Monday Sep 3rd
We left our house on Labor Day morning about 7 a.m. and we werent 10 minutes from the house when DW realized she had left her phone charger. Whew! Im glad we werent further down the road so we turned around and made a beeline back to the house, got the charger and back on the road. Crisis averted, right? Au contraire mon ami
more on that later.
On our honeymoon to Hawaii 30 years ago, we almost missed our connecting flight from Jackson, MS to Dallas, TX. Its a long story but DW was on the plane while I was dealing with an overzealous airport rent-a-cop. She had told Delta airlines what was happening as she boarded, that this was our honeymoon and they took pity on us and actually held the plane! When I finally finished with the Kojak-wanna-be, I did my best O J Simpson imitation (the airline commercial, not that other glove dont fit thing) and took off running through the terminal to the Delta ticket counter. They took me behind the counter, through the baggage area, to the plane, shut the door to the plane and before I could sit down, we were moving towards the runway! Do you think that kind of thing would happen today? NOT!!
Fortunately, things went a lot smoother this time around. I kept looking over my shoulder for Boss Hogg to show up again but I guess he has since retired.
We arrived at the airport in Jackson, MS in plenty of time. It has been a while since we have flown and with the added security measures and with the horror stories we have heard about TSA, we were a bit apprehensive about going through security. DW has a titanium rod in her back and I could just see her setting off the metal detector and some TSA agent wanting to do a strip search, me getting in a fight because the TSA agent got too frisky and we have to scrap the whole trip because I was in some federal prison.
With my luck, it could happen! We were also worried about the weight limits on our luggage. One ended up 42 lbs and the other was 48 lbs. Whew, but so much for any heavy souvenirs for the return trip! Okay, on to TSA.
I was waiting for the flashing red lights and the electrified net to fall on our heads but there were no problems at all, which in itself is kind of scary. A metal rod about the size of a rifle barrel did not set off the detectors in Jackson, MS, Dallas, TX or Honolulu, HI. Hmmmm. Anyway, we left the Jackson airport without any problems or delays and arrived in Dallas. We had just 1 hour & 10 minutes to catch our flight from Dallas to Honolulu and not having been to the Dallas airport in about 28 years, we were wondering how this would work. Again, no problems. Dallas airport has a tram that will take you from one terminal to the next in no time at all. We are sitting outside our boarding gate and have enough time to get a bite to eat. It is then that DW realized she had left her phone charger in the vehicle! You remember, the one we turned around to go back home and retrieve!
Sighhh. Nothing to do but pay airport prices to buy one in Dallas. Sighhhh again.
Okay, we board our plane in Dallas and nothing. We cant leave. It seems that a latch in the cockpit isnt working properly so we have to wait for maintenance to go get one. This is American Airlines...you know the airline that recently had to cancel numerous flights because the passenger seats came loose in flight and were moving around the plane! Back to our trip - I think they had to run down to the local hardware store to get it because we sat there for 35 minutes! Im not sure, but I think I saw a flight attendant pull a hairpin out of her beehive and give it to the pilot to fix the problem.
Sooooooo
we finally take off
ascend up to our cruising altitude of 36,000 ft with a ground speed of 549mph and an outside temp of 56 degrees below zero!! Now you know why it is so cold on those long flights! We were seated in the row just behind the emergency exit and somewhere over California, I noticed this
(Continued in next post...)
Joining in. I can't wait to hear all about this one.
Can't wait to read all about it!!
I wondered when you were going to give us devoted fans an Aulani TR. Luckily I found this pre TR from another posting....can't wait to hear all about the trip. I will be wearing my pin as I read. I love it!!
There was a courtesy phone at the closed counter so I called them and they said to board the shuttle bus outside the terminal to their lot offsite. WHAT?!?! 
Geez Louise. We could have saved a few dollars by selecting another rental agency but didnt because their desk was offsite. So we schlep our luggage onto the shuttle bus and take a ride to the Dollar Car rental lot
.offsite!
For those of you that have read my previous TRs, you will know that I have a love/hate relationship with Garmin GPS. Garmin loves to get me lost and I hate him/her with a passion! 
I have yet to figure out what other State you can drive to on these Interstate highways. There are H1, H2 & H3 Interstate highways. The traffic during morning commute (which starts sometime before 6:00am) is bumper to bumper for 2 hours. The Interstate highways will suddenly end and become a two lane road. The signage will have you cutting across 4 lanes of traffic to exit. Without giving you all the bad directions various instructions suggested, here is the correct one
.leave Honolulu airport on H1 Interstate Highway heading west. H1 West turns into Hwy 93 or Farrington Hwy. Take the Ko Olina exit. You will see the Aulani towers on your left between the time H1 West ends and the Ko Olina exit. The exit ramp crosses over Hwy 93 heading South. This is Aliinui Drive. Go past the guard/information shack, cross the railroad track. The road curves to the left. Paradise Cove is right here. You pass J W Marriott, go thru an intersection and Aulani is immediately on your right. Now how hard is that? I would have given you the exact mileage traveled from point A to point B but since Garmin was reading out kilometers
.. 
