Gloatin-free vacation.

My wife says I'm mean when I adopt my "I'm in Hawaii and you're not," attitude so I will try to be nicer. We've always looked forward to the days of retirement when we could travel in "off-peak times" and so far, so good. There was the 27-day road trip to Canada in October, and yesterday we flew to Hawaii for the second test of that philosophy. Thanks to Jeff for getting up before dawn to drive us to the airport.

Off-season benefit number one was taking only 18 minutes from car to gate. We had gotten our boarding passes online, but still had to check bags and go through security.

Delta flights are now like Jet Blue in that each seat has an individual monitor. The down side is that since we were flying over water, no satellite TV was available. The good thing is that, because of that, all of the on-demand movies were free. I started off with "Invictus", which turned out to be one of the best movies I"ve ever seen. Of course I'm a sucker for sports movies, but this was more about the rebuilding of a nation than it was about rugby--and I know about as much about rugby as the people I often sit next to at Angels games know about baseball. I was near tears for most of the movie, mainly because, like most good sports stories, I knew this had really happened. It was a storyline that probably would have been panned as being unrealistic if it hadn't been a true story (see "Victory," a late 70s Stallone movie which pits war prisoners against the German national soccer team!!) I came away thinking that it's too bad Nelson Mandela was not available to become an advisor to President Obama.

I then watched "What About the Morgans?" Not quite in the same class, but I felt I needed an escapist chick-flick after the heaviness of "Invictus". "Morgans" indeed delivered that. Since I didn't have enough time for another movie, I watched much of Robin Williams "Weapons of Self-Destruction" and laughed for the rest of the trip (this show not recommended for conservatives).

Landed in Honolulu, had about a 3-hour layover before our flight to Kauai. Since there were 2 Kauai flights before us, our luggage was waiting for us when we got off the plane. Benefit #2--no one in front of me at the Hertz counter, and I was back to pick up the girls and the luggage in about 10 minutes.

Arrived at the Marriott Waiohai in Poipu right at the 4 pm check-in time. This is our second stay here, and since we traded in and are not owners, we were kind of apprehensive about our lodging location. Last time, we were in the main building, far from the water, with a view of the corner of our building. I called last week, explained that while we weren't Waiohai owners, we DID own 2 Marriott properties, and would appreciate the best view that was available. Well, we have a partial ocean view, facing the southeast away from the courtyard noise and can see the public Poipu beach from the balcony. Made a point of going back to the check-in desk to let her know how pleased we were.

Since we hadn't yet been to the grocery store, we headed to the local hangouts for dinner. Our original plan was to go to Poipu Tropical burgers because we knew it was good, but we also knew there was a Roy's in the same center. We decided to see how crowded they were: Benefit number 3, they had an immediate table. Since (a) it was Mother's Day and (b) I hadn't gotten Jan a card and (c) it's her favorite place to eat in all the world, Jay (my brother-in-law) and I decided that Roy's would be a great idea.

Got up just before 6 Hawaiian time--a lot later than I expected to sleep given the time change. Went out on the balcony to watch the sunrise and listen to the roosters. Took a walk on the beach--tide was out so there was a dry-land path to the rocks and tidepools and I visited them.
Came back towards the room and spent about 10 minutes in the hammock stretched between two palm trees right below our room. Getting ready to go get groceries, go to the Farmer's Market, and other than that relax and enjoy. Karen and Jay have been to Kauai before, so guided tours will not be necessary.

The downside of off-peak travel? My kids and grandkids are not here since they have jobs and school. We thought of skipping Hawaii next year, but Jolie was so disappointed about not going this year we promised to book next year at a time when they could come. Jeff didn't really want to come this year (he hates flying) but as he let us off he told Jan, "Now that I'm here at the airport, I wish we were going."

So I tried to keep the bragging out as much as possible. I am amazed at the blessings of God that have allowed me to spend my "golden years" in such never-dreamed-of luxury. I DID miss my church family this weekend, and I suppose the final benefit (for now) that I can think of is that when we get back in 2 weeks it will be too early for all of them to have started their vacations and I will be able to see them all right away.