The joys of traveling

We started off yesterday morning early. It involved being dropped off at the airport, ushered through security barefoot and scrambling for our carry-on bags on the other side of the checkpoint, then sitting and waiting for our first flight.

Our plane eventually arrived, which meant more waiting, as the plane emptied out and got cleaned.

We left Salt Lake City right before noon, and headed for LAX. It was just the first leg of our (long) journey, but it went without a hitch. It was weird traveling without Scott; he had managed to buy 4 of our plane tickets with his Sky Miles, but by the time he purchased the remaining 2 tickets, our flight was full. I traveled with the older 3 Crack Monkeys, while Scott paired up with Jeff. The funny thing is, Scott and Jeff left Utah after us, but because we were flying out to our final destination from Seattle, they would arrive before us.

I'm not a real big fan of plane travel, so I felt this was a bit unfair, but really. What can you do?

So, after about 2 layovers, 3 different airports, and 10 hours cumulative plane time, we finally made it to our destination: Hawaii. The last time we were here as a family was about 4 years ago, when we came to celebrate my grandpa's 100th birthday. Scott and I have always planned on bringing the kids back, but life always had other plans.

But, we're finally here. And, despite a few small hiccups during our flight from L.A to Seattle, and the long, slightly uncomfortable flight to Kona, it was all worth it. Especially when we got to wake up to this view this morning...

Yes, there are houses part of the view, but for the most part it's blue skies and ocean. I've got the blue skies in Utah, but not the ocean, so this is heaven for me. It's been 4 years since my last visit, and before that, it had been 7 years. Ryan is convinced that we have to come back at least every 2 years, and I'm all for it. We'll have to convince Scott to agree, of course, but vacationing in Hawaii is a perk and well worth it, so I don't think it'll be too hard.

In the meantime, we'll be here for nearly 3 weeks. Time to enjoy the sun!