| By: Paul S. Cilwa | Viewed: 4/24/2024 Occurred: 3/17/2020 |
Page Views: 591 | |
| Topics: #Maui | |||
| Taking social isolation to an extreme. | |||
We were supposed to move to Maui at the end of January. Luckiily, just before I actually bought the tickets, I was told there would be a delay in the building of the bamboo hut in which Keith and I am supposed to live; and, therefore, a delay in our traveling there might be prudent.
I did buy the tickets for our flights for late February…only to be told the hut was still being constructed—or maybe it was being designed—but, whatever the holdup was, we didn't take the flight in February.
But my grandson, Zach, who was on the property trying to get it set up for us, made alternate plans (because our lease was up and we had to move) and promised a 200 square foot shed with windows and a beautiful view would be ready when we arrived.
Because of the dogs, who were to move with us, and to faciliate shipping our car, Keith and I planned to travel separately. I was to fly first, so I would be on the island to receive the dogs when they arrived. Keith had to be home to hand the dogs over to the pet moving person.
So I planned the dates carefully: I would fly out on the 23rd; the dogs on the 24th; Keith would turn in the keys on the 25th and drive to Long Beach, where he would take the car to the shipper, and then board a flight to Maui out of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, my daughter, Jenny (the one who actually owns the property) and her toddlers had planned to visit the property for Spring Break. (Yes, even toddlers' schools close for Spring Break!) And I really wanted to spend at least a little time with my grandbabies on Maui. I found I could reschedule my flight with ease, so that I would overlap with Jenny's visit by a couple of days.
And then the coronavirus, COVID-19, became a thing.
So when I arrived at the airport I found it filled with uncertainty. About a third of them wore surgical masks, which (at the time) we'd been told wouldn't help. (Since then, the CDC has reversed its position on that topic.) On the other hand, about a third of them, ones in groups, were openly scornful of those worried about the disease, laughing and shaking hands with each other for no reason. And the remaining third, like me, just wanted to arrive and be allowed to land—due to "plague"which once prevented Mark Twain from landing in Honolulu, wnich resulted in his being diverted to Maui.
But I was flying through Honolulu.
Consequently, the flight was interminable. And I'm not sure whether the inflight navigator helped or not. Normally one uses it to see what one is flying over. But I was flying over 6 hours' worth of ocean. And, for a six-hour flight, that indicator moves mighty darn slow.
I was somewhat relieved when I did land, however; once I could check my phone and the airport displays and be assured I could continue on to Maui.
It had been raining in Honolulu, but it was pouring over Hana.
I was supposed to fly from Maui's international airport at Kahului, to Hana's regional airport. I had to walk through the rain to the regional terminal; and then waited as the flight was repeatedly delayed.
