This is an account of our travels from Tampa to Las Vegas, to Honolulu, for the Wedding of our Son, and Future Daughter-In-Law, and Back Again…

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We Do Start With:

Mother of the Groom

The Save The Date, and The Wedding Invitations

Click Here For:  Mother of the Groom

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E Komo Mai To The Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Luau

Click Here For:  E Komo Mai To The Wedding Rehearsal Dinner  Luau

The Rehearsal Dinner is ‘Almost’ as Important as the Wedding Itself.

Written In The Link Above Are Our Luau Preparations.

All Of This Pertains To The Planning…

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The Beginning Of Our Trip To Hawaii

4:00 a.m., February 28, 2026

I knew that we would be getting up very early in the morning to leave for the airport.  

Therefore I took a shower the night before at around 9:00 p.m., doing my hair so that all I had to do was to get up at 2:30 a.m., and do my make-up, get dressed, and finish last minute packing.  We left the house at 4:00 a.m. to head for the Tampa Airport to get there at 5:00 a.m.

We decided to drive ourselves and just park in the long term parking.

We did debate on hiring a shuttle, or a taxi, or an Uber, but we didn’t want to be dependent on someone to get us to the airport on time.  So, we just drove ourselves.  We did remove everything from our car a few days before except the license and registration.  I also took the Garage Door Opener with me in my carry on to Hawaii.  If someone were to break into our car, they could use the garage door opener to then get into our garage, and perhaps even our house.

Gordon dropped me off at the Southwest Gate with all of my luggage in a cart, while he went and parked the car, and then came to meet me towing his luggage behind him.

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FOOD

(I had made a sandwich of Coconut Jam and Peanut Butter and placed it in my carryon.)

Southwest doesn’t serve food on it’s flights, but they do serve snacks and drinks.  I just brought something light to tide me over until we arrived in Vegas.

It is about 5:30 a.m. here.

The Tampa Airport Was Bustling!  So Much Activity!  So Much Noise!

We got all of our bags through and checked in.  We did bring an extra bag and had to pay an additional $150.00 for it.  That’s fine.

  We’ve got a wedding to go to and the extra clothing are necessary.  Gordon did leave his credit card in the machine as we were checking in.  We didn’t notice it until we arrived in Honolulu.  (Yeah, THAT!)  🙁

The Flight From Tampa To Vegas

We had all 3 seats to ourselves.

The flight was comfortable.  Nothing fancy but we were happy with it all.

I brought along some books, magazines, my new laptop that has no internet…

  (I just wanted a nice computer for the storage of all of my photos, a Word program to do my writing, and an Image Resize to resize my photos to transfer over to my other computer connected to the internet when I want to post them either on social media or on my websites.)

Although I really didn’t do much on this first flight but try to sleep on Gordon.  🙂

Leaving Tampa, Check out that Flying Saucer, Right  🙂

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I Hadn’t Flown In Years…

For the record, I don’t like flying!

Oh, I have no problem with the flight itself.  I have no problem climbing up in the air at great heights, ears popping, etc.  (I just chew lots of gum.)

No, those aren’t things that bother me.  So, what does bother me?  Easy!  I do NOT know the lifestyle of the pilot!  So There!

I don’t know whether this pilot is some mediocre male who’s father was a pilot so therefore he was pushed through based on that?  Or was this pilot passed through as a ‘C’ student?  Or, does he/she do drugs?  Is he/she unhappy and upset about a potential divorce so therefore wants to end their life that day taking all of us with them?  Yeah.  All That!

I also don’t know how skilled the mechanics are that are working on the planes that we will be flying in.  Are they competent?  I don’t really know?

The bottom line is that I just don’t feel comfortable putting my life into the hands of some strangers that I don’t even know are stable adults or not?  If the pilot were Sully Sullenberger, then not a problem!  I would feel very safe and sleep like a baby knowing that he and his team are on it.

I do have to say that while we were waiting to board our plane that I saw a pilot walk by us with a huge American flag necktie.  I knew what that meant and I told Gordon, ‘My god, I hope he’s not our pilot!’  When he passed by our gate I felt a sense of relief.  Whew!  He’s walking past us.  But wait!  He was just getting coffee and then came back and guess what?  HE was our pilot!

I do have to admit that he did get us to Vegas safely.  I thank him for that!  🙂

I hadn’t flown in many years and I was just so enthralled by the landscape below me.  It truly was beautiful. 

