October 3, 2011 Monday

My journey begins at 1:30 pm flight via Delta to Detroit from Kalamazoo, arriving in Detroit at 2:25 pm.
Carol was waiting there at the Gate for me.

And then Our Excellent Adventure begins.

I follow Carol, she being familiar with the Detroit airport and me not, to our gate for the flight to Los Angeles.
3:20 pm flight via Delta, arriving in LA at 5:30 pm LA time (8:30 pm MI time).  The weather was clear, we did not sit beside each other, we both wanted window seats.  I was lucky to sit next to 2 sisters, my age, traveling to LA to visit a daughter/niece. 

We arrived in LA just in time to take a small comfort break and board our 5:55pm flight via Delta arriving in Maui at 8:30 pm Maui time (2 am MI time).  The sun sat as we were leaving LA, we did manage to see some of the west coast before total darkness set in.  The flight was good but very long.  I was again very lucky with my traveling row companions, a very nice lady named Vicky, traveling with her husband.

Lesson I learned...do not use a gel pen while flying...now I have no idea if it was the gel pen's fault or the pressure of flying, but as I tried to complete the Hawaiian Agricultural form, my pen leaked...yep...got blue ink all over my right hand..Vicky saw it and said (just in time), "Don't touch your face!"  She finished my document for me, while I used tiny napkins and hand sanitiser to remove the ink...I still had some blue for 2 days.  Could have been worse, at that point I was thinking Blue Hawaii and imagining what I would have looked like if I'd have rubbed my nose.  I exchanged names with Vicky, I'm hoping that she will contact me through Facebook.

So, we landed in beautiful warm, Kahului, Maui at 8:30 pm Maui time, 2 am MI time, and did the "Happy Dance" when both of our suitcases rolled out on the conveyor.  Then we went looking for Hertz, which we were taken to by bus.   And there we met our little dark blue Mustang convertible which we later named "Little Blue Maui".  I really loved that car, perfect for Maui and it had Hertz navigation system in it especially for Maui.

Lahaina Shores Beach Resort Room 527, 475 Front Street, Lahaina, Maui, HI 96761

Room 527 with Ocean View.

Room 527. Lahaina Maui

Room 527.

So, after getting my huge suitcase in the trunk and Carol's not so huge suitcase in the backseat, we headed to Lahaina Shores Beach Resort.  It was dark, the roads were not busy, they were curvy but easy to drive and even at 2 am...I was doing okay.  (I had no idea that I was driving on a very curvy road, basically on the edge of a cliff by the ocean).  Oh well, we didn't fall off the mountain and we got to Lahaina safe and somewhat sound if not pretty tired but wired 30 minutes later.  Got the car tucked into it's tiny parking spot (at 2 am, they all look tiny, it was tight) and got to our room and into bed at about 5 am Michigan time.  It was the first time in a long time that either one of us had went 24 hours without sleeping.