Of course. Nothing ever goes as planned. I just got notification that my return flight will be delayed two hours. That will put me back in Portland at 11:30pm. since I’m not a fan of a 3 1/2 hour drive that late I will need to find somewhere to stay the night. Which also means I need a hotel that will come and get me from the airport. So I will end up staying there the night before the flight.
Staying the night in Portland before my flight does two things for me.
1. I no longer have to watch Krystal pack the night before the flight. This is good.
2. I will be at the airport waiting for Krystal and Randy to show up to board the flight. This is bad lol.
Historically they are never early for a flight. Not “Kris” early, (5 hours before boarding and not even able to check my bag) 😂 but early like me. Normal early. Two hours early. No, they will run in with 45 minutes to spare 🙄 One time, Krystal forgot her phone and we had to drive back to the house to get it lol. They have been lucky though and never missed a flight. Yet.
Getting packed up. I am taking the bare minimum. The least I have ever packed for a trip to Hawaii. We will see how that goes.
I was asked by a reader why I blog my trips.
I blog to let friends and family know what I am up to. I blog to let others that have thought about traveling solo know that it’s possible. Once upon a time I had my doubts I would ever be able to go and see what I wanted without a partner. Don’t get me wrong. Traveling with someone is fun. Experiencing things together but it’s also exhausting. Making sure the other traveler is having fun too. You might want to go shark tank diving or parasailing and they are afraid of heights or sharks lol. But mainly I blog to remember. To be able to look back and have zero regrets. My first blog to Vegas 2016 solo got deleted off of here but I learned a lot from that trip. Part of it was saved in my personal archives and it’s fun to go back and read it. I’m pretty sure that trip was all about buffets and eating lol.
Good news! I booked my flights. I decided to fly out of Portland. And when I say Portland I mean Portland Oregon, PDX. The actual flight with Hawaiian Airlines was down to $400 and adding my seat choice put me at $600. I love flying Hawaiian. You are guaranteed one meal and I always choose the extra comfort seats. There is more leg room and I’ll get a window seat. Flying out of Eugene would have been around $1300 with my seat choices. It also didn’t match up with my flight home from Molokai. This way I can stay on Molokai until the day I fly home.
Now that my flight plans are all buttoned up I can think about packing. I still plan to check a bag but my goal is to use a small, manageable piece of luggage along with a small backpack. I don’t want to have to wrangle a big, heavy bag along with my carry-ons. I will pack a weeks worth of clothing. I’ll be able to wash them at the condo before I travel on to Molokai. I wear my bulky clothes and hiking shoes on the airplane. I always bring my jacket and hat for the flight. Its usually freezing and by wearing a hat and headphones nobody will try to strike up a conversation with me. Lol. Not a fan of small talk lol.
I will be flying over with Krystal, Randy and the kids. So the night before the flight I will drive up to stay with them. I know this will probably put me over the edge mentally. Krystal has a habit of waiting until 10pm the night before to pack. The horror😂. I really don’t know where she gets her traveling skills from lol. Obviously not me. I am Ms. Prepared, most of the time. Just depends on what has been forgotten lol but I do try to write up a good list.
Well, I’ve got a couple of months to get into shape, pack and plan my itinerary.
This trip started out as a Foxpartyofone getaway. A little blogging and laying on the beach trip. I love traveling with a partner but I also like traveling solo. I feel like it has helped me to grow as a person. It pushes me to step outside my box. My plans were to go to Maui and Molokai. Well, word got out and that quickly morphed into Foxpartyofseven lol. I got a great deal from a friend, using points at her time share. That went from just me to Krystal, Randy, Camden and Noa and Kasey and Liz tagging along. So I changed it to Oahu. Oahu is very walkable so we won’t be tied to each other. There is a lot to do and see and it can all be done on foot. There is a two bedroom available. We will stay there for a week and then I will travel on to Molokai. Alone lol. This is the last island on my list to visit. I would love to go to Niihau but that is a little outside my travel budget lol but at least I will be able to say I’ve been to six out of seven of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands.
I can’t say this will be my last trip to Hawaii because it won’t. Hawaii calls to me. There is always that whisper in my ear. The ocean. The sand. The sun. The fruit and the aloha. 23 and me found me a less than one percent relative from Honolulu. Lol. For those of you who don’t know me, I was adopted at birth, so my heritage has always been a mystery. I must be from there, right?
