MPS,
I wrote the below two hours ago before the power went out at my house and I was incommunicado for that length of time. During that time, our flights to Hawaii got TOTALLY OVERSOLD by about 20 people, plus another 20 non-revenue (employee) passengers listed ahead of us (governed by seniority). So it looks as though we aren't going anywhere. I still post the below message to show how we WOULD get accommodations if we COULD get there (which apparently we now canNOT).
I am seriously bummed . . . . I spent two hours in a hot, muggy, dark house, packing by flash- and candle-light only to find out I wasted that time. Oh, well, what else could I do? Couldn't even watch MPI reruns on the DVR (with no power!!) I guess I could have watched them on the laptop, but I didn't want to use up the batteries which I would hope to use on the airplane IF WE COULD EVER GET ON AN AIRPLANE TO GO ANYWHERE!!
Boy, this working for Delta for minimum wage and "flight privileges" sure isn't doing US any good with current gas prices killing airlines!
Anyway, here's what I wrote when I had hope. I was really planning on a picture of MGI in the surf, holding his wrist up to look at his watch to re-create "Home from the Sea" -- "Dad, I'm going to make it, just ten more minutes."
PREVIOUSLY COMPOSED MESSAGE:
MPS,
Usually I am like you -- have to have everything locked and loaded before I set foot in the airport. I can make a rental car reservation without a credit card (and oddly enough, an SUV in Hawaii is the cheapest thing to rent because, I guess, gas prices have made all the little cars more desirable!! Usually you can't GET an SUV or you pay close to $75 a day for it.)
However, again, that which is messing us up on getting ON a flight to start with (airlines cutting back on flights so all flights are full) is working to our benefit when it comes to accommodations -- no one is traveling (except, apparently, for those who want to be on the flights we want), so hotels/resorts, etc., are nearly 50 percent empty, so you can find someplace nice fairly cheaply and on short notice.
For example, it appears that we MAY be going to Honolulu after all, as the most available flights for us, as of right now (7 p.m. EDST) is a flight out of Atlanta at 7:05 a.m., via Salt Lake City, into Honolulu. There are nearly 20 empty seats on both legs of that trip. Of course, that means I have to get up at 3 a.m. to shower, get ready, etc., get to the airport two hours in advance, etc., etc. (and Larry won't get HOME from work until 1 a.m. - he might as well not even go to bed at all -- just sleep on the flights over).
The bad news about taking connecting flights back is that it takes so much longer, so we lose one day in paradise. If we could get the direct flight back late in the evening on Sat., Aug. 2, which gets back into Atlanta at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, that would give us Wed. afternoon, all day Friday, and all day Saturday there, which is a short time, but we'd have time to hit the Eve Anderson estate beach and maybe a few other sites, plus snorkeling on two mornings. That would work for us because Larry doesn't have to go back to work till 2 p.m. on Sunday. However, that flight is oversold, so we can’t count on getting on that flight. So we have to come back FRIDAY night via LAX, which gets us in Sat. at 2:48 p.m., which would be too late if we got in on the same flight on Sun. for Larry to be at work on time. So that gives us only Wed. afternoon, all day Thursday, and most of Friday there (as the flight out Fri. night is after 10 p.m.). So it’s better than not being able to get to St. Croix.
As for accommodations, the smaller number of people traveling this summer helps us in that respect, because most hotels/resorts are probably not close to anywhere near full, so they have availability on short notice. There’s a Holiday Inn in Honolulu with available rooms, but they’re $149/night. NOT! And who stays in a Holiday Inn in paradise??? I found the Aqua Waikiki Marina (which got decent reviews on
www.tripadvisor.com – check it out) for $75/night. No, it’s not IDEAL, but for a couple of nights, I’m sure it will do. And I feel fairly sure we can get in and call from the airport and get a room. Worst case scenario: Get in, pick up our rental car, and go someplace where there is wireless internet access (lobby of some hotel? – say we’re waiting for “our friends” to arrive), get online with the laptop and find a place online and make the reservations, then go there and check in.
Hey, at least it’s better than trying to do this in Cancun, where we didn’t speak the language and didn’t have a rental car AND didn’t know where to go to start with. Being in the good ole U.S. of A. has its advantages when you’re a U.S. citizen!! So we certainly will NOT have to spend $260 for one night “all-inclusive” as we had to do in Cancun, when we arrived without plans. I can live on McDonald’s and Burger King for two days!! For $75/night, if we can’t STAND it, we can leave and find somewhere else. These options weren’t open in Cancun.
Now I have to go pack. Maybe I’ll post something here in 24 from Honolulu!! Reportedly the Aqua Waikiki Marina has wireless internet access in all rooms, so after we wear ourselves out GETTING there and exploring for a few hours, by dark, we’ll be back in the room and crashing/burning, but I’ll try to get online and let everyone know if we’re there (WITH Magnum GI, of course! – I’ll post a picture of him sitting on the balcony with the night-time city lights of Honolulu showing!! If we have a balcony . . . . But I’ll be sure not to drop him off the ledge – shades of John Wang!!)
OH!!! I am SO glad I just switched to the laptop to post this message. We are having thunderstorms in Atlanta right now and the power just got knocked out. If I were on the laptop, this entire message would be GONE! I really wouldn’t want to recreate this entire post!!! (Actually, I did lose the internet because the hub for the wireless runs on electricity, but I was typing this in Word on the computer to copy and paste to the forum, so at least I still have this message, even if I don’t have the internet right now.)
Of course, now it’s too dark to see what I’m packing.
Wish us luck! golf
Enjoy the greens!
I'm so glad he was able to travel in your carry-on luggage, this time.
(Just a tiny bit OCD here)