Hawaii – The Big Island

August 23, 2024

During my first year of retirement from the military, my goals were to travel as much as possible, spend times with those I love, and work at Summerfest. So far I have met all of my goals, but is there really ever enough travel? That brings me to my current trip. Back at my retirement ceremony in January, my Uncle Andy mentioned that he was going to the big island of Hawaii for the month of August and would have spare rooms available in the condo he was renting. I quipped that maybe I would be able to join him. As the months went by I continued to follow the airfare prices and tried to figure out a time that would work for me to join him. As August crept closer and closer I didn’t think it was going to work out for me to go between the weddings that we had on consecutive August weekends and other commitments. But then I went to State Fair with his daughter/my cousin, Nikki. She was going out to Hawaii to be with him the third week in August. I had mentioned that I didn’t think the timing was going to work out for me, but she said he would still be there from the 23rd to the 30th. I told her that could possibly work and I would check it out when I got home. As I had been watching airfare prices for several months I knew the prices ranged from $600-$900. When I checked the specific dates she mentioned it was $445!!! I could not pass this opportunity up. I quickly got the approval from Tom and messaged my Uncle to see if it would work out. His response was “Go for it!”. So that brings me to today. Just a mere 2 1/2 weeks ago I booked my ticket to Kona, HI and today it became a reality.

My flight was at 7:00a.m. out of Mitchell, but since I wasn’t checking any bags and have TSA Pre-Check we didn’t leave the house until 5:45a.m. and arrived at the airport of 5:55a.m. I was at my gate at 6:06a.m. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again . . . I love Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport. I was flying Southwest which meant open seating. Even though I checked in exactly 24 hours before my flight I was still in the middle of the B boarding group. I felt very fortunate to score an aisle seat in row ten on the first leg of the journey to Las Vegas. I didn’t have a ton of time in Las Vegas on my lay over but it was enough to go to the bathroom, get a sub from Jersey Mike’s and get to my gate to relax for about 15 minutes before we started boarding.

I had even better luck on my second flight when I scored an aisle seat in an exit row. Soooo much leg room. I couldn’t believe the incredible luck I’ve had from the price of the ticket to the great seats. Each flight went off without a hitch. I read Henry Winkler’s autobiography book I recently picked up at a Free Little Library while geocaching and finished it. Although I felt the book jumped around a bit, I thought he still had an interesting story to tell. I knew he had been a recent guest on the Smartless Podcast, so on my second flight after I finished the book I listened to the episode. He told many of the same stories I had read in the book.

I landed in Kona, HI about 1:20p.m. and since I didn’t check any bags I had a very smooth exit. I was out on the curb and Uncle Andy was picking me up in no time. He has rented a condo in Waikoloa, HI which is about 25 minutes from the Kona airport. Last time Tom and I were here he we flew in and out of Hilo, so this was a new experience for me. The drive to the condo was pretty much a view of lava fields on our left and right with views of the ocean and mountains just beyond the lava fields. I was greeted at the condo by my Cousin Nikki, her husband Chris and their girls Riley and Harper. The girls were excited to tell me what they had been up to all week. Their flight home was this evening at 9:30 but we still had time to sit and chat in the condo for a bit before we wandered up to the condo pool and restaurant area. Uncle Andy, Nikki, and I enjoyed a happy hour Mai Tai while Chris stayed back with the girls until dinner time (Harper was super tired and taking a nap). Soon Chris and the girls joined us and we ordered dinner. I had an excellent macadamia nut crusted fish with rice and vegetables. A great first dish on the island!

After dinner we walked back to the condo to say goodbye to the Schwinn family and wished them safe travels back to Milwaukee. Uncle Andy made his second trip to the airport for the day and I stayed back to unpack, get settled in and go to bed early. I’m looking forward to a relaxing week on the big island of Hawaii!