Long Flight to Hawai'i

O'Hare to LAX

After weeks of anticipation and planning, 6AM came early on June 6 as the limo arrived to take us away to O'Hare Airport for our flight to Honolulu. After hauling our four bags through United BagCheck and hauling three kids through security, we stopped at the Red Carpet Club to await our 9AM flight to Los Angeles. There, Rebecca, after multiple warnings not to spill anything managed to spill hot chocolate all over her white long-sleeved shirt, the only long-sleeved shirt she brought.

Our flight to L.A. boarded on time. The boys were seated in the back of the plane, while we and Rebecca were mid-plane in Economy Plus. We were all ready to sleep but Rebecca had other ideas, squirming and bouncing in her sleep, keeping us awake.

Once in LAX, we went looking for lunch. There wasn't much in the terminal we landed in, so we headed to the adjacent terminal. We found a Gordon Biersch, only to be told they only had cold salads and no sandwiches. So we trucked back up to California Pizza Kitchen and grabbed a couple of pizzas before heading to the Red Carpet Club for a 2:30 flight to Honolulu.

"Buster"

The flight to Honolulu was also on time, surprisingly, so we arrived in Honolulu a little after 5:00. After a very long walk from baggage claim to Avis rental car, and an Avis Preferred representative who didn't seem to understand 'preferred', we were on our way in a blue Jeep 4WD we nicknamed 'Buster' since it drove like a small bus.

Doubletree and Cheeseburger in Waikiki

We checked into the Doubletree Alana hotel near Waikiki and then walked next door to "Cheeseburger in Waikiki" for a quick meal. Janie enjoyed her first 'umbrella' drink of the trip and we all had some very delicious burgers. After a very long day, we went back to the hotel where we climbed into bed for a good night's rest.