Going Home

Going Home

We got into San Francisco late and by the time we got to the Fairmont and got checked in it was past 11, we were tired and hungry.  The restaurant was closed so we ordered from room service.  My mom said it was the first time she had ever done it.  I ordered a pesto pizza, my mom had a BLT, I found Nutella and raspberry jam finger sandwiches on the kids menu and ordered them for our dessert.  That plus 2 glasses of wine cost $95.  Yikes, but what the hell, it’s fun to be decadent once in a while.  I had e-mailed the travel agent earlier in the trip about a few things that weren’t quite right, he sent us a goody basket on Kauai and one on Maui.  At the Fairmont they put us in a “Tower” room, on the 19^th floor with the most fantastic view of the city.  Also waiting for us was a box made out of chocolate with some fancy chocolates inside.  Not only was the box made out of chocolate but it had a picture of the Fairmont painted on the top.  Deluxe!!

We had breakfast in the hotel Monday AM.  There was the cutest maitre’d, same one as on the way out.  A very nice African American man with an accent I couldn’t quite place.  His hair is thinning on top and it looks like he took a sharpie and drew in a hairline and then filled in the thin spots.  Unique.  But he was so friendly, after we ate I shook his hand and told him we were glad to see him again and how welcome he made us feel.  Oh, he hugged us and kissed my mom on the cheek, so sweet.

We flew to Chicago, then to Columbus, it was a long day and we finally got in at midnight.  Tuesday we rested and today, Wednesday I brought my mom home to Canton.  Tomorrow I’ll take her to see her sister in Akron and then head home.  I’ll have Thurs night in Columbus then am off to DC for 2 nights.  My nephew Joe is headed to Pakistan March 19^th, it’s his latest assignment for the state dept and I want to see him before he goes.  He’ll be gone a year and I’ll be worried the whole time. 

I figured that Thursday will be the only night in 3 weeks that I’ll sleep in my own bed (when my mom visits I sleep on the couch).  I’ll have been on 12 flights when I get home from DC.  After that I’m going to have to settle down, get some sewing and things around the house done.  Also, I’ll go back to grading proficiency test March 22^nd.   Whew.

Couple notes: some of my pictures are a little funky, especially the underwater camera shots.  My pal Seth is going to help me learn to manipulate them and get them looking a little better.  Also, I think I may have figured out how to put captions on the individual pictures so will try that.  I’m also trying to figure out how to be able to write a little, post a picture, write a little more-rather than have a line of pictures, then all the text.

Postcards: I tried to be so smart and organized.  I bought postcard stamps before I left.  I bought address labels and printed names and addresses of people I wanted to send postcards to.  So easy, right?  Buy the card, put a label and stamp on it, write a few lines and Bob’s your uncle.  Well it worked until the airport in Kauai on the way to Maui.  I had the address labels, the stamps and my itinery in a folder in my purse.  I did a few cards waiting to check in at Island Air, but when we got to our room on Maui, the whole folder was gone.  So, not everybody that I intended to send a card to got one.  Hope you all can enjoy the blog instead.

The Aloha spirit.  Folks, this is a real thing.  People in Hawaii almost without exception are friendly, helpful, and want you to enjoy your stay.  Sometimes the other tourists are hinky, but there’s no controlling that.  People went out of their way to help us, my mom was either using a cane to walk or holding my elbow as her balance is poor.  She is waaaaay slow, too, but everyone was patient.  At the Basil Tomato, the host grabbed a flashlight and shone it on the steps as we went down because it was a little dark.  He loaned me the flashlight later when my mom was having trouble reading the menu.  Mom is very hard of hearing as well.  She has hearing aids but doesn’t like to wear them much, so she misses a lot of what is said.  People were kind to repeat and talk louder or let me “translate” for her.

It was a great trip.