A very early morning with the wake up call coming through at 5 am. We got up and quickly got dressed before checking out of the hotel and making our way to the airport shuttle queue. Fortunately we only had to wait a few minutes before the shuttle arrived. It was hard to believe that even at this hour of the morning we were in grid lock traffic to the airport.
We were dropped off at Terminal 4 where a very kind American Airlines worker offered to check us in on the footpath (they have computers etc there to speed things up). Sadly, our booking came up saying that we had to proceed to a counter. We made our way inside and went to line up at the Qantas Economy check-in (as we were on a Qantas flight but code-share with American Airlines) but were directed to the other end of the terminal to American Airlines Self Check-In. We have become pretty good at self check-in lately, or so we thought. There was no way we could check in. We did not have one of 2 cards they wanted you to swipe, it would not accept our reservation number or surname. We tried destination and it would not accept that either. David went and asked someone to help us. She just pointed to the self-serve kiosk that we could not use and walked off. Eventually, with much frustration, I was able to scan David's passport and get into our booking. The machine then said it was printing our 4 boarding passes. Despite saying 4 it only printed 3 and did not give us an option to check in any luggage. Needless to say my patience was fast running out. David went and found another woman and asked her to help. She came over to our screen but then decided to take us over to another section where you get your ID verified before dropping off your bag. She had to reissue 4 boarding passes and arrange for our baggage to be checked in. Once she was done we left our bags and then made our way upstairs to queue for security. The process was much faster than yesterday.
With all the formalities finally done we set out on a mission to find some breakfast. We found a sit down cafe and had our fill of bacon and eggs. A quick toilet and snack buying stop and then it was time to board the plane. We found that the boys and I were in the very last row of the plane with David one row in front of us. Sitting that far back certainly makes you appreciate being closer to the front of the plane as it is very bumpy and turbulent and every passenger stands right next to or bumps you as they queue up for the toilet. When we were coming in to land water was dripping from the escape boat hatch in the ceiling onto David's head. The hostess was trying her best to stop it from dripping and to assure us it was just condensation from the air temperature outside being different to that inside. It did at least slow down.
After landing we were amazed at how quickly our baggage came off the plane. It was also fantastic after another 6 hour flight to arrive and see a representative waiting with our name on a sign. He gave each of us a traditional flower lei greeting. A bit touristy but very nice all the same. The fresh flowers were beautiful.
We boarded the bus, with a very funny driver providing commentary as we collected a few other passengers, all Australians, and then drove to Waikiki Beach. It didn't take very long to arrive. We were especially lucky as our hotel was the first stop. Although it was really too early to check in, the lady on Reception was able to find us a room that was ready. We were really grateful to be able to go to our room and chill out for a little while. Our room is very large and has a view out over the hotel pool and deck area and the beach. I'm sure we'll be really happy unwinding here for a few days before we finally head home.
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