Travel Day

It was a little nervewracking to wake up to three inches of snow on Friday morning, but we all managed to get off without a hitch.


Before we talk about that though, we have to go back to Thursday when Chris and Lana traveled to Chicago. We deviated from our original directions and made a stop at the outlet mall on our way to our motel. Now, without mapquest or a navigation system, Chris is charged with the task of getting us to the motel using "the map" (scary scary). Lana promised her that if she could get them there without going more than 5 miles out of the way, it would be written about on this blog for all to see. She did a great job (and WE ARE NOT going to mention Madison or Seattle). They arrived with no problems and settled in for the night. Atta girl Chris!


Chris and Lana got to the airport and boarded the plane to find an interesting (weird doesn't sound very nice) man already seated in the aisle seat of their row. Lana pushed her way in to the window seat and Chris plopped into the middle seat. A few minutes later the stewardess came around telling people that there were empty seats and you were free to relocate if you wanted. That man was gone before she could get all the words out of her mouth. Go figure. I still think we were happier to see him go than he was to move.


The other ladies began their day with an agent that didn't like her job at the Quad City International Airport. She didn't want to let MaryEllen sit in her seat and then wanted to charge her $50 because her suitcase was too heavy. Michele suggested to her that she run down and buy another suitcase to split up her load. The agent backed down when she realized who she was up against and let them through. Add another notch to Michele's belt!

We were greeted in Hawaii by sunshine and 80 degree temperatures. Life is good!

Our first real challenge of the trip came when we were loading the minivan. Trying to get five women and their luggage in was indeed challenging but we were successful. We didn't even have to leave the suitcase that contained only shoes behind. (We won't mention names here, but we do know this wasn't Lana's suitcase since she neglected to bring any shoes.)

Our first stop is the Safeway store to load up on necessities. There wasn't much room to spare with all the luggage, but we managed to get everything in although we knew Chris would never be able to get out until we unloaded. We were greeted at the Marriott by an eager bellhop who quickly summoned help when he saw our load. They very pleasantly unloaded our vehicle, got Chris out, and waited to accompany us to our condo. We got offers from many people who wanted to party with us when they saw five hot babes and their party supplies moving across the courtyard toward their building.

The first order of business was to unpack and head to the pool bar. Our vacation has begun!!!