Off to Hawaii..but before we begin...
With eager anticipation we get ready for two vacations in one trip – a long weekend in Canada for Thanksgiving (which does not coincide with American thanksgiving, the basic concept is the same) and a trip to Hawaii. Not exactly around the corner from Switzerland, but once in Canada we are already half way to Hawaii – I’ve always wanted to go and MG always wants to go somewhere new.
Our flights were booked in the summer and as summer turned into fall, we ordered the Hawaii Lonely Planet and started to plan the trip. From Toronto, we were flying to Honolulu and needed to book inter-island flights to the Big Island and then to Maui (as we were heading home from Hilo). Once hotels were booked, inter-island flights paid and rental cars reserved, we double-check our flight itinerary. Now we fancy ourselves as savvy world travellers or at least relatively organized individuals, so it was a bit of a surprise to discover that our flight booking was not to Honolulu, but to Maui. We had reversed everything and, with some embarrassment, had to reverse and rebook our hotels, inter-island flights and rental cars. In the end, the cost was minimal and we were able to shuffle plans to accommodate our flights (but not without future consequences – see Day 3 for more details). We were back on track!
Originally, when we decided on an extension trip to Hawaii, it was supposed to be a relaxing beach vacation. Later when we started planning, we added multiple islands and started a quickly expanding list of sightseeing “must-dos”. I still thought it would be a fairly slow paced vacation with sunsets, beach strolls, small towns and lots of down time.
But this isn’t that trip. This is Hawaii in 6 (that turned out to be 5) nights.
Our Friday flight from Zurich to Toronto leaves mid-day, which gives us plenty of time to finish packing and get organized. We have both forgotten that we agreed to take the train to the airport rather than drive and park…quickly our leisurely pace turns into an airport scramble, as we rush to make the train, make the connection at HB and make it to the airport on time. The flight is full – we are not the only ones looking forward to Thanksgiving turkey and Tim Horton’s coffee. Although the movie selection is disappointing (Air Canada), the flight is relatively uneventful and on time. MG narrowly misses being attacked by an entire pot of tea that a flight attendant spills onto the man sitting directly behind him.
We arrive in Toronto around 16:30 and as we hop into our rental car I think we are going to be early for our dinner plans. I have been living outside Canada for a year and completely forgot that a Friday afternoon in Toronto, especially at the beginning of a long weekend = Traffic (and lots of traffic in all directions). As we inch along the 401, MG and I agree that commuting is something we don’t miss. In the end, we arrive late, but have a fun, casual family dinner – meeting the newest four-legged member of the group. Over the next three days we pack in as much family/friend time as possible with two Thanksgiving dinners, three brunches, one birthday party, and all you can eat Sushi. We also manage to squeeze in some shopping, see the CN Tower and have a few Tim Horton’s “friends” (Timbits). Its nice to come back and feel missed and welcomed, but also as though things haven’t changed a bit.