Trip from Hell to Paradise

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 13 Comments

Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Well trip from Hell is a big exaggeration – A series of inconveniences would be more accurate.  But that just didn’t sound nearly as good in the title for this post.

It started with our flight.  We got the very last row in the plane – you know, the one where everyone who uses the bathroom stands right next to you and constantly bumps into you as people try to pass each other in those wide isles.  Especially the really drunk lady who visited the restroom every 10 minutes!  On top of it, those seats don’t recline, and the lady next to us couldn’t have been sicker if she was in the hospital.  Finally, the airlines ran out of that thing they call a meal.  But, our luggage made it and we didn’t crash!

Next, our shuttle driver dropped us off two block from our condo.  Not a big deal if we didn’t have 157 pounds of gear in numerous bags.  We drag our gear down the sidewalks and make it to our condo only to find out it hadn’t been clean since  the previous guest.  After a bunch of run around it became apparent that despite being hungry and tired, we needed to find a different room for the night.  We found one, two blocks away – now the 157 pounds felt like 257 pounds, but we made it.

Next morning came and  our condo was still dirty.  Facing check out in our current room, we decided we better cancel our condo and find a room.  This is supposedly a slow time of year here, and a bad economy, but we had a heck of a time finding a place that wasn’t full.  Hotwire finally saved the day.

So, like I said, just a few minor inconveniences.  But we only had a couple of days here and we spent the first two finding rooms or awaiting check in with our bags, but now we are off and running and hope to get as much as we can for our last two days here.  This was just after sunset last night.

Comments 13

  1. That brings back memories of a few trips I’ve had in the past, everything should be good for you now but I guess you can’t always trust everything you see on the web. Have fun!

  2. Hope things get better for you. Although there are paradisiac spots in Hawaii – if you are relaxing – I’ve always found that the heat and humidity makes it a tough place to work, esp. when carrying a lot of gear. 157 lbs is a lot of for a Hawaii trip ! Would be fun to list what it consists of ?

  3. Well I wondered why you were stopping in Waikiki. It’s a world apart from the outer islands. It’ll make you appreciate the other places even more. Sorry you had to waste time on unnecessary details. Things should get better each day. The other islands all have a different feel-each community is even different even on Maui. And the weather can vary hugely depending on elevation and which island you are on. Enjoy your journey. We are looking forward to seeing you.

  4. Oahu is city, no question about that. However, I’ve been photographing here for almost 14 years and I can tell you there are some really great places to photograph. Each island has it’s own charm, and Oahu is no exception – once you get out of Waikiki.

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    @ Mom. Thanks! I’m sure we will be fine.

    @ Tuan Thanks! You are right – I’m feeling the heat and humidity more then I expected. I’m glad to hear you say that.

    Much is my weight is thanks to my move into video – especially 3D video. Instead of one Canon 5D II and a handful of lenses, I now bring 2, along with two of each lens, and a bunch of bars and stuff. And if that wasn’t enough, I upgraded my video tripod and head to a true fluid head, and that stuff is all heavy.

    @ Nancy Well, Waikiki is where most visitors stay at least one night – I have to have some photos from here probably more then anywhere. Really looking forward to seeing you guys!

    @ Richard Thanks!

    @ roteague I think you are right – unfortunately our travel snafu has cut into our extra time here so we won’t have a chance to get away from the city. You live in a beautiful State!

  6. Such are the not so pleasant surprises of travel! They always make for good stories afterwards though.

    When stopping over in Waikiki on our recent trip, we were being picked up by our shuttle at 4.15 am! In anticipation of our early start and a hungry stomach, I put aside a hard boiled egg from breakfast. Waiting in the foyer, I gave it a hard crack against my luggage, only to find it was raw and I was left holding the yoke and runny white in my hand as I scraped it off my bag! There was no trash can in sight so I ended up giving it to the concierge with apologies!

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    @ Scott Funny – even as it was happening I was thinking that hey, I’ll have something for the blog!

    @ Noella, O no, a raw egg! I think we will be good from here on. Thanks!

  8. Sorry you’ve had a rough start Ron, but hopefully the rest of your trip will be smooth and easy. I have to agree with QT that the humidity just kinda puts everything in slow motion.

  9. Oh, the joys of travelling 🙂 Debbie & I had a similar trip to Cozumel. Plane problems in Houston; arrived late into Cancun so we missed the last flight to Cozumel; 40-mile taxi ride to Playa del Carmen; rough ferry ride to cozumel; taxi to condo – and yep, our room wasn’t ready yet either – at 2am. All with dive gear and topside/underwater camera gear. But it did turn out to be a great trip after that – yours should be too. Have a great time!!! PS. We always take the direct flight from Houston to Cozumel now :>)

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    @ Russ Glad to hear you say that as well – especially coming from Alaska – the heat and humidity has slowed me down a bit, but I’m loving it!

    @ George O my, that sounds like a nightmare – and at 2 a.m. ! Hopefully the rest of the trip goes like your did.

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