The flight from Tampa to Vegas was beautiful.  It was just amazing.

Once we got past all the clouds, I kept thinking, ‘I hope I brought enough cotton balls.’  That’s what the clouds looked like to me.

I was just so blown away with how beautiful our planet truly is.  It’s just too bad we don’t take better care of it as we should.

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Just Look At My Photos!!

Look How Beautiful They Are!

I’m Not Bragging About My Photographic Skills, I’m Bragging About The Beauty Of My Photos That I Was Capturing

They Looked Like Paintings!

(Look How Skeletal The Landscape Looks in the Photo Right!)

I was so inspired that I had my nose pressed against the window for hours! 

While everyone around me was into their laptop, or their phones, or their tablets, I was glued to the views from my window and snapping away with my new camera phone, that has no internet or phone capability.  Yep!  I bought a badass phone only for the photos, not the features.

Flying Over The Dessert

It Kind Of Looks Like A Map Of America With All The State Lines Drawn

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Gordon and I Wondered If This Was A Native Settlement?

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Hoover Damn

The Landscape Colors Are Amazing

It Just Looks Like It Has A Hem On It’s Skirt  🙂

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Flying Into Vegas

It Truly Was Beautiful

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They Gave Snacks, Just Not The Best Snacks

I Hate Shoes, But Wore Tennis Shoes

And, Removed Them As Soon As Possible

My Hawaii Travel Diary, Hawaiian Beer, and Juice

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Landing In Las Vegas

Our Flight From Tampa To Vegas Was About 4 Hours

Las Vegas Airport

You know, I’m not a Vegas kind of person.  It just holds no appeal to me. 

I’ve been to Vegas a few times but it’s just not for me. 

Not that there is anything wrong with it.  More power to those that love it!

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Gordon Buying Us Sandwiches

(The Vegas Airport Was Loud, and Busy, and Bustling.)

I hadn’t really eaten a decent meal in days!  I was just sort of snacking here and there.  It wasn’t until we landed in Vegas that I knew that I was HUNGRY!

Gordon bought me a sandwich and as we are rushing to our gate from our flight from Vegas to Honolulu, I was doing my best to eat my sandwich as we walked down the airport.

I was falling behind so Gordon grabbed my carryon’s, along with his own, and was strolling them ahead of me while I was enjoying my sandwich, walking behind him.

I was eating it with such relish and pretty much doing my best to devour it while walking through the Las Vegas Airport.  I didn’t care how I looked, I didn’t care what anyone thought, all I cared about was my taste buds, my stomach and that sandwich!

  And sadly, leaving a shredded trail of lettuce in my wake.  

I would like to formally apologize to the custodial crew at the Vegas Airport for my trail of lettuce.  I would have picked it up myself but Gordon was about 25 -30 feet ahead of me, and kept turning around glaring at me for falling so far behind him.  🙂

I was doing my best to walk and eat, and doing my best to catch up and get to our gate.  Gordon is one of these ‘hurry up and wait’ kind of people.

We did take our food that we hadn’t finished eating onto our plane when we were able to board. 

Now, we have a 5 hour flight to Honolulu!

(As we traveled, we kept gaining hours, going backwards.  We left Tampa at 6:00 a.m. and got to Honolulu at 1:00 p.m.  If you count the hours that is only 7 hours.  However, when you count the time difference that is 12 hours of traveling.)

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From Vegas To Honolulu

I don’t even know if I have any photos to document this.  I will have to look.  I do know that our flight was full, and very cramped. 

Our 3 seats together turned out to be us, and a young woman traveling alone.  I knew this young woman was exceptional because she spent the entire flight reading a hard back book.  All I had to do was make a small move and she knew instantly that I was ready to head to the bathroom.  She would then jump up to allow for Gordon to then get up, so that I could then make my way to the bathroom from my window seat. 

Know, that when you see a woman reading a book on an airplane, or a train, or a bus, and you mistakenly think she is so engrossed in that book that she doesn’t know what is going on around her, she is actually aware of EVERYTHING that is going on around her!  EVERYTHING!!!  Underestimate her at your peril!!!