As always I am wrestling with the question of checking a bag or carry-on. Carry-on would be so much easier and quicker to deplane but I can’t take any self defense weapons on board so I will have to check a bag. This includes a knife and a tazer. The tazer is compliments of Anna. Thank you. I am somewhat doubtful that it works though. Lol, anyone want to be my test subject?
Traveling solo there are always safety precautions that need to be taken.
1. I never use the bellman to take up my luggage, that would imply I am traveling alone.
2. I always do a safety sweep of the hotel room. Check for cameras, the windows and the locks. Bring an extra lock.
3. Lie and say I am meeting someone or my partner is on their way.
4. Put my car keys and wallet next to my shoes in case I need to leave in a hurry.
5. Keep my cell phone and weapon of choice with me at all times.
6. I never stay on an elevator if someone gets on. that gives me the creeps.
Bottom line, always trust your gut.
Omg it’s May and I haven’t booked the flight…. Reason being, I am having a hard time deciding whether to fly out of Portland or Eugene. Portland is 3 1/2 hours away but it is a cheaper and faster flight. Usually a straight shot to Honolulu. Eugene is an hour drive time but I would have to change planes in Seattle so that adds time to the trip. I can stay in a Portland park-n-fly hotel but that adds time driving and also increases the cost of the trip making it about the same as flying from Eugene. So, it’s a toss up.
Rock hounding. Agate hunting. Head down. Eyes to the ground. Wandering the beach. Whatever you want to call it lol. All my life I’ve always had a pocket full of rocks. Granted the first ones were probably just gravel from the driveway but I evolved. Carnelian is the favorite but I also love petrified wood, crystals, obsidian, strange shaped granite and jasper. I love them in the raw and also tumbled. I love the sound of the tumbler in the garage. However, my 30 year old Lortone 12q rock tumbler recently died. It led a good life but it was time to be replaced. I went with the Lortone 33B model. It has two 3 pound rubber barrels. Much more manageable and I can do two grinds at once. You can never have too many rocks and that is obvious when you look around my house.
3 of my favorites
This trip started out as a Tami and Kris event but ended up as Foxpartyofone. Kris had to work so I decided I would still go. I don’t have a problem traveling alone and the thought of a blogging getaway sounded fabulous.
My plan was to leave around 8am to drop off the dogs at daycare. Well that turned into 9am lol. I ended up out of Roseburg by 10am. Low tide was scheduled for 430pm on Saturday and 500 pm on Sunday. Perfect. That would put me on the beach around 100pm. I have heard that the professional rock hunters start at high tide and work their way down to low tide.
Krystal and Randy were camping at Beverly Beach so I stopped off to check in with them and see what their plans were. It was decided that Camden would come and spend over with me at the hotel. Fun! Can’t wait 😁
I checked into my hotel and went searching for agates for a couple of hours out front. I’m staying at Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City. All of the rooms are ocean facing. Awesome view. My room was on the first floor and right on the beach. I love it. You can walk down to Nelscott Beach from there which is another prime agate hunting spot. Note to self: next time bring the One Wheel. It’s quite a walk lol.
Met up with Krystal and Randy at McMenamins for dinner. Noa was the cutest. She was saying, “hi” to everyone passing by. Such a social butterfly in a family of quiet people lol. Camden was so hyped to spend over with me. He was practically vibrating in his seat.
Cheese!Crazy faces 😂
We went back to the hotel and found out there is a 23 year old cat that lives on the premises. A tuxedo cat. So sweet. Her name is Mama.
Camden played some ipad games, watched some shows and passed out around 1030pm. He woke me up around 720 am. Hungry lol. We got dressed and went to breakfast at the restaurant upstairs, Fathoms. We played a game of chess while we waited for the restaurant to open. Camden ordered for himself. So grown-up. Mickey Mouse pancake and apple juice. I think it looked more like a bear lol. I got ham and eggs. The ham was a little tough but the service was outstanding.
Krystal and Randy packed up their camper in the rain and headed on over to the hotel to hang out. The hotel has a heated outdoor swimming pool. 84 degrees warm. I opted out of that adventure but everyone else decided to swim. Brrrrr!
Camden can swim!
