Wow. The town of Lahaina on Maui burned down along with the surrounding residences. It’s unbelievable that a wildfire sparked and blew through the town and homes so quickly. We were just there in January of this year and I was thinking about going back there for this trip but decided on Oahu instead.
Is the trip still a go?
So many mixed messages on social media regarding travel. I understand, people are mourning and some say to stay away from Maui and to stay away from all of the islands. That tourists are using up all of their resources. Others say, please come. Even to Maui. That their businesses and jobs will be affected without tourism. Some are afraid it will go back to covid times. Conspiracy theories flying. Who, what, when, where, why, and how. So many questions unanswered. I feel the answer is a double edged sword. The big corporations on the islands do benefit from tourism but they also provide jobs and use services from small businesses on the islands. If the vacationers stay away will it affect the islanders negatively?
Well, I am still going but not without much consideration and forethought. I will make sure to shop small, tip with cash and leave as small of a footprint as possible. I think that we all need to consider this when traveling anyway.
My heart goes out to everyone affected and sending ❤️ always.
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.
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😁
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.
For this thirtydays I will try to drink at least 64oz of water per day. I know. Boring. Lol but this is part of my plan to get healthy. I’m trying to come up with a plan on how to measure it out during the day. I guess that’s four 16oz glasses a day. That doesn’t seem like that much. Hmm. Maybe this will be an easy one. Wish me luck🤞🏽
Well, my paper list is done and I think I’m ready. I will do a last minute repack just to make sure I remembered socks and unders lol. Probably two repacks 😂
I also packed a backpack specifically for the park. I’ll be flying in late and I don’t want to have to worry about what I’m taking to the park in the morning. I checked my paper list to the contents of my suitcase one more time. I think I’m good😂 I must add that this is my first ever carry-on only trip. I’m so excited. I’ve always wanted to do carry-on only but have never been able to squeeze it all in. I squished everything I will need into a tiny suitcase and a backpack. Granted I’m only going to be there for three days but you never know what you will need. I was going to have Krystal and Randy drive my suitcase down but I didn’t trust them to not get it stolen lol. So they took my pillow and my blanket instead. I will only be a little mad if they lose them lol.
I dropped the dogs off this morning. And by dogs I had a plus one lol. Sunny is going to Canine Country Club with Axel and Kohl. Axel was not a happy camper. He kept trying to leave with me. Sunny and Kohl were clueless. Totally engrossed in sniffing every inch of the floor. Well I guess I know who really loves me. 🐶 I told Kris, don’t forget Sunny when you pick them up lol.
On my way to the airport. While driving I was thinking it would totally suck if I got a flat tire. Since I dont know how to change one, lol. I would definitely miss my flight. Luckily I made it to the airport. I had to park a mile away. I hope I can remember where my car is. I drove the Cooper so parking would be easy but it’s short and it hides between cars. I took a picture of where it’s at so that might help me.
Check in was fast. I flew through TSA. Well that is until they scanned my bag. Note to self. If you are bringing a bunch of quarters and pennies for the penny squishing machines, make them easier to find. The TSA agent was digging all through my suitcase. Lol. He asked me if I knew where they were. Uh no. He finally found them in my other backpack. By that time my perfectly organized bag was a disaster. Thanks lol.
Oh and I look like a dork. I didnt want to wear shoes I had to tie so I opted for my birkenstocks. I also don’t like walking barefoot through the TSA checkpoint soooo I have socks on. With camo shorts. And a cat shirt.😂😂🤣🤣😂😂 I’m quite the fashionista lol.
Finally boarding. I boarded through the back door. Lol. They took my suitcase at the gate because they said it wouldn’t fit in the overhead compartment lol. The airplane is so small. Total 76 seats. I’m in seat 17b next to the window and the engine. There are only 19 rows total. The windows don’t have shades 🌞😎 It is so awesome. We are flying over the clouds. They look like snow. I’m kinda glad I have to wear a mask. Smells like a cross between a lawnmower and a room full of sweaty people. It really makes me appreciate first class and big airplanes 😂
Our flight has a complementary beer or red wine drink. Umm I’ll pass on that. Maybe a cute little box of water and a Kind bar. Really don’t want to get airsick.
Super short layover in Seattle and then on to Los Angeles. Of course I got lost trying to find the next gate. I blame the signage.
The next airplane was bigger and I was sitting in row 7. Closer to the front.
