Hello Hawaii, Here we come....

Not all adventures must be experienced from the front seat of an RV.



It was one year ago, while sitting at her kitchen table and talking with Aunt Louise about a possible trip together, that she offered:
1) Italy--"Hmm", I suggested,  "there is the money, the distance, what to do about the RV and Sigh Me, plus a few other obstacles I can think of,"
2.) Spain---Ditto

 

3.) It seemed Aunt Louise just wanted to go somewhere--anywhere--for her 93rd birthday.
4.) One of us suggested Hawaii.  Sister Mary lives there, it has been 25 years since I last visited there and Aunt Louise has never been.

So we made a date for the following October. 

Two weeks ago that date began as we flew Alaska Airlines to Seattle.  It was an utterly spectacular beginning
as you might readily observe by the photos I took as I constantly and annoyingly leaned over Aunt Louise to click away.
(I remember when pictures meant expensive film and processing, waiting for days for the results, and having to pay for pictures of your foot, or knee, or up a nostril.  Now, with digital cameras, we just willy-nilly, point and shoot  without a thought to cost or waiting.  So I took 675 pictures on this trip--aren't you so excited?)



Aunt Louise had asked as we boarded,  not to be seated by the window but I talked her into it anyway and as the landscape unfolded she became enthralled.

The fresh snow on the mountains in Wyoming, Idaho and Washington accented the peaks....

 

and the really high mountains in Washington prompted a guessing game...which one is this beauty? And how high is it?

 

So why doesn't someone put some really big signs on the top of all these peaks with the name and altitude?  It would settle a lot of questions.

Uh Oh, Did I hear a gasp out there?

I thought this photo was clever--complete with its own frame. 

We had a 2 hour layover in Seattle and Aunt Louise was cheerfully taking the entire trip in stride, while I was starting to need a nap.

It was 5 1/2 hours from Seattle to Honolulu with nary a bump in the road.

I had a hotel room booked for the night since I felt sure three airplane rides in one day might be a bit much for Aunt Louise. 

Tee Hee.  However, I am quite certain I was asleep well before she was even ready for bed.

The next morning we boarded an Hawaiian Airlines plane for the one hour flight to Hilo.



Soon we were playing the name game again, "Which Island is this?"



"Is it inhabited?" "Is there a town?"



So how about some big white letters that spell out the names of the islands and towns, like that lovely Hollywood sign back in California?



Oops.  I heard that.



Waiting for us in Hilo was sister, Mary, (of the 'broken leg' fame) and brother-in-law, Jim (the mountain man and musician last seen in Colorado).
Aloha
The papaya Mary is holding is her arch enemy--more on that in the next posting.