Vacation Day 1: Travel from Hell

I decided that I will take you day by day through my vacation. Provided I don't become to bored with it, which is a big possibility.

First of all, i need to address that I am a really bad packer. This comes from my childhood...at least that's what I'm blaming it on. When I was little and we traveled, we never had the right clothing. If we packed shorts, it snowed. If we packed sweatshirts, it was a heat wave. This was back before the Internet when we had to rely on my dad's memory and he had no idea what he was talking about. Ever since then I pack for three climactic changes, and am always flirting with that 50 lb. weight limit.

So at 6am on Saturday, I packed up my heavy suitcase and drove over to Danielle's (whom you've already met) to go pick up my grandma and head to the airport.

I knew this whole day was not going to go well when we went to check in and my grandma's name of spelled wrong on her reservation (which my dad's company had made, and we didn't really look at before it came up on the check in kiosk). The airports don't really like when your reservation doesn't match your ID. So after being berated by the high and mighty airline counter guy, he finally gives my grandma a pass to get through security, but says "Whatever you do don't leave the airport in Chicago." OK, fine whatever.

We get up to the gate and our flight is delayed two hour because of snow in Chicago (thanks for telling us airline counter guy...ass). Well, that doesn't work with our 50 minute layover we have to make our connection to Hawaii. Being the savvy traveler that I am, I go to get us put on a later flight. Unfortunately, there is only one other flight that day to Maui, it's through San Francisco and it's currently full, but with all hell breaking loose currently in Chicago, some seats could open up. Either way, it's flashing through my mind that we're going to be stuck for the night somewhere and can't leave the airport because my grandma's boarding pass doesn't match her ID.

We actually take off from Harrisburg after only an hour delay...remember 50 minute layover. We get in exactly 4 minutes before our other flight is scheduled to take off. Luckily our gate is in the same concourse that we arrived. I walk at my normal pace (because my grandma is even then struggling to keep up) to the gate...door's closed. "Please let us on!!" I give my best pitiful face and they open the door. As I'm getting on the plane, I get yelled at for being unsafe by the pilot because my shoelace is untied.

Whew!! We made it. Then we proceed to sit for a half hour while they de-ice the plane...twice. The first formula they used wasn't strong enough. We taxi out and then stop and taxi back in. The engine de-icer valve is stuck. An hour later, it's fixed. Oh, but we have to de-ice the plane again because it's been too long since the first time we did it. Another half hour later, we take off for our 8 and a half hour flight. We watch 4 movies during it and an episode of the Office. That's a long flight!!

Finally we arrive in Maui and all of our luggage is there and everything. Also, that evening I discovered that my grandmother (who I was sharing a room with) snores like an elephant seal. Seriously, the loudest snore I have ever heard in my life. It woke me up in the middle of the night every night of our vacation and once it was so annoying that I ended up on the couch in my parents' room.