Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Back in Chicago! Sad to not be in Hawaii, but glad I’ll be sleeping in my own bed tonight.

I have to say, though, that I don’t remember the last time I’ve encountered such a large number of ignorant people on my flights. The last time they were so prevalent was back when the airfares were super low and the clueless took to the sky in droves. I admit to being both somewhat claustrophobic and more than a little antisocial so maybe it’s me and not them. Well, no. It’s them, too.

With all of the airlines charging to check bags now, the trend of oversized carry-on luggage has reached critical mass as well. I fly with carry-on luggage only myself on short trips, but mine does not outweigh me.

Enough complaining from me! See you after a good night’s sleep!

We’re down to our last few hours in Honolulu. All that’s left is the last bit of packing. That week certainly went by quickly. My family can be extremely frustrating at times but I still wish I could get here to visit them more often.

On the last day of all of my Honolulu trips, I visit several family gravesites. It’s a real reminder of how old we are all getting, especially as one of the cemeteries is an extremely old one and quite a few of the graves there belong to people who apparently no longer have any surviving relatives in Honolulu.

No time for a “real” posting today as I need to get back to packing. Talk to you when I’m back home!

It kind of sneaked up on me that the month is halfway done already! 15 more posts to finish NaBloPoMo!

Today we spent a few hours playing tourist in Waikiki. My husband has been trying to get a photo of this rig, or any of several others here in Honolulu that also feature a surfboard as necessary equipment. He and the friend who requested the photo, both Chicago firefighters, would be hard pressed to find themselves in any situation that require a surfboard. Obviously here in Honolulu, water rescue is a much bigger part of the job.

My November trip to Hawaii usually takes place later in the month, beginning just before Thanksgiving and sometimes running a few days into December.

It isn’t really a big deal to miss Thanksgiving itself. Whether I’m here on a holiday or not, I’ll still see most, but usually not all, of the family.

But the timing is causing me to miss a few other things. The Christmas parade in my folks’ neighborhood is on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It is a very small one but I always enjoy watching it. We’re also too early for the humpback whales. Even our usual trip dates fall a little too soon, but mid-November means there’s just about no chance of actually sighting a whale.

Three Sumatran tiger cubs were born at the Honolulu Zoo in September. They were the first tigers born there in almost 30 years. And again, that timing thing. They are doing well, but still not receiving visits from the public. They’ll probably be ready to receive visitors shortly after we leave.

Even an old standby day trip couldn’t happen this year as the Diamond Head summit trail is closed for maintenance from October 20-November 20. And to top it off, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is undergoing major remodeling and is closed until January 2009. We always have a drink at the Mai Tai Bar there on the last night we’re here. The only other time we weren’t able to do that was in 2002 when Governor Linda Lingle chose to have her inauguration ball at the Royal Hawaiian. We weren’t totally kicked out of the Royal Hawaiian, but we were shoved off to some tiny poolside bar area instead.

Timing is everything, huh?