The Road to Hawaii, or how we sold (almost) everything, quit our jobs and moved to Oahu, as told by one family who is experiencing it.
After we returned from Chicago yesterday, where we saw “H” and “A” off for their trip to Vegas/Honolulu, I called Matson Shipping to arrange the shipment of our car. I picked Wednesday, August 22nd, their regularly scheduled Wednesday departure from Long Beach to Honolulu. We could drop off the car anytime before then. Wednesday. Remember this, it’s important.
Sometime later, I signed onto Hawaiian Airlines and looked at their calendar for the best rates, which turned out to be Monday the 20th and Tuesday the 21st. I got all excited because the 20th is “H’s” birthday. What a nice birthday gift if we could arrive at our new home on her birthday. All caught up in the thought, I reserved two seats at 10:40 a.m. Monday. Remember, it’s important.
Did I mention that Matson is only open from 8:00-4:00 Monday-Friday? It took about a half hour for it to sink in. No way could we drop off the car and make LAX in time. Sure, it’s only 21 miles away (via Yahoo maps) but what if there’s a delay? Or traffic? Or the zombie apocalypse? (I doubt if we will be attacked, but let’s not stack the odds in their favor).
Major bummer. <sound of record being scratched>
New plan, which I’m sure has flaws: Leave here tomorrow (Friday), drive cross country to Long Beach in time to drop off the car next Friday. Rent a car and bum around somewhere until our flight on Monday morning. Tentative plans are to zip up to Vegas for the weekend, returning to LA Sunday night.
That’s what happens when you’re in a rush.
On the bright side, the house is clean, everything is boxed, the pantry, refrigerator and freezer are empty (don’t look at the 12 bags of garbage in the garage). We’ve been to the post office three times in two days and Goodwill three times. There are 9 boxes yet to be mailed. We won’t speak of the shipping costs. Cheaper than buying it there, right?
The only thing I have to do is pack clothes. We have a box of goodies to eat on the way. Tonight we go to the laundromat and do one (or two) last loads before last minute running around tomorrow morning.
At last, we’re on the way down the road to Hawaii. Aloha!
by 