After about 18 hours of delay, our flight landed safely at Honolulu airport at 6am in the morning. Our flight was comfy and smooth. Almost every one of the passengers had a tinge of frustration mixed with anxiety and relief. Ajo did well throughout the flight. God answered the prayers of numerous people.
About an hour or so after take off, the captain announced about some turbulence situation that could last for 15 minutes. To our surprise and perhaps even to the surprise of the captain, there was no turbulence. The power of prayer is beyond words.
After picking up the rental car + GPS (we left ours at home), we drove to the hotel. After checking in, we enjoyed our free breakfast buffet and took a really good nap for about 4 hours or so. We woke up and took a walk, I mean a really long walk around the Waikiki beach area and returned back few hours ago. Weather is perfect and it is quite the paradise here. 70 -80 degrees is far from awesome in the winter.
We had dinner at "The Cheeseburger". It was not worth the price and the quality was mediocre. We are currently sitting at the lobby of our hotel enjoying free wi-fi since we do not have internet access in our room. It is really past our bedtime in Reno time. That's it for today.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Dear Voucher!
Today, America's most on time airline took a dip. It was not a good day for Hawaiian Airlines due to the unexpected delays caused by a bird strike in the Sacramento airport. (See previous post)
After spending about 4 hours in a Quality Inn near the airport, we are back at the airport to board the 1am flight to Honolulu. We are excited and slightly anxious. Prayer has been our anchor in this trip and will continue to be.
Inconveniences almost always earn perks and compensations. Customer satisfaction is big in every avenue of business, hence today we received the most vouchers ever in our entire life. Meal vouchers, hotel vouchers, and future flight discount voucher. The future flight discount voucher is perhaps the most useless for a tourist visiting Hawaii but obviously has the most value. $300 of flight voucher is no joke but I am not sure how the voucher is going to be a perk for us. Ajo has decided to write a letter to the "customer advocate" when we return. We are not sure if such a title or a person exist and what his duty entails. Perhaps our letter should be addressed: Dear Voucher.
Today has been a day of the "most" "first" and the "least"
1) The most vouchers we have ever received
2) The most wait time at a terminal
3) The most number of meals we have consumed at the airport ever
4) The least time we have spent at a hotel room
5) The first time we have seen an aircraft being worked on infront of us
It is nearly the boarding time. So aloha/adios/goodbye.
After spending about 4 hours in a Quality Inn near the airport, we are back at the airport to board the 1am flight to Honolulu. We are excited and slightly anxious. Prayer has been our anchor in this trip and will continue to be.
Inconveniences almost always earn perks and compensations. Customer satisfaction is big in every avenue of business, hence today we received the most vouchers ever in our entire life. Meal vouchers, hotel vouchers, and future flight discount voucher. The future flight discount voucher is perhaps the most useless for a tourist visiting Hawaii but obviously has the most value. $300 of flight voucher is no joke but I am not sure how the voucher is going to be a perk for us. Ajo has decided to write a letter to the "customer advocate" when we return. We are not sure if such a title or a person exist and what his duty entails. Perhaps our letter should be addressed: Dear Voucher.
Today has been a day of the "most" "first" and the "least"
1) The most vouchers we have ever received
2) The most wait time at a terminal
3) The most number of meals we have consumed at the airport ever
4) The least time we have spent at a hotel room
5) The first time we have seen an aircraft being worked on infront of us
It is nearly the boarding time. So aloha/adios/goodbye.
The Terminal!
This post is not about the Steven Spielberg comedy-drama film, however, it is about "The Terminal" we are currently stranded on. Life is quite interesting here at the terminal. Kids are fun to watch and I think part of our boredom and frustration was alleviated by them. We watched sibling dynamics between a 4 year old and a 2 year old. The 4 year old had a leash attached to him by his parents so as to avoid getting lost, running around, and all the impulsive things kids do these days.
