Traveling at Turtle Speed

 Welp, going to the Hilton for libations and heartfelt conversations seemed like a genius idea last night. 

No one planned to stumble back late, lock the keys in the truck, and toss and turn all night. But here we are. Alarms started going off at 4 am. I was asking myself "what is even happening here?" Speed of the day is "turtle."

For the first time ever, I was up before Ricky. Mic drop. 

Imagine my shock when looking in the mirror to realize I had a Freida Khalo-esque unibrow at 4 am. Thank goodness it was only a shadow caused by the bathroom lighting. I did a double take! 

We made it down to catch the shuttle by 5, and scored a stash of breakfast bars for munching later. More coffee please.

We literally stumbled our way through check in and we were grateful Ricky had some assistance from check in to our gate. 

Following tradition, we had Earl Campbell's airport tacos for breakfast. 

Our flight from Austin to LAX was smooth and drama free.

We had second breakfast at California Pizza Kitchen. Now if I can only take a nap. 

Our flight went as planned with no untoward incidents. (Thank goodness! All the bad press about Boeing planes gave me a few small jitters when we got on the 737Max.)

We hadn't been in the Honolulu airport in a few years, and I had forgotten how busy it is. We were again grateful Ricky had arranged for assistance for the long walk from our gate to baggage claim.

We had reservations with Jay to drive us to the North Shore. Jay couldn't make it, but he sent his sweet wife who delivered us safely. She was a few minutes late as she left her other job, made arrangements with her boss to take care of her 10 month old son to come pick us up. I'm sure, like other young Hawaiians, this young couple is hustling to afford the cost of living here.

                     We got leid first thing!

Reward for a long travel day- the view from our Lanai.

We made do with the appetizers in the Club Lounge for a quick bite of supper. I had crudites, ranch dressing, hummus, cheese, and crackers. Ricky did get to sample the charcuterie.

First sunset on Turtle Bay, taken from a window. I'll be finding the ideal viewing spot tomorrow night! 🤙