At ages two and four, the kids are 100x easier to fly with, especially on a long haul, like to Honolulu. This will be Everett’s third time to Hawaii – lucky Bean!! His first was to Maui when he was around 5 months old and napped with a lot of effort on the plane. He probably only napped an hour overall that trip despite us carrying him back and forth in the cabin, setting up a tent with his blanket and trying to cover his eyes. That was our first experience with a long 6 hour flight of trying to keep a baby happy the whole flight. Everett set himself up at the age of two with much enthusiasm and gusto. He had his backpack set up, his headphones and all set to watch 6 hours of Paw Patrol all the iPad. His brain did melt down by the time we got to Kauai, since he didn’t sleep being preoccupied by the iPad. Sierra, like Everett at the age, had to be entertained the entire flight by the two of us, so we did not get any rest (let alone in the movie time) again.
This time, both kids were entertained by the iPad. It was a long flight, so we did have to open up some coloring books, and Sierra had to stretch her legs a little bit, but travel is looking hopeful once again.
The first two days in Hawaii were tiring. We checked in to Aulani, a beautiful resort. We squeezed in a pricey, but fast and delicious buffet, as well as trying out the beach and the pools of course, along with trying to buy groceries at Costco and Safeway. Costco was a bust, as after we shopped, we discovered they did not accept Mastercard, and our bank card network wasn’t compatible. The $60 US cash I brought along didn’t cut it.
It was Shannon’s birthday on day #2, which we celebrated with the Tilleys at the Ama Ama restaurant. Shannon had some fabulous scallops.
By the third day, we finally settled into our routine and started to get more relaxed, swimming pretty much all day, squeezing in photos with Moana and having fun with the Tilleys.