The weather report was not great for Sunday. Rain, rain, and more rain lol. Well this is Oregon so you learn to deal. Rain coat, boots, extra layers and of course a plastic baggie for agates. I went out solo for about an hour at 100pm. Everything was going great until it started to rain sideways so I headed back to the room. Ran actually lol. It quit raining around 230pm so all of us went back out to see what we could find. The clouds parted and gave way to some sun for a couple of hours so we took advantage of that and found quite a few agates and shells. Camden and Noa both looked for agates. Although sock covered hands hindered Noa’s search a little lol. Plus I think she may have wanted to eat them. The temperature had come up a little so we did not freeze our buns off.
Krystal and Randy headed for home and I went up to Fathoms Bar for some dinner. It wasn’t crowded and I got a table next to a big floor to ceiling window facing the ocean. Prime seating for a sunset and a seagull lol. I ordered dinner and a drink and blogged a bit. The staff was awesome and didn’t try to throw me out😁. Totally recommend it!
SunsetSomebody’s watching me😂
Went down to my room and packed up. Checking out in the morning. Sad.
Breakfast upstairs. Sat next to an older couple. Splitting their entree. Lol. That could never happen with me and Kris. Neither on of us has half an appetite and I don’t share hahaha.
Headed for home with a stop at Bob Creek. It’s raining cats and dogs but maybe I’ll get lucky🤞🏽
Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett. Allegiant Stadium.
Heading to Vegas for a short trip with Kris. I started packing a week ago. I know! So not me. I did have my suitcase out and ready though. We are doing carry on. As I am packing for just three days I realize that there is no way I will be able to pull off carry on for a week in Maui😕 Boooo.
When we originally booked this trip I thought it would be in the 80’s but I think I may have miscalculated lol.
Shhhh. Don’t tell Kris but I think it’s going to be a little bit warmer 😲😁😂. So I am packing cooling towels, sweat rags, water bottles and I’m looking for a battery powered personal size fan lol. It will be fine😁.
We are staying at the Linq on the strip. Hopefully no flash flooding while we are there. I want to ride the High Roller at night.
Welp scrap that hotel lol. Kris mentioned that it would be fun to hang at the pool one of the days. Soooo. The pool at the Linq is pretty small and boring. Yes, it was cheap lol. So I changed the reservation to the MGM Grand. They have a lazy river 😁 and we are renting a cabana. I’m so excited!
Flight Day!
Flying out of Medford. Got to the airport really early. Good thing because when we went through TSA check-in I got flagged for a pat down. And I mean a PAT DOWN. She asked me if I wanted to go to a private room😲 I said no, why? Well, now I know. She patted all my lady parts😂😂. Awkward. Apparently my zipper was throwing them a red flag. Like I had a knife In my shorts. Oh well, I passed the search and we moved on.
I checked our flight and it’s been delayed 45 by minutes. We went up to the Sky Lounge for lunch and a margarita😁
Finally boarding. I booked us in the extra legroom seats which are at the exit row. We are responsible for opening the door and inflating the slide in case of emergency.
The seats did have lots of leg room but they were just wide enough to fit a ten year old. Poor Kris and anyone that weighed more than 150lbs😂😂.
Kris noticed that like hotels there is no lucky number thirteen lol. Well at least we will be lucky🤞🏽
Started onto the runway and something was making a noise like a sick duck coming from underneath. Oh great. I hope the wheels don’t fall off.
Captain update. Fifteen minute delay due to the amount of traffic coming into Vegas 🙄
Well, I packed up last night and Randy and Krystal will be driving my bag back. I’m taking my backpack and small purse with me on the airplane. I should have just brought the bigger backpack. Oh well. Next trip I won’t be taking a 17 inch carry-on. I’ll take my chances lol.
Woke up at 4am and scheduled my first Uber ride on the app. I was a little apprehensive that there wouldn’t be one available but it was pretty easy. His name was, Innocent, (that made me feel so much better) and he was only 20 minutes away from my hotel. Good driver. Didn’t speed and wasn’t super chatty. Which is a good thing for me. I can only do so much small talk lol. He did confirm my flight times and made sure I wasn’t living on the edge lol. I tipped him in cash. I feel like cash tips show your appreciation for their service more than on the app.
Boarding. I don’t get why some people stand in line even though they aren’t boarding until 3rd or 4th call. You picked your seat. I’d rather wait and board last. Fake your seat mates out and get them thinking they have the whole row to themselves.
Just now thinking about the whereabouts of my car keys. They are in one of my carry-ons. The one I almost smashed into my bag in the back of Randy’s truck. Thay would have been bad lol.
