The wind
reached the camper shaking level in the middle of the night; it also caused
quick power outages. I know this because our camper beeps every time the power
is turned on…and it beeped several times during the night. Not a fun way to wake up out of a sound
sleep. We left for the airport in the
rain but it was sunny and warm in Phoenix when we arrived there.
We parked in the Bird Poop section of the
parking garage, meaning up on the top level, out in the open. Just glad to find a parking spot.
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Check-in was rather painless…just showed my
phone and my license. Security was as
cumbersome as I remember. Shoes off, all
technology out of their bags, pockets emptied and bags flat on the belt. Then step ahead into the body scanner, stand
on the painted footsteps and raise your hands up like you’re doing a jumping
jack. After everything passes muster, there’s very little space to reassemble yourself
and your belongings. Overall, though, it was a quick enough process. Found our
gate and waited.
There were announcements about the flight
being full so overhead space would be tight. If there wasn’t enough room, the
last resort would be to require some bags to be checked. As we boarded, the
flight attendants made this suggestion in order to maximize the overhead space:
“Place your overhead luggage on its side like a taco, not flat like a
quesadilla”. People complied and no one’s luggage had to
be checked.
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Overall, it was a non-stop 6 ½ hour flight
but with the time difference we landed only 3 ½ hours after take-off. Body clocks will be a little whacked out
because I’m not exactly sure we’d adjusted to the Michigan to Arizona time
difference yet. Since my phone became
non-communicative after I took it off airplane mode, I passed the time by dozing
in decidedly awkward positions a majority of the flight while Kim watched
several movies. His phone was behaving nicely.
The airport
terminal is one level; therefore we walked down a ramp to the tarmac to walk to
it. As soon as I hit the open airplane door, I knew I was in trouble. The temperature
was in the high 70s with cloud cover and I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and
jeans. I knew I’d be pushing it dressed like that but due to needing a pair of long
pants for riding I opted to wear them instead of packing them…my thought being
to save room in the carry-on. Lesson learned: I’m wearing shorts and packing
the jeans on the return trip, being comfortable wins out over being practical.
Caught the shuttle to Alamo Car Rental and
within 15 minutes we were buzzing out of there in a Mustang convertible with
the top up because it was suddenly raining like crazy. We were clueless as to
how to put the top down anyway; it required a reading of the owner’s manual. Someone before us had to do the same because that
page was dog eared. 😎 The rain lasted about 15 minutes and judging
by the forecast, it’s a toss-up whether the top will get down during our time
here. Oh, well.
Found the Kona Hawaii Guesthouse fairly easily and although I obviously didn’t know exactly what to expect, I didn’t expect to be in a crowded neighborhood, renting a room in what appears to be someone’s home. A strange cross between a bed and breakfast and an Airbnb. I guess the word guesthouse should have been a clue. Host (John) seems pleasant enough and as long as our stuff is safe, it’s all good. Although truthfully, we brought so little that we could take it with us and lock it in the trunk of the car when we head out for the day. Tonight we’re in the best room and for the remainder of the trip, we’ll be in the room I actually reserved.
The vibe is certainly different than back
home. The windows are louvered and can’t
be shut because the top half of the louvres have been taken out to allow the
breeze in…John says that’s because people like us from the colder climates
would close the place up tight and then the room would become too hot. Problematic
with no air conditioning. And it appears we’ll be serenaded throughout the night
by whatever creatures are out there singing songs to each other. They’re loud and there’s no way to shut the
windows to block out the sound. 😕
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Ate
at Los Habaneros not far from here, then came back to the room. Kim was in bed at 8 o’clock and I’m on my way
soon. It’s been a long, out of rhythm day.
Tonight we sleep, tomorrow we explore.
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