Kilauea, Kauai – Wow, Hawai’i is far. Six time zones, to be exact. That’s like going to Europe, but in the opposite direction.
And let me tell you, it was not easy to get here. With the recent spike in Covid cases over the holidays, we started to freak out just a little. So we kept the twins home from school for the entire week between New Years and our departure. So they are missing two weeks of school instead of one. (Somehow, I have fewer reservations about them missing school, since they missed school for an entire year.)
They did not miss school yesterday, however. That’s because it was a snow day! Yes, it was the day we left. And yes, we left in the middle of a snow storm. At least we tried to. Our flight to Denver was one of the last flights to leave Boston yesterday, but it did not leave in time to make our connection to Kauai. So we were rerouted through San Francisco, but that flight was also delayed because President Biden was in town (?). So we didn’t make our connection in San Francisco either.
Long story short: we spent a LOT of time playing cards in airports and we spent the night in San Francisco and we made it to Kauai about 24 hours late. But we made it!
So yes, Hawai’i is far away and the commute was brutal. (Note to self: next time the airline offers to rebook your flight in anticipation of a weather disaster, do it!) But there were several items of good news:
- The twins were troopers. They are such good, patient travelers and I was so grateful for that. I know it wasn’t fun for them (not only the delays, but also no screens on the United airplanes! What???)
- We spent the night at a hotel in San Francisco, which means they visited a new state! (Would not count if they did not leave the airport.)
- Most importantly, now we are here! Our house is darling. We have a porch for birdwatching. And this is Kahili Beach, a 10-minute walk from the house.
This trip is a culmination of a lot of things. It is my 50th-birthday travel extravaganza and our 25th-wedding-anniversary celebratory affair. It is our triumphant, post-pandemic coming-out party. And it is our second research trip for our forthcoming book, The Last Stand of the Raven Clan (the first being northern California last summer). And we are into it. Let’s do this!