Dans Excellent Adventures

After 11 hours of flight time the big island finally pokes up in the distance, rising out of the pacific.
 

Hawaii. (big island) appears in the distance

Had I told the pilot “once around the park, Jamie” we couldn’t have asked for a nicer approach to O’ahu.
  Past the big island, the over the coast of Maui and Moloka’i
 

Volcanic peaks of Maui poking out from their shrouds of clouds!

Can you tell these islands are made out of Lava?

Maui Coast and Molokai

The reason I seated us all on the port side of the plane was to get the view of Pearl Harbor and Hickman Air Force base. On the final approach to HNL.   Pearl Harbor is tomorrow’s destination and the view didn’t  disappoint.
 

Pearl Harbor

The red and white ATC tower in the center is an icon of Pearl Harbor since the attack.  On the mid-upper right you will see the Arizona memorial standing over (but not touching) the remains of the destroyed battleship and her entombed sailors.  This commemorates the beginning of the US entry into WW2.

Just to the left of that is the Battleship Missouri, facing toward the Arizona as a sign of respect.  Battleships are normally moored with the bow facing out, towards the ocean, ready at a moments notice to sail out.  The Missouri, was where the surrender instrument was signed in Tokyo harbor, and represents the end of WW2.

Typically a document like that would have been signed on the US flagship, which at the time was the US New Jersey, but Harry Truman was from Missouri, so the “Mighty Mo'” received the Japanese Delegation and the honors.

(Note – to non tech – savvy readers – you can expand the pictures!)

Hickman AFB

Hickman Air Force base adjoins Honolulu International Airport.  250 feet left to descend.
 

Landing at HNL

We land on runway designated 8R/26L, also known as the Reef Runway, was the world’s first major runway constructed entirely offshore. Completed in 1977, the Reef Runway was a designated alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle.

Finally, we deplane, rent a Tahoe and we’ll be spending the night in Waikiki beach on the beachfront tonite, then it’s off to Pearl Harbor and the banzai pipeline tomorrow.
See ya’ then!

We’re currently flying west over the Grand Canyon, but the cloud cover has it obscured, or I’d try to figure out how to put the picture here.  I’ve decided, I’m just going to try to get the words and sentiments out.  I’m not going to compete with my usual merciless traveling companion and his writers prose.  I’llstick to what I’m food at.  As Chico once captioned a photo of my fording a stream in a jeep- “Dan is comfortable behind the wheel”.  Just gonna be me, warts and all, and see how it comes out.  I’m also not going to blog by the day.  Maybe I’ll do short ones many times a day.  Maybe I’ll just blog a picture when I’m too busy having a good time.

I got up at very dark 15 and got out the door. (Winston Kitty was very unhappy I was leaving with my bag again) and drove the rental thing to Newark airport.  My siblings head to Newark airport from 40 miles in the other direction.  We figured we’d meet at the gate.  And use cell phones if we have to to find each other.  Turns out you can rent a Chevy spark from dollar around the corner for 15 dollars at the last minute and drop it off at Newark airport.  It took $1.90 in gasoline to top off the tank.  Cheaper than mass transit.  Dropped off the car, got on the AirTrain.

And now an advertisement for TSA Precheck!  Precheck is great.  You can usually get through security in a fraction of the time, without being irradiated and with most of your dignity intact.  Leave on your belt, leave on your shoes, leave your computer in your bag and just stroll through the simple metal detector and you’re done.  I’ll talk about GOES maybe on my next international flight.

 Those of us that are unfortunate enough to have to use Newark airport know there is only 1 TSA pre check checkpoint for the entire United terminal – at entry point ‘C’.  But I consulted united’s terminal map which proudly proclaims that there is a TSA preconceived at all entry points.  So I wrote a detailed note to my siblings that I didn’t believe them and if it weren’t so how to get to to checkpoint “C”.
The AirTrain stops at checkpoint 2, so I took the time to find out what I already knew.  There is only ONE TSA pre check at the United terminal, and it’s at “c”.  The published United documentation is a bald faced lie.  So I take the escalator and walk over to ‘c’ and get on line.   Who is directly in front of me?  My siblings.  THANK YOU MOM! (See I told you they’d be with us)  We coud not have done that if we planned. It.

  So an easy boarding for an on-time departure on UA15, EWR->HNL.  I give my family the briefing on how to use the power, bed and other amenities.  We take up the forward section of the  port side of the cabin.

The singles (me and Izzy in the front), the marrieds (Ray and Laura in row 2) and the soon to be marrieds (Amity and Paul) in row three.

The plane is a 767-400ER.  A ubiquitous mini-jumbo jet of united’s fleet.  Nice comfortable accomodations for our 11.5 hour flight.

  
Then it’s up up and away!,  er….  Off we go into the wild blue yonder flying high into the sky……

• We are currently approaching the San Bernadino mountains at the southern part of the  Sierra Nevada mountain range. To fly south of LAX then over the pacific.

san bernadino mountains

Bucking a 140mph headwind… Finally over the pacific.

Our first stop will be O’Ahu, a drive along a dramatic coastline, then dinner at Uncle Bo’s and accomodations in Waikiki Beach.  We will only be on O’Ahu a short time to see Pearl Harbor, the banzai pipeline, some sights along the coast then off to less populated islands of Kaua’i and Hawaii.

  Talk to you again from O’Ahu.