I was so lucky and got to sit next to two obnoxious people, a mom and college age son and a screaming baby behind me. The mom read a book made out of paper the entire flight so she had her light on the whole time. I fell asleep and I woke to a spotlight glaring down on me. She had turned my light on too🙄. The son kept complaining about the screaming baby and that he would never have kids. Good. The obnoxious gene will stop there😂
Randy picked me up. Got to the hotel at 1 a.m. So tired but need a shower to get rid of airplane germs. Getting up early to beat the crowds😁
Okay, so this is a bit off topic for my thirtydays blog but it has relevance to that and to Foxpartyofone.
Krystal : Let’s go to Disneyland California Adventure. The Avengers Campus is open and Camden would love it.
Me: Okay, when.
Krystal : Two weeks from now.
Me: 😲😲😲😳 are you crazy? That’s not enough time to plan and pack. I need at least 3 months.
Krystal : Be spontaneous.
Me: Impossible. No way. I can’t. I am a calculated travel planner. I need time to think about the logistics of everything.
Compromise. One month. Eek!
1. Dogs. Tracy, my dogsitter is not available….so dogs will need to be boarded at Canine Country Club. That’s not an issue. The fact that they need the kennel cough vaccine is. So, now I’m at the Vet and there is a, “several” hour wait time because Axel needs an exam to get that vaccination. 🙄 It is so long that they say I can leave and come back. So I did. I went to the gym and back to the house lol. Went back and checked in. The called me and made an appointment for later in the month with the assurance that it would be enough time prior to boarding them. I just hate waiting till the last second to get stuff done.
2. Tickets. Randy got the park passes and made our reservations to enter the park. They are limiting the amount of people in per day, masks are still required but they will be opening it up to guests outside of California on June 15th. So the rush is on. Not just for us but all of America lol.
3. Flights. I booked my flight to depart out of Eugene. I think that will be the easiest to get to. The only one available for a late departure was through Alaska Airlines and there is a layover in Seattle. I won’t fly in until midnight but I won’t have to worry about driving around Los Angeles. Randy will be picking me up. The flight back is a straight shot with United.
4. Packing. I’m doing carry-on plus a backpack. I think I’ll be fine for space. I will only be there three days. This is going to be a very quick trip.
Getting my paper list started. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it😂
All packed up and ready to go. Sitting out on the Lanai listening to the surf roll in. I must have been a dolphin in a past life. The ocean calls to me.
It’s raining so it’s not quite so hard to leave paradise.
I just realized that I haven’t gotten sick the whole time I’ve been here. Normally, I am gluten free. If I eat anything with gluten in it it gives me the worst stomach problems and makes me feel like I swallowed a bowling ball. Since I’m on vacation I have played the gluten lottery and I ate a white bread egg sandwich, breaded fish and chips and other stuff that normally gives me problems. Weird. Is there no gluten on the island, is it the ocean or the sun? Maybe it’s the time of day that I’ve been eating. Up early. Eating early and last meal in the afternoon? I don’t know.
The rental return process was super easy. I just pulled up and they emailed me the receipt. I chose to walk the path from the return station to the airport rather than take the train with a bunch of people. I figured I’d be sitting down for five hours and a ten minute walk wouldn’t kill me. Well maybe. Dragging two bags lol.
On the way thru check-in my shoes fell through the conveyer belt and landed underneath. The attendant was too big to crawl under and get them so they were going to go look for a broom. I crawled under and got them. Gross lol. My bags weighed 37lbs and 43lbs so total would have been way too much for one bag and there’s no way I could have picked up an 80lb bag lolol.
I got to the gate three and a half hours early. Flash flood warnings behind the airport! Glad I made it before then. Went to the first class lounge which is really just a place to sit and get wifi and drink coffee, tea or soda. No snacks because of covid 🙄 but it’s quiet.
I have to show off my invention. My ears get really irritated and I get a headache from the mask straps so I bought two hat pins and wrapped the cord around them instead of my ears. Genius lol. Too bad I can’t wear a hat to work. Maybe I could do the same thing with a headband and buttons 🤔.
Finally in the air at 2:30pm. Oh joy. The flight is full and I have a seatmate. Ms. Gluten free dairy free. She brought her own food but complained they didn’t have food for her or non dairy creamer for her coffee. But she ate the crackers and chocolates they handed out? I’m pretty sure my eyes rolled into the back of my head and were about to get struck🤣 Uh hello? Gluten and dairy for sure. So headphones on, hood up and movie time for me lol.
The flight was four hours 59 minutes. Exactly. Pulled into Portland International Airport. Staying at the Radisson Hotel tonight then home😊
foxpartyofone 