Review of Legoland :
The park was pretty good size including the water park. The two day trip was perfect. Being there barely preseason in June, there were rides that weren’t open both in the park and the water park. I don’t know if this was due to staffing or the time of year but it was a little disappointing because the rides that were closed were for the bigger kids, e.g. me lol. The park was definitely geared more towards the 4-10 year olds and most of these rides were open.
If you’re headed for Disneyland I suggest to go to Legoland first. Legoland just hasn’t captured the magic yet and while it was fun and I love Legos it’s just not the same.
Woke up at 7:30am Camden came down to my room and we went downstairs for breakfast. I tried to get him to get chocolate milk lol but he picked cranberry juice and strawberry yogurt.
Randy got stuck in the elevator yesterday so I’ve been taking the stairs. The hotel itself is fine. I think they are just having staffing issues. There is a shuttle but it’s not reliable. We took a tour of the Legoland hotel yesterday. The rooms are cool. They are themed on different Lego characters but I am so glad we aren’t staying there. It’s a madhouse, kids running around everywhere. Too much chaos for me.
Noa is ready to hit the park!
It’s 69 degrees and partly cloudy. Nice coastal weather. We made it to the park around 10:45am. There was a lot of people waiting in line but the park wasn’t that busy.
Camden rode a couple of “safe” rides, watched a couple of shows and played some games. I’m pretty sure his concern for the rides breaking down and going too fast are from his mom lol. Noa will my daredevil 😂
On to the water park. I made sure to bring swim clothes today lol. Camden and I went down the small kiddie slide together and I tried to bribe$$ Camden into riding the big tube ride but that was a no go lol. (this brought back memories of bribing the kids to waterski lol). I was freezing so I got in the box that blew hot air for five minutes. It was awesome 😁
Back to the hotel to pack. I got to my room and I had left the, “do not disturb” sign on the door. Housekeeping skipped my room yesterday so I figured I’d be fine again today. I walked in and they had stripped my bed, threw the blanket on the floor and piled all the pillows, including mine, in the middle of the bed. They took all my dirty towels but didn’t leave me any clean ones. And then they left. I called the front desk and the guy dropped off new sheets and a blanket. So, I get to remake my own bed? 🙄 so annoying. I booked through a travel site so I will have to complain to them.
A little bummed we didn’t make it to the beach but all in all it was an awesome trip😁
Well, after sleeping eleven hours I am refreshed and ready to go. Downstairs for breakfast. First breakfast bowl I’ve had with salad in it lol.
Weather is 66 degrees and blue skies. We made it to the park around 11am. We met up with one of Krystal’s friends and her daughter. Let the fun begin!
We equipped Camden with an air tag. I wish they had those when Krystal and Kasey were growing up. That was my biggest fear. Lost or stolen.
Me: Camden, want to go on that ride?
Camden : no scary.
Me: Camden, want to go on that ride?
Camden : no scary.
Me: Camden, want to go on that ride?
Camden : no scary.
Me: how about this one?
Camden : okay. Coast Cruise.
90 minute wait time🙄😂. He is his mother’s child.
This theme park is very much hands on and things got better. Camden tried out a few rides and got his drivers license 😁
There are these signs all over. I know there is a water shortage but I drank a big cup of water from the faucet last night at the hotel😲 I wonder where that water came from? And what about this fountain? I’m sure the kids playing in it never have their mouths open.
There are also warnings on the app and around the park that they only accept credit / debit cards at their park and hotels. They have Cash-to-Card Kiosks where you can exchange cash into a prepaid card that can be used as a VISA card. A reverse ATM machine lol. I had noticed at a local smoothie shop they had trouble giving out change. I guess the change shortage is more prevalent here than at home. Which brings me to the smashed penny machine. It takes dollars or a card as payment lol. They must be premaid or just full of pennies. I remember when they were two quarters and a penny lol. I guess that dates me😂
We went to the water park for a while. It was super crowded but the kids had fun. We’re going back tomorrow so I hope it’s cleared out.
Apple fries. Sounds delicious, right? Well all I heard was fries and whip cream so I ate them. They were delicious going down but once they landed, not so good. Then I remembered they were apples. On my FODMAP diet they were on the do not eat list. I now know I am definitely allergic to apples. Then we went to dinner and I ordered a cider. Well duh, that’s made out of apples….I only drank half before realizing this and feeling sicker. The rest of the night was not good.
