We headed to the airport Sunday, April 1st. When I booked the trip I asked Jason, " Do you think it is safe to travel on April fools? I feel like our plane might crash or something?!" His reply: Laughter! " You don't really believe all that do you?" Well, lets just say I do now!
We headed to the airport, planning to get there at noon, plane didn't leave until 1:20. Plenty of time (or so we thought). Half way there Jason informs me that he didn't bring his wallet which has his drivers license in it! After my mini meltdown & scolding of 'who in the world travels without their wallet...' we turned around & headed back to the house. Not only did he not bring his wallet, he had no clue where it was (thanks to his new phone case he no longer needs a wallet-- blah blah blah!) Searched the house up & down as quick as possible. no wallet! I finally grabbed the passports & ran. On the way out the door I had an idea, He puts everything in pockets-- check the coat pockets. sure enough!" I found it! Lets GO!"
We then drove 90 to the airport & got there by 12:30! WOW that was close. Got through check in & security with flying colors (thanks to my pro like packing!) Yes that is right people, I packed both of us for a week in a carry on. I deserve an award for that alone! ;) At this point we were starving, I checked flight status & we were good, so we grabbed a bite to eat. Then headed to the gate, to find the gate empty. I thought it was a little weird that no one was there at the time we should be boarding. Right about mid thought, a lovely old friend "Aunt Flow" decided to show up (great timing as usual Flo!). I ran to the bathroom & took care of business. I came back & Jason sitting so calmly says, "um... I'm pretty sure I just watched our plane leave" "WHAT!!!! What do you mean?" I started to panic. Long story short. Sure enough we somehow missed it. No last call & they left a little early. After sorting through my thoughts of killing my husband & then almost breaking down into tears. It hit me. We were not suppose to be on that plane. A lot of people might think it was just stupidity on our part, but I don't believe that. We had 3 major barriers in getting to that plane & I believe for whatever reason God did not want us traveling on that flight.
We found a great lady who helped us work it out, it just meant staying in the airport for 6+ hrs, staying in LA for a night. then reworking hotel, car rental & flight back... (UGH, but better than nothing!) Made it to LAX (which you can not pay me to go to that airport again) hunted down the cab, no actually we chased down the cab. LOL. It was at this point I realized that it was such a blessing that we did not check any luggage, if we would have, we would have had NOTHING with us to stay in LA! On the way to the hotel the cab driver loosely mentions that 3 people were killed on this street in the past month! Thanks for the FYI cabby, now I will not be sleeping! Oh did I mention that here on out we are on stand by flights?! AHHH. I was determined to make it on the flight out of LA I didn't even care where it was taking me. After my husbands incredible sweet talk we had a verbal confirmation on the flight, but I was not convinced. It was packed. We were told that AA is currently over booking flights by 6-7 seats that people who have paid & have actual seats are not making it on the planes. I was praying like none other. We finally got actual tickets & I could relax. After the longest 24 hrs of my life we finally made it to HI!
We tried to stay longer since we lost so much time but it was going to cost $3000 per person! SAY WHAT?! not happening. We decided to get busy & pack our days full. And that is just what we did!
Sunrise: I think the first sunrise we have ever watched together. We are not exactly morning people.
Helicopter Ride.
Seriously the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! An absolute must if ever in Kauai. Worth every penny. However half way through I started feeling green. By the end I was praying "dear Jesus please don't let me hurl!" We were with 2 other couples & I did not want to ruin their experience by puking on them. I made it down to earth by the skin of my teeth & started popping Dramamine (my new best traveling partner) Within the hour we were scheduled to go sailing. ahhh. Not sure why I thought mixing the 2 events in the same day would be a good idea!
I was popping those pills like candy & drinking my share of Ginger Ale! It was all good, steak dinner & all. It was beautiful, seeing whales, dolphins, the waters & mountains. amazing.
The next day we were dead tired. I joke that we only spoke 20 words to each other, but really it was no joke. Jet lag had set in! Thank God Starbucks was in our resort! All I wanted was to sleep on the beach, however my honey was already fried! so he slept under the trees & I slept on the beach. LOL. And we drove all of Kauai. exploring. shopping. eating, shaved ice & wild boar pizza. I'm not exactly a fan of the food! I'll stick to the fruit stands!
I'll spare you the swim suit beach shots (my deepest apologies for them getting on FB. There were too many pix to sort so I just uploaded everything. sorry!)
One of my favorite things: kayaking & hiking. We took a long kayak ride and hiked through the jungle areas to a waterfall that we got to swim in. SO FUN! (sorry more swimsuit shots, just view the waterfall please!) ;)
When we signed up for this they told us we needed water/hiking shoes. We didn't have any so we started shopping. Jason found some no prob under $20. Score. Me on the other hand, every place was sold out of my size or were over $100, which I'm not paying to get in the water & mud. So I decided that I'd go in running shoes & just figure it out. Well... at one point I had Jason & some stranger carrying me like a Jew at a bar mitzvah. haa. I hardly like people I know touching me, more less strangers! A very humbling moment for me. I finally decided that the shoes were getting wet & I'd trash them when it was over, they were old any way. But did I? ha. NOPE. I packed sopping wet shoes into my bag & sent them home! They are now a great memory! From there we went to Kauai Coffee Plantation. LOVE IT! It was like wine tasting but coffee, which is wayyy better! It was like heaven to me! Got to take a tour & learn all about the coffee & drink as much as I wanted!
This was our 10 year anniversary trip. I like to say that the trip much resembled our marriage. Started off fast, then got a little rough, hit a spot where we didn't know if we'd ever make it, we then put our head in the game & made a decision that we were making it work no matter what we faced & we worked to get there. It wasn't always easy or as planned, but we got there & now it is Beautiful. Gorgeous. Peacefully. Fun. Exciting. Indescribable.
Some things I will take from this trip:
- Before leaving the state ask Jason if he has his wallet ;)
- You can never be too early for the airport
- I am not nearly as much of a city girl as I thought I was. I'm a small town girl who grew up in a big city.
- I have no desire to ever go to CALI again (the weather sucks, yeah that is what I said! it is always cold. what good is a beach if its too cold to swim? & the people are rude)
- St. Louis humidity does not even compare to Hawaii. I'll never complain about it again.
- There is nothing like a sugar loaf pineapple & coconut cake (I'm still dreaming about that darn cake!)
- Sometimes you just gotta trust that bad things happen for a reason & then just laugh about it
- Jet lag is a serious thing. no joke!
- Although HI is the most beautiful place I have ever been, next time we are going back to Barbados. I think I left a piece of my heart there. Its like a first love.
- I'll from now on always pack Dramamine
- It doesn't matter what you do or where you go if you are with your best friend
- I have grown a lot in 10 yrs., I packed in a carry on--A lot less maintenance! You should have seen my Dad's face when I showed him the luggage! He did not believe it -LOL.
- I need to purchase a pair of water/hiking shoes
- And no matter how much I try to like it, seafood is just disgusting! Fresh or not.
- Never fly on April fools, the joke will be on you!
Love this man & all he has brought to my life in the past 10 years! Can't wait to see where the next 10 take us...
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