When we were able to talk to this young woman she was so exceptional!  Just graduated collage.  From Maryland.  I told her we used to live on Ft. Meade when we lived in Maryland.  She was from Annapolis.  Headed to Hawaii to spend the week with her friend that had also graduated college, wanting to be a Marine Biologist.  Wow!  How cool is that?  She told us of her big week that was planned.  We were so happy for her but also hoping that she would be safe in her adventures.  You could tell that this young woman was someone that was special.  You could also tell that she was very kind.  I admired her tremendously.  I knew she was special.   I hope her trip turned out to be wonderful!  🙂

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Welcome To Hawaii

It Used To Be:

Honolulu International Airport

Now It’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

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Landing In Honolulu, Grabbing All Of Our Luggage

(I would like to say that the Tampa Airport was loud and unruly.  The Vegas Airport was loud and unruly.  And then we pull into the Honolulu Airport…  It was like crickets!  So quiet!  A pin could drop!  I think it was quiet because everyone had arrived at their destination.  No more hustling or bustling to get there.  It was all quiet from here on out.  Gordon and I were strolling past a huge room of people who weren’t saying anything.  When we spoke we whispered, otherwise you felt you were disturbing someone.)

Grabbing Our Luggage

It was as we were strolling all of this luggage out of the airport to the rental car agencies that a man said something to me about all of my luggage.

Man:  Short Stay?

Me:  Funny that there is always a sarcastic male to make fun of whatever a woman is doing.

For your information our son is getting married while we are here.  Is that o.k. with you?  It does require more clothing than what we would usually bring with us.  So, do you approve of that so that I can continue on with my journey?

Man:  Silence

Me:  Good.  Have a nice trip.  🙂

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This Area Has Always Been Here At The Airport

It Hasn’t Changed That Much, A Peaceful Zen Area

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Alamo Rental Car

Our Rental Car For The Next 2 Weeks

Gordon Loading All Of Our Stuff Into It.  

It wasn’t until we arrived at our rental car destination, and Gordon was pulling out his wallet for the credit card used to pay for the rental, that he discovered that it wasn’t in his wallet.  That is when we realized he had left the card at the Tampa Airport and we then had to make a call to the credit card company to inform them of it’s loss.  So, dealing with that, and renting a car.  As exhausted as we were.  🙁

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We Saw This Wyland On Our Way To Our Hotel

Wyland is an exceptional artist that does paint island, and sea life portraits on the sides of buildings.

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Aloha Tower (Street View)

Headed Toward Waikiki, Diamond Head Far Right

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The first thing I noticed was ‘where are all the cars?’  Where is all the heavy traffic on our way into Waikiki?

Also, ‘look at all the construction going on!’  It was pretty bad!  Although I really didn’t photograph it.  So, Waikiki is booming and building itself up more than before.

The Skyscrapers Are Impressive

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Almost To Our Hotel

It was as we drove past Ala Moana Shopping Center on our left, and Ala Moana Beach Park on our right, that we saw homeless people.  In all of our years of living on Oahu, and the many different city’s we lived in, with the exception of when we lived in the slums of Waikiki when we first arrived in 1986, that I never saw any homeless anywhere.  Not in Honolulu, not in Pearl City, not in Ewa Beach.  The homeless even had some tents erected.  We were really surprised by this.  It’s quite sad to see.  Even when we went towards the military bases on Nimitz Highway we saw tents erected along the roads and families living in them.  Just 100 feet from military housing where we lived at one time.  I was just really surprised because to me if any state was going to help it’s people it would be Hawaii.  (I did later learn from our Bell Hop that states like New Mexico and Nevada give their homeless a one way ticket to Hawaii to get rid of them so that they don’t have to deal with them.  I do seem to remember reading something like that a few years ago.  It’s a sad situation for all.)

I was just so surprised to see so many people strolling along Ala Moana Beach Park with their children in stroller’s, or joggers running by on their runs, and seeing homeless laying on the ground just a few feet away from them.  The people just didn’t seem to notice.  Obviously, they must be so used to it that the homeless are part of their community now.  My thoughts are, ‘can’t the state just help them?’

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I would like to add that when we left Hawaii in 1999 that republican’s were gaining ground in winning elections in this very blue state.  I can’t help but see the remnants of that in all that I saw while on the island.

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Look at me!  I am already political on Hawaii and we haven’t even checked into our hotel yet!!  Sorry about that!!  🙂

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Here We Go!!!