I went to bed at 8:30pm last night. Set my alarm for 2am but I woke up at midnight. I packed and repacked my bag, trying out a couple different scenarios…..I know I’m crazy lol. I ended up with my REI Big Haul 40L backpack / duffle bag and a small backpack purse. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I stayed up and left the house at 2:30am. Stopped at Chevron since a coworker said that to get the most fuel in your tank you should get gas when it’s colder out, thanks Crystal 😁
EUG Eugene
I hate driving in the dark. I used Maps to get to the airport and it had me turn into the first parking lot. After putting in my credit card at the gate I found out it wasn’t connected to any of the other lots so I had to walk a mile to get to the terminal. I wasn’t even sure where the terminal was but I saw a couple getting out of their car so I ran to catch up with them. Lol they probably thought I was a stalker. Next time I will remember that. Oh well. I got my exercise for the morning.
I scored TSA precheck so I flew through check-in. That meant I didn’t have to take any electronics out of my bag. I still had to take off my jacket and shoes but it was quick.
Boarding. They gave out substantially large sanitizing wipes so I channeled my inner Krystal and wiped down my seat lol. They didn’t really look at my bag. Hmm I probably could have just brought the original suitcase 🙄 oh well better neurotic than annoyed. I scored the whole row of seats! No annoying neighbors to ignore.
It’s raining. Can’t wait to see the sun. I’m in need of a healthy dose of vitamin D 🌞
Landed in SFO San Francisco. Three and a half hour layover. What to do? What to do? Well, find my next gate for one. I walked around in a circle for twenty minutes until I decided to ask for directions. I was lost lol. The TSA officer pointed to the sign right behind me. Haha how embarrassing. Oh well, I made it to my next gate. I guess there are directions on the app but I didn’t know that. So, what am I going to do? Well, I saw a sign for yoga 😂 or I could walk back down to the other gates for shopping but I found a prime seat for waiting to board. So, people watching it is. I did learn from the best. Thanks Kris😁. Welp. Pretty boring or I’m just not any good at this lol.
Boarded flight #2. Boeing 737. Plane is full but the middle seat is empty in my row. Yay! Again. No bag checks.😲🙄. There is no under seat storage for my seat this flight so I put it up with the carry-ons. This flight is only a little over an hour so I will be fine. The lady across the aisle got stuck with a young family that purchased two seats and a lap baby. Dodged that bullet.
Landed in San Diego at 12:30pm. Now I just need to figure out how to get out of here. Ground transportation? I’ll try that😁. They really should specify car pickup😂. Oh well I found Randy.
Staying at the Marriott. Nothing fancy. They tried to charge me for my room again. I told the person at check-in I booked through a travel site and already paid. That settled I’m on the second floor and Krystal and Randy are on the third floor.
Went shopping at the outlet stores. I got told my shirt was, “interesting”. Really?
Ate a quick bite in my room I passed out at 8pm. I’ve been up for twenty hours!
Okay. I am packed and ready to go. I have packed, checked to my paper list and repacked and I think I have everything.
The garage is cleaned out and ready for the dogs and Sunny, my plus one.
Krystal and Randy stopped by and took my pillow, blanket and food in their car. That way I only have a carry-on and my backpack to worry about. There is a layover in San Francisco so less is better.
I packed my backpack with my essentials for the airplane ride.
1. Ipad mini
2. Headphones
3. Hat
4. Sunglasses
5. Snacks
6. Battery pack
7. Switch lite
If you don’t know me, yes, I am a gamer. I love Zelda and I just got the newly remastered game, Skyward Sword for the Switch. It originally came out for the Wii but I was not a fan of the Wii’s style of playing, slashing and jumping around. I’m a thumb player, so I never played that version of the game. So far it’s pretty good.
Also, if you can’t tell, I don’t want any idle chit chat from my seat mates lol. I think they should get the message 😎🎧🎩 😂
I did decide not to get a hotel for the night before. So, that means I will be getting up at 2am in the morning so that I can get ready and drive the hour and a half to the airport. Boarding starts at 5:25am.
Checked in to my flight and found out that there is a 17 inch limit on carry-on unless I am a member of some club 🙄. The bag needs to fit under the seat in front of me. So, I will be repacking tonight or pay $25 to check my bag when I get there. I really don’t want to check my bag. It adds another hour leaving the airport. Hopefully one of my bags will work. Maybe a duffle.
foxpartyofone 