When Mona got up, she made me coffee and then John joined us and shared the pie I had bought him for his birthday from Ted's Bakery. I always say that I don't like coconut, but this haupia (creamy coconut pudding) layer of the chocolate/haupia cream pie was like heaven. What a great breakfast!
John hadn't gone to dinner with us the evening before so it was wonderful to visit with him also. It's like being with people you've never been away from for a second even though you haven't been there for 9 years! They are so faithful to run their household fellowship and take care of God's people as well as their family. John turned 75 on the 31st and still works full time; Mona works too cleaning houses on the island. They just give and give and give. And Mona and I have such history and such love for each other, it's a BIG blessing to be with her.
After our pie, they came with me to the airport (John followed) to make sure I got the rental car back to the right place and then they dropped me off at the Delta terminal. So sad... At the airport, you have to run your baggage through a USDA inspection station before checking it in with Delta.
The security line was long, but got through in plenty of time to buy some souvenirs at the nice shops near my gate. The plane loaded on time and I sat next to a woman who was traveling with her family of 15 or so who had celebrated her sister's 40th wedding anniversary. Turns out they had been at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Thursday also and had been at the Tonga show where Karl performed. That was pretty funny! I watched a couple of movies, but no sleep cometh.
My flight left at noon Hawaii time and arrived in LAX at 7:30 p.m. PST. So that was a 5-1/2 hour flight. Los Angeles was kind of an interesting airport. It has several terminals (kind of like Atlanta). But there is no train connecting them so you walk. I didn't really mind since I'd been sitting for so long, but it did make me think about older folks or people with disabilities. I guess you just flag down one of those people driving an electric cart. My flight to Atlanta wasn't leaving until 10:40 p.m., so I found a United Club again to use up my second pass. It was OK, but the hummus looked like it had been sitting out all day. It wasn't all that inviting. But I was able to charge my phone and sit in a quiet place for a while. The flight to Atlanta was a 737-800 two rows of 3 seats on either side of the aisle. It was packed. I'd call it a cattle car. I was having a little restless leg syndrome by the time I got off that flight at 5:30 a.m. EST.
I had recently gotten a Delta Gold credit card and with my info pack I had read that you could get a Delta Sky Club pass for $29. Since I was going to be in the airport until 9 a.m., I decided to try it. I had read on Yelp that the club in Terminal F was really nice, and that was where I had landed, so I went there. Oh, they weren't kidding. It was beautiful. And they had shower rooms, big beautiful clean shower rooms, with an attendant who gave you soap and body wash and toothpaste and toothbrush and a hair dryer and towels. Ahhh! So I took a lovely shower and felt 1000% better. Then I went out to their lounge and had Starbucks coffee and fresh fruit and oatmeal and they had more. I could have had a bloody Mary cuz they had a bar too, but since I needed to hit the ground running in Dayton, I just had coffee and water. When I got to my terminal (B) for my flight, I used the Sky Club there also for a bit. Turns out you can use their pass at any terminal in the airport unlike United who only gives you one terminal per pass. I'm liking Delta a lot. Actually their customer service was very good.
The flight to Dayton was hardly full which felt so luxurious. I dozed a bit, the first I had really slept the whole flight. And then I was at Dayton; my luggage arrived on time; the Westwind Valet guy was already at the airport for another call when I stepped outside. There was no snow on the ground. I had a lovely drive home and after a short nap, went to the Sunday Teaching Service and was back in the groove.