Ajo & I decided to take a trip to Hawaii last week since Ajo is on his winter break from school. A perfect getaway turns not so perfect when our 8:50 am departure flight was delayed due to a "bird strike" which damaged one of the engines. We were informed at the airport that the flight had to undergo some repair, hence our flight was scheduled tentatively to leave at 4pm. The flight failed to take off at the promised time obviously since its past 4pm here at Sac airport and we are still waiting. Apparently a new part needed to replaced for the engine and the repairs will take longer than expected. Over 10 hours at an airport is insane. We were given food vouchers for $10. I do not want sound like a nitpicker but airport food is expensive and $10 is barely enough to buy a meal and a drink.
We are offered two choices, either to fly at 1am or 8:50am in the morning. The decision making process was quite a tough one and after going back and forth, we have come to a consensus to take the 1am flight. At present, we are going to check in to a hotel and freshen up only to come back here in a few hours or so. See you later.
Ajo & I decided to take a trip to Hawaii last week since Ajo is on his winter break from school. A perfect getaway turns not so perfect when our 8:50 am departure flight was delayed due to a "bird strike" which damaged one of the engines. We were informed at the airport that the flight had to undergo some repair, hence our flight was scheduled tentatively to leave at 4pm. The flight failed to take off at the promised time obviously since its past 4pm here at Sac airport and we are still waiting. Apparently a new part needed to replaced for the engine and the repairs will take longer than expected. Over 10 hours at an airport is insane. We were given food vouchers for $10. I do not want sound like a nitpicker but airport food is expensive and $10 is barely enough to buy a meal and a drink.
We are offered two choices, either to fly at 1am or 8:50am in the morning. The decision making process was quite a tough one and after going back and forth, we have come to a consensus to take the 1am flight. At present, we are going to check in to a hotel and freshen up only to come back here in a few hours or so. See you later.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The Human Tripod
Since coming to the west coast, Ajo & I have made a fair number of trips in and around the NV and CA area. Along the way, we developed an interest in photography and hence decided to upgrade our point and shoot camera to a DSLR. We have only a handful of photos with both of us in it and the reason is quite the obvious. We have to rely on others who usually accept our request to take a shot or two of both of us together. Prior to the SLR, this was not a big concern since point and shoots are fairly simple to use and not bothersome for a passerby.
The numerous human tripods we relied on until then, caused a good amount of anxiety when we switched over to the SLR. A lack of confidence and security in our human tripods developed and hence we decided that we will never hand over the SLR to a stranger but continue to use the point and shoot camera in order to take a picture with both of us. What this meant was that we had to carry two camera at all times and that we would never have a picture together in the out SLR camera.
Gradually, we had to be compromise our decision and hence we started using other tourist who owned SLR's or people preferably young who seemed fearless to handle a complex camera. I have to say that there are times when our hearts are pounding when some one is handling our camera. Regardless, the fear and the uneasiness we feel every time we rely on a human tripod, we continue to use them to get a shot together.
The numerous human tripods we relied on until then, caused a good amount of anxiety when we switched over to the SLR. A lack of confidence and security in our human tripods developed and hence we decided that we will never hand over the SLR to a stranger but continue to use the point and shoot camera in order to take a picture with both of us. What this meant was that we had to carry two camera at all times and that we would never have a picture together in the out SLR camera.
Gradually, we had to be compromise our decision and hence we started using other tourist who owned SLR's or people preferably young who seemed fearless to handle a complex camera. I have to say that there are times when our hearts are pounding when some one is handling our camera. Regardless, the fear and the uneasiness we feel every time we rely on a human tripod, we continue to use them to get a shot together.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Reno: layout and more...
Reno, I have lots and lots to say about this small city in Nevada where we currently reside but this post is meant to highlight a few characteristics of this city which I have observed over the past 18 months.
Two major freeways run through Reno, I-80 from East to West and I- 395 from North to South. Traffic on these freeways are very tolerable during rush hours and at other times a breeze. Though I do not want to sound like a critic, drivers always have trouble merging and over the few months alone, most of the accidents we drive by are on merges. Bike lanes are common in most of the main roads but I am not sure how popular bikers are. U-turns are allowed at about 99% of intersections which is totally a prize for someone from the east coast. Only arrow lanes can range from 1 lane to 3 lanes which can absolutely confuse drivers who are not familiar with it. Main roads like Virginia st or McCarran extends from one corner of Reno to another. One road (McCarran) goes around the whole Reno perimeter and it takes 20- 25 minutes at most to ride around the city.
