. It was delicious!
Before most of the family was awake this morning, Matt, Kas, and I decided to go for a bike ride. Our Airbnb provided a few bicycles, so it was a great way to start the day!
Morning Bike Ride
We ended up at Hanalei Bay and spent a few minutes standing on the shore. We should realize we had to start our way back to the house, and most of this ride was uphill. I was reminded just how out of shape I am. We eventually got back to the house, however.
Hanalei Bay
We tried to go hiking on this excellent 8-mile trail that Matt and Kas have been to in the past. They said it was one of the most beautiful hikes they’ve ever hiked. I was looking forward to it! When we arrived, however, we discovered that you now have to make a reservation to hike on this particular trail, because it was such in high demand. Unfortunately, the lady at the entrance told us that the booking would’ve had to be made about three months in advance.
We ended up stopping at a beautiful beach, and we played in the ocean for a while. One of my sisters brought sandwiches for everyone, so it was great to sit, chat, and eat on the beach.
We explored downtown Hanalei and I ended up getting my first Hawaiian shaved ice! Growing up in Arizona, we had a place that did this shave ice, but this was incredible! The snowcone was atop macadamia nut ice cream and they pour sweetened conndensed milk over the top. It was the most fantastic thing ever!
We decided that we would go back and swim, once again, at Queen’s Bath. Yesterday, my sister Lori and her husband Scott, weren’t able to be there with us, and we wanted them to have that experience. We even talked Lori into jumping off a high rock into the water. It was amazing! I think, all in all, I end up spending more than seven hours swimming in the ocean.
I set my alarm for 04:15, but my body has been wide awake since midnight. I’m not going to fight it anymore- Today is the first day of my vacation, and I can hardly stand it- I’m so excited! Not only will I be one step closer to visiting every state (bucket list item number 99), but this is just going to be phase one of my adventure for the year.
This past August, my brother announced that we were going to Hawaii for our 2020 family reunion. Those invited: My parents, siblings, their spouses, and myself. We love the next generation, but these family members are not invited. We tried to do this last year, but there were just too many conflicts. We felt like this needed to happen- not only am I one step closer to completing my bucket list item number 99 (visiting every state), but this has been a life long dream of my mother. Since my parents are in their 80s, we figured that this is a good enough excuse to go. She ain’t gettin’ any younger!
The next seven days’ worth of posts will merely be ‘Phase 1’ of my 2020 vacation. I’m going to use ‘#Hawaii 2020’ Because there are going to be three phases over the next two months, I’m going to try my best to update this blog daily. A few friends have told me that they enjoy following along, and so I’ll continue to do what I’ve been doing over the years.
I want to do some more live-streaming on this journey, so I want to invite you to download the Periscope app and follow @DavTravels. I will post the videos on the blog as soon as I have time, but you can always see them sooner via Periscope.
I also want to invite you to join my Facebook page, if you haven’t yet. This is one way to get notifications whenever there is a new post. Just click the Facebook link up top! Then, “Like” the page, and you’re all set!
Salt Lake City, Utah | 04:32
I guess I was too excited to go back to sleep, because now I’m sitting in the Salt Lake City International Airport, waiting for my first flight.
07:34
This is my first time flying on Alaska Airlines. I handed the “A” flight attendant a bag of Dove chocolates, so I hope he was grateful for the gesture. I cannot stress enough: Bring something for your flight attendants!
08:54 | SLC-SEA
The flight crew just paged for medical assistance. It seems like something is going on with a passenger in the back of the plane. I hope they are ok.
09:02 | SeaTac, Washington
If I bring a gift for the flight crew, whether it be a gift card, snacks, or chocolate, all I expect is a “Thank you.” I’m not expecting them to upgrade me or any form of special treatment.
On the flights that I work, I try to make a big deal about receiving a gift, making sure the crew members know who brought it, so they can thank him or her. I’ll even jump on the p.a. and make an announcement if I feel it’s appropriate.
I feel like my first exposure to Alaska Airlines was nothing special. I’ve heard such good things about their flight attendants, but I don’t know what that first crew’s deal is. Nobody bothered thanking me.
When I handed the gift bag filled with chocolates, I smiled and told the lead flight attendant that I was also a flight attendant and that I work for Southwest Airlines.- I got half a smile.
I guess I should be thankful for that half of a smile. I have more chocolates for my second crew, but little do they know- their reaction or lack of reaction is going to be the deciding factor of whether or not I bother to bring a gift on my return trip next week.
Inflight SnackSEA Airport
SEA-LIH | 13:23 (Hawaii time)
It looks like I got my wish. The new flight crew was incredibly kind and even told me they were very thankful for the chocolates. That’s all I wanted- my faith in humankind (and Alaska Airlines) has been restored. I’m going even to go one step further and give the airline bonus points because they have a place for me to charge my phone.
Soon, these amazing flight attendants were comping my meal and even gave me a tablet to watch movies. This crew seemed so much better than the first.
Princeville, Hawaii | 16:16
As soon as I got my checked bag from the baggage claim, my sister Karen, Joe, and Brett were already outside waiting for me. We drove to the north side of the island, to Princeville, where we are staying in two Vrbo homes that are side-by-side.
20:57
This afternoon, my brother Matt took some of us down a very muddy trail to the ocean. The swimming area is called Queen’s Bath. It was so much fun to swim around in the ocean for a while!
The Muddy Trail
Queen’s Bath
The only tough part was walking back up the muddy trail to the car. B the time we made it back, most of us were covered in mud!
For dinner, we had some delicious grits with shrimp in them, that my sister Melanie made. It was perfect!
Dinner with Family
I have now been awake for over 24 hours, and I’m starting to feel that way. I’m hoping to fall asleep fast.
This was my chicken-warming gift to Dawn. Chicken-warming is a thing, right?
Tonight I’m back in Brighton, Colorado. I think it’s going to be a good evening- most of the loud roommates are out of the house, and hopefully they won’t be back anytime soon. We all get along just fine, but you can tell that for some of them, this is the first time they’ve lived away from their parents.
For some of them, this flight attendant gig is the first real career they’ve had- it’s taking them a bit longer to grow up. They’re young and they get to travel for their job. Some of them work for a horrible airline, that treats the employees like dirt, but it’s all they know, so they love it.
Here’s the rule: If you’re going to live in a shared living space you need to pitch in every once in awhile. At the very least, make sure you pick up after yourself. I will be the first to admit that sometimes my house gets messy, but there’s a lesson that my dad taught me when I was young- DON’T LEAVE YOUR CRAP OUT FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO HAVE TO CONTEND WITH… or something along those lines. So this is why I do clean house often. You never know when you may have unexpected visitors. Just kidding- nobody visits me. Still, it’s good to clean.
Ok, on to something worth reading: Coming in at number 99 on my bucket list is to visit every single state in the United States. This one is only a matter of time since I only lack 4: Alaska, Hawai’i, Maine, and South Dakota. This has very little to do with my job- growing up, we would drive ‘cross-country from Arizona to South Carolina and each year my dad would drive us to different places. It helps that he was a history professor and needed to hit many of the civil war battlefields.
DavTravels 