Southdale - Home at Last

I slept the entire flight from Maui to Vancouver. At the boarding gate for my Winnipeg flight, Air Canada was asking for 2 volunteers to give up their seat as they were overbooked. I was first in line and received a travel voucher for $800 and meal voucher for $20. Was I crazy to do this as I now had to spend 11 hours in the airport until my 8 pm flight to YWG? After a nap in one of the deserted gate areas, I spent the rest of the day in the Plaza Lounge as I had a free pass from Mastercard. I ate lunch and dinner there and sipped on Pinot Gris while I had interesting conversations with other travellers....all for free! I also had time to reflect on the last 5 l/2 weeks in Hawaii.

We couldn't have asked for better weather, with only 2 days of light, scattered showers. The Kauai weeks were 24-27 C and the rest of the vacation was 28-31 C. Trade winds are a godsend as it keeps the humidity down. The UV Index was 12 every day! The sun was scorching hot but only one of us got sunburned (the one who refused to use sunscreen)!

Kauai continues to hold the #1 spot as our favourite island. The lushness and aloha spirit will keep calling us back. Waikiki had so much to see and do, with the beach just around the corner. The locals and Japanese tourists were all so polite. Despite all the pedestrians and traffic, nobody jaywalked or honked their horn and pedestrians always had the right-of-way. Honolulu continues to have a homeless issue but there were no aggressive panhandlers. There is so much more to explore on Oahu that we didn't get to see. Maui has a traffic problem and because many of the drivers are US tourists they rule the road, a stark contrast to Waikiki. I had to be cautious during my walks. The Upcountry area was beautiful and Maui definitely had the best beaches. Another great vacation for the memory bank!

Arrived home at 2 am. Whew!Read more