The actual city lies interior in a valley with mountainous areas in the circumference. This means a lot of different things:
1) The night time view of the city is spectacular.
2) One side of the city can be easily viewed from the other side.
3) There is often a contrast in the weather from one area to another (It could be pouring or snowing in one region while we watch sunshine at a distance). Truly it's a beauty.
4) Our snow accumulations are quite different in the valley to the foothills.
5) Almost any time of the day, you can watch airplanes at a distance for a good duration of time.
6) The high-risers in the city has an elegance to them though sparse in number when compared to big cities.
The land is open and somewhat scattered but Renonians (a name I created) loves it and that is perhaps the highlight to many who absolutely abhor cities crammed and crowded. "Claustrophobic" is a popular feeling expressed by residents here who visit big cities like NY.
Houses are generally two stories with only a handful of homes with basements. Are homes cheap? Absolutely not! The influx of Californian residents and their investments in second homes inflated the real estate prices. Gated communities are becoming more common and preferred by buyers, perhaps an influence from California.
Mountains and that also on all four sides is a blessing and quite the view. Perhaps, a new comer most often dislike the mountains but like people say, it is like an "acquired taste". As time passes, you find the serenity and grandiosity in the mountains. All of a sudden, it's not boring or redundant anymore but inspiring and mood changing.
Two major freeways run through Reno, I-80 from East to West and I- 395 from North to South. Traffic on these freeways are very tolerable during rush hours and at other times a breeze. Though I do not want to sound like a critic, drivers always have trouble merging and over the few months alone, most of the accidents we drive by are on merges. Bike lanes are common in most of the main roads but I am not sure how popular bikers are. U-turns are allowed at about 99% of intersections which is totally a prize for someone from the east coast. Only arrow lanes can range from 1 lane to 3 lanes which can absolutely confuse drivers who are not familiar with it. Main roads like Virginia st or McCarran extends from one corner of Reno to another. One road (McCarran) goes around the whole Reno perimeter and it takes 20- 25 minutes at most to ride around the city.
The actual city lies interior in a valley with mountainous areas in the circumference. This means a lot of different things:
1) The night time view of the city is spectacular.
2) One side of the city can be easily viewed from the other side.
3) There is often a contrast in the weather from one area to another (It could be pouring or snowing in one region while we watch sunshine at a distance). Truly it's a beauty.
4) Our snow accumulations are quite different in the valley to the foothills.
5) Almost any time of the day, you can watch airplanes at a distance for a good duration of time.
6) The high-risers in the city has an elegance to them though sparse in number when compared to big cities.
The land is open and somewhat scattered but Renonians (a name I created) loves it and that is perhaps the highlight to many who absolutely abhor cities crammed and crowded. "Claustrophobic" is a popular feeling expressed by residents here who visit big cities like NY.
Houses are generally two stories with only a handful of homes with basements. Are homes cheap? Absolutely not! The influx of Californian residents and their investments in second homes inflated the real estate prices. Gated communities are becoming more common and preferred by buyers, perhaps an influence from California.
Mountains and that also on all four sides is a blessing and quite the view. Perhaps, a new comer most often dislike the mountains but like people say, it is like an "acquired taste". As time passes, you find the serenity and grandiosity in the mountains. All of a sudden, it's not boring or redundant anymore but inspiring and mood changing.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Welcome 2010! A New Year! A New Decade!
Last night when I went to bed, it was the year 2009 and this morning my eyes opened to welcome a new year. Thank God for this new year, a year of new discoveries and challenges. 2010 came too soon. What does this new year bring for me?. Not sure but one thing I know is that, whether it be anything, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
What can I give to the new year 2010?. We live in a world where all our thoughts and actions are geared towards getting something or other. What can I get instead of what can I give? It's a simple thought but very hard to put in practice.
What can I give? What can you give? God Bless!
What can I give to the new year 2010?. We live in a world where all our thoughts and actions are geared towards getting something or other. What can I get instead of what can I give? It's a simple thought but very hard to put in practice.
What can I give? What can you give? God Bless!
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