The Hale Koa Hotel

Driving Up To The Entrance

Arriving And Unloading

The Hale Koa Parking Garage…

…Directly Across The Street From The Hotel

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Checking In To:  The Hale Koa Hotel, Waikiki

Click Here For:  The Hale Koa Hotel, Waikiki

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Leaving The Hale Koa Hotel (2 weeks later)

The Empty Lobby in the Middle of the Night

Gordon and I had woken up at about 2:30 a.m. to get ready and to check out of our room.  What with the TSA Agents not getting paid because of the government shutdown, and the anticipated long waiting lines, not to mention the flooding had started two days prior, we knew to get to the airport early in order to get off the island.

It was sad saying goodbye to The Hale Koa Hotel, our home for the two weeks we were there.

The island wasn’t as crowded as it had been in the past, which was actually nice.  I think now everyone goes to Maui.  That’s always how it goes.  Crowds flock together just like birds.  They just follow the other birds to wherever they may go.

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I was able to take these photos of an empty Hale Koa Lobby and Drop Off.  

The Hotel and the Grounds truly were Beautiful

All of our Luggage

(Gordon ran in the rain to the Parking Garage to get our Rental Car.)

Goodbye Hale Koa

Thank you for hosting us.  🙂

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On Our Way To The Airport

Leaving at 4:00 a.m.

There was flooding in Waikiki that we had to drive through.  It was pretty high too.  But we made it through and got to the airport.  Gordon dropped me off with most of the luggage while he returned the rental car, then met up with me while we got all of our luggage through the first check in.  Then we checked in with our airline, got our luggage through the second check in.  Paid the $150.00 for the extra bag.  One of our suitcases was 6 pounds overweight so Gordon started removing things and placing them into our carryon’s.  The thing is, they make it out to be such a big deal if your suitcase is over 50 pounds but your carryon can be as heavy as you want it to be.  That makes no sense to me.  So, if us overloading a suitcase can have the airplane come crashing down, then shouldn’t there be weight limits for carryon’s?

As we were going through the long lines to get to the gate with our carryon’s, they have you dump out all of your liquids like water, or coffee, etc.  I kept pulling water bottles out of my carryon and while everyone else was dumping out one water bottle, I had about 6 to dump out.  It may have lightened my load, but there went all of our water.  I hate to waste things like that.

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Here we are at our gate and look what I see!  A Diana Hanson-Young Painting above us!!! 

What a thrill to see!  I love her art and have a few prints.  No paintings, we were too poor for that when we lived in Hawaii.

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On Board Our Plane to Vegas

We had a window between storms that our pilots took advantage of in getting us out of Hawaii before the harder storms arrived.  Although I won’t go into it, it was very sad all that the local people of Hawaii had to endure with all the floods.  Not to mention the tourists that bring their dollars to the islands.

I really didn’t take many photos of our trip home.  I think I was just too tired.  But, the trip was uneventful which was very nice.  We made it to Vegas and then got sandwiches, then boarded our plane to Tampa soon afterwards.

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Having Landed In Tampa…

I had never been to any airport in the middle of the night that the drop off, or pick up was totally EMPTY!

No Cars, No Cops, No People, Nothing!

It was kind of scary!

Once we got all of our luggage, Gordon had left me waiting so that he could run and pick up our car from long term parking.  I had befriended a woman while we were waiting for our luggage.  She and I were talking and she told me that she had a home on Maui and that she and some friends would switch residences for about 6 months of the year.  She was also waiting for someone to pick her up.  She asked me if I was going to be alright here all by myself?  I told her that my husband was getting our car and would be here shortly.  When her car arrived to pick her up she stayed there for awhile.  I think she stayed there waiting to make sure Gordon came for me.  She didn’t leave until he pulled up with the car and we started loading it.  I just thought that was very sweet of her to worry about me.  A stranger that she had just met.  I think that is how we should all be with each other.  Looking out for one another.  I appreciated that.  🙂

Gordon, Pulling Up In Our Car To Pick Me and Our Luggage Up

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While I was waiting for Gordon to come and pick me up it occurred to me that all someone had to do was to pull up in their car, grab any one of our bags, and take it with them while there would be nothing I could do about it.  That is when I removed a luggage strap from one of my suitcases and linked them all together with it.  I also used the connecting tabs on our airplane neck pillows to link our carryon’s together.  The only suitcase left unattended with the old tannish green one, and I had my hand on that one.  🙂

Hey!  If someone wants to steal from us, I at least make it hard on them!  🙂

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Happy to be Home!

Julie and Gordon