The life of a Mileage Runner is tough, a weekend in Hawaii here, a few days in the Northeast there, after a while it takes its toll. Just kidding.
My trip to Hawaii was an interesting one. I arrived at IAH about an hour before the flight and made my way to the President’s Club to meet up with a friend from New York. We ate a quick breakfast and walked to our gate (E4). I was in seat 10L for this leg and he was in 12B. The legroom for this seat is fantastic, there is nothing in front of you except the bulkhead and there is a small cutout where you can place a carry-on. The only downside is the fact that the armrests do not go up due to the tray being stored in them.
Our routing took us over El Paso, Las Vegas, then north over Oakland and San Francisco before making a southward turn towards Honolulu. We arrived nine hours and forty-five minutes later, definitely later than we had planned.
We grabbed a rental car and made a B-line for the hotel where we dropped our bags and decided to drive around the island. Dinner was consumed and we were beat, our internal clocks needed a night’s sleep to reset.
Both of us woke up early and drove to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Just a note here, if you are planning on going to the memorial, make sure you arrive early, it fills up quickly and the wait becomes very long. It was an interesting experience and standing over the U.S.S. Arizona was surreal, knowing that the tomb for so many men was below my feet .
We decided that the rest of the day called for some time on the beach and that’s just what we did. I was able to get a nice tan and even a little bit of a burn. Rounding off the day was dinner at a brewpub on the far end of the island.
On Sunday morning we contemplated catching a flight to Maui, but decided against it due to time constraints. Instead, we went to an open air market that is held at Aloha Stadium. It was a rainy day but we were able to do some shopping, I even found a good price on Kona coffee and grabbed a few bags.
We proceeded to the airport for some planespotting, which was fine until the Honolulu Sheriffs Department informed us that taking pictures on public property is illegal. After that run in, we grabbed our bags and went to the terminal for our flights, hanging out in the Crown Room Club, the WorldClub, and eventually the President’s Club.
My flight back was great, I ate my dinner quickly, swallowed a couple of Melatonin and was out for most of the flight. I woke up over Austin and looked out the window till we landed. Overall it was a great trip and I enjoyed Hawaii. Honolulu is more urban and has a good amount of traffic but I’m sure the other islands are fantastic.
You can see more pictures here.