Sunday, July 5, 2015

Arrived in Kona OK

Got to LAX two hours early, had only one bag to check (at $25 each way, and no, it wasn't oversize/overweight!), so flew through that, and then went through the usual Thousands Standing Around drills.

Went to the gate, and began the wait......


We saw our aircraft arrive from Houstan and deplane, and then watched them clean it, fuel it, and swap out the crew.

Then they told us that we'd be boarding late because the catering truck had not arrived......D'OH!

The catering truck arrived, but because they did their unpacking and stocking the galley using the First Class seating area, they let us peons in Economy Class board first!

The flight had DirecTV with "100's of Channels!!", BUT only over the CONUS. Once we flew out of the SoCal spot beam(s), it reverted to a 10-movie DVR. I watched the flight map for about 25 minutes or so as we climbed at around 1500'/min to our cruising altitude of 36,500' and 550MPH, and then that stopped working. Since I don't know where the displayed info comes from, I'm clueless as to why it froze the display and popped up a "The Flight Map Application Is Not Available".

So, I started watching the Avengers: Age Of Ultron about 30 minutes in from the start. Had more than enough "flight time" to watch it from that point, and then the complete movie, start to finish.

Not a bad movie, but they're starting to get pretty formulaic.

1) Introduce the characters
2) Set up the plot
3) Bad Guy triumphs at first, and things look bleak
4)Apocalyptic battle, and the Good Guys win

yawn.........

ANYWHO........arrived in Kona at KOA about 30 minutes early, waited for our (well....mine, really) bags, took the shuttle to the rent-a-car place, got the car, got my Garmin RoadMate up and running, and drove to the timeshare my wife's friend "owns", where they informed us the unit wouldn't be ready until 1600 local, but they'd call us if it was ready sooner.

And I'm learning all about "Island Time", as NOBODY is in a hurry to do anything!

I'm kicking back right now, and the wimmens are out doing some grocery shopping. This is a pretty sweet timeshare, and we have a full-sized kitchen with "all the major appliances", our own washer/dryer and vacuum cleaner, and the kitchen even came stoked with a decent supply of coffee, creamer, sugar and sweetener.

I couldn't bring my full-size DSLR and lenses, as it was just too big and too heavy to stuff into my duffle, so I'll either borrow my wife's little camera, or use the GoPro in single-shot mode when we go to the Arizona Memorial and the Missouri on Tuesday.

And I'm beat and dehydrated from a six hour flight. I shudder when I think of the globe trotting Old_NFO does!


8 comments:

  1. We understand Island time. We have similar Wickenburg time here.

    Have a great time there :)

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  2. Yep, life in a small town is much slower paced.

    I remember at least that much from growing up in Illinois.....

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  3. Island time is a whole different animal. Just lower your expectations, kick back, and relax. Have a mai tai if you're so inclined ... I understand it helps a great deal. :)

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    Replies
    1. Oh, boy, is it ever!

      My wife and her friend want me to take a picture of them having a Mai Tai at the Mai Tai Bar, which is right on the beach, with the ocean behind them.

      We're going to see the Arizona and Missouri on Tuesday, and then an island tour on Wednesday, and then I can't keep up with what she has planned!

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  4. I hope the extra money for the suitcase was to carry the radios. Will be listening for you /KH6.

    Good DX and enjoy the trip.

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    1. Sorry, Terry, but no portable ops this trip.

      One of the reasons I left my Nikon D200 and bag at home was my wife crammed a ton of her stuff in my duffle so all she had to carry was a carry-on sized little roller bag!

      Delete
  5. Have fun, and kick back and relax! :-) That's a 'short' flight... LOL

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    1. Yeah, it's only about 50 minutes or so.
      Just talked to the radio guy on the Missouri I've been interfacing with, and he'll pick us up at the airport, take us to the Arizona, and then to the Missouri.

      Delete

Keep it civil, please....

Annnnd.....We Got Zip.....

 Total snow was about 6~8", but half o0f it melted as soon as it hit, and we never had more than 3" on the ground at any one time....