Hawaii Day Fourteen: A good place to croak

My neighborhood friend, Rohn, has been patiently waiting for this day— the last post from Hawaii. I’ve been thinking about this post for a long time.

This was our second trip to Hawaii. How lucky I am.

Some people live a lifetime and never see an ocean. Hawaii is one of those places that once you visit, you keep that journey with you as a treasure in your heart for the rest of your life.

Saturday morning, February 3, the ship was returning us to the Honolulu harbor.

This was my first ocean cruise. I was worried that I might struggle with motion sickness. A couple of times, I felt a bit unsettled, but I adjusted. Of course, my well prepared Commander Supreme had dramamine on call.

All night, the ship’s big engines ran flat out to get us back on time. At some point, those engines stopped racing. The ship began its slow approach into the harbor with tug boats waiting to snug it into a dock.

Once up, we scurried off for breakfast. Interesting some food items that had been plentiful all week were scarce or not present for this roll call.

After breakfast, we hustled back to our rooms. We made one last check. Then, we headed toward the organized chaos of the loading zone for the airport.

Our bags and ourselves made it to the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Designed as an open air space, we had a few feathered friends flutter around the terminal.

Now, we played the waiting game.

Dan and Judy would be the first to depart. We wished them well on the flight back home to Maryland.

Gradually, the airline let Butch and Marian and Betsy and me check-in.

We made our way to the wing for our departure.

Our flight back to the East Coast was a red-eye nonstop straight to Dulles.

At some point, we opted to get a bite to eat. Butch was keeping tabs on the Duke and Carolina basketball game. It didn’t go well for the Blue Devils.

Like a lazy afternoon on a North Shore beach, the clock was in no hurry for us to board the plane. But finally, the call came to board.

I silently hoped this plane would be outfitted with monitors and working technology for movie viewing. Thank the good Lord it was.

We had a tail wind that pushed that big B767-400 across the Pacific and America. We landed in Dulles ahead of schedule. Watching three movies kept my sanity in check.

Our layover in Dulles was short. We walked, talked, and found a bit of food and drink before our flight back to Raleigh.

The travel gods were kind to us. Dulles to Raleigh was on time.

Butch and Marian’s daughter Adrienne drove over from Greensboro to pick them up. Our youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who lives and works in Raleigh gathered us up.

I don’t remember the ride from Raleigh to Richmond. Not sure who drove, Betsy or me, but we made it.

Worrier that I am, my biggest concern for this trip was that my imperfections might severely pluck the nerves of of our friends. If that happened, then over fifty years of friendship could be washed away. Luckily, that didn’t happen.

I’m thankful to Abby and Art for letting us have their vacation home on the North Shore for a week. And I’m appreciative of everyone who helped from the first planning conversation to the last mile into our driveways.

Love the hearts of the people of Hawaii.

The islands we visited were stunning.

And of course, the Pacific Ocean is part of that beauty.

I’m seventy one, I have no idea when the good Lord will say to his angels, “I’ve had enough of Pike, go get him.”

When that moment comes, maybe I’ll be sitting on the ocean side porch at Abby and Art’s home in Waialua.

I’ve decided that untroubled porch would be a good place to croak.

But, until that moment arrives, I plan to be a pain—making you, me, we, us think about this troubled old world, and praying we can fix it.

Love you all.