On Sunday morning, we headed for the Long Beach Airport with plenty of time to spare. After Teri’s husband dropped us off, we had no issues getting through TSA. The airport was founded in 1923 and is known as one of the “coolest,” display ing the era of Bogart Bacall Holl ywood charm.
I enjoyed seeing the vintage and retro items displayed, along with the older architecture of the building.
After a short delay, we boarded our big Hawaiian jet to paradise. It was my longest plane ride to date, at a little over five
hours. But riding in first class with a full breakfast and all the amenities made it pass much faster.
We actually landed somewhat early and had to sit on the tarmac for a while until we could get to an open gate to be unloaded. I then gathered our luggage, while Teri went to get the rental car.
We were a little worn out from the flight and time change, so we stopped at a local grocery store to get some food and drinks, and opted to stay in for the night.
I’d always heard groceries were expensive there and when I saw the prices, I wondered how people survived.
A loaf of bread was $10, gallon of milk was around $8, and eggs were about $1 each. And
gasoline? It was already at almost $5 a gallon then; I’d hate to see how much it is now.
It took us about an hour to get from the airport to the resort. On the drive there, we passed areas of construction where they were rebuilding from the 2023 wildfire that had occurred in Lahaina that claimed the lives of more than 100 people.
Their photos and information, along with crosses were lined alongside one area of the highway we were traveling. It was sad to see that so many people lost their lives, but nice to see how they were being remembered and honored.
After we ate, we decided we wanted to look at the ocean and get our feet wet, so that’s what
we did.
At sunset, I heard what sounded like a horn blowing and Teri told me they were blowing a conch shell.
The Hawaiian culture blows these horns as part of a sacred and ancient tradition to announce special events, at sunrise or sunset, or during ceremonies, as a way of honoring the land and sea.
At least I knew I wasn’t hearing things.
We settled in to get a good night’s sleep because our sight-seeing excursions started the next day, and we had whale watching tours on Tuesday and Thursday.
I dozed off with the screen door open to our deck, listening to the crash of the ocean water on the beach. I’d finally made it to paradise.
