The luggage situation was complicated with the overnight stay in Seattle between Alaska Airlines  flights. I ended up short-checking my bag rather than have it sent ahead to our morning flight. All of my toiletries and running gear will be needed, while my wife packed a carry-on. Unfortunately, she had some expensive Angel body cream in the bag, so she ended up going back through security to short-check it, as well. Our first minor hassle of the trip.

While we’re traveling, we’re at least avoiding all the paving in our neighborhood. Our cars are safely in the garage and won’t be subject to tracking tar all over the driveway. Tally is at Schnauzerville with her dog family, avoiding any disturbance from the paving and dump trucks. We are all fortunate to be away during the disruption. We evacuated well during the hurricane and now missing out on this other mess.

The rest of my wife’s family will join us once we get settled in Lihue. We have a 3-bedroom, ocean-view condo so all six of us will have plenty of paradise privacy. My son dropped us off at the airport where we learned that there will be no internet on the flight. I probably won’t find out the I.U. vs. North Carolina score until after we land. I was looking forward to maybe watching the game on the long, 6-plus-hour flight. Instead, I’ll be stuck reading and napping while fussing about the outcome. It’s a second minor hassle!

My wife and I both got aisle seats with no one in either middle spot. Plenty of space, although I’m missing the First-Class luxury on our last long flights. She wisely stopped for bagel sandwiches after dealing with the re-check hassles of her luggage. They are all securely on-board thanks to our tracking device reports. We’ll now have to pick-up two bags at the Sea-Tac Airport before we head to the Aloft Hotel, our first time to stay at this Marriott property. More points well taken!

I was looking ahead to our travel schedules over the next year, thinking that I really just want to stay home. I’m not looking forward to the flight tomorrow that takes us to Seattle for a quick overnight and then on to Kauai. I’ll be exhausted when I get there, dreading a similar flight home. My wife, however, will be thrilled visiting with her two daughters on this trip that has been delayed multiple times. I also started looking into flights to Vegas, back to Indianapolis and Portland for weddings, our Egyptian River Cruise, and a long drive to Maine. I’m worn out just thinking about it. Travel does not seem to hold the same appeal that it did during the working days, when a break was always welcome. Now, it seems like we overdo it. 

We also have several guests lined up for visits to the house. A daughter here in January, multiple friends coming in February, and others yet to commit. We also have obligations to get together with my sister and hometown friends that will arrive in Florida after the first of the year. I’m then meeting a group of former work constituents for golf in early February, a game that I hate. It makes my head spin to think about all these get-togethers, but I always enjoy seeing old friends.

Today is my last day of withdrawal for awhile, as I do laundry, watch TV, and pack for Kauai. My wife has a number of errands to run. I wish I had her energy. My son will pick us up tomorrow afternoon and drive us to the airport. Then, the next few weeks will be nothing but a blur.

Only 12 days until we land in Kauai, our next retirement adventure. It hardly seems possible that the holidays are upon us with the new year just ahead. We will get there first to set up the menu, while the other two couples arrive two days later with our rental car. It will be a fun family week of drinking, eating, sunning, playing games, hiking, running, and swimming, including lunch on an ocean  catamaran. We also hope to go to Michelle & Todd Rundgren’s island restaurant, Tiki Aniki. It will be a ten-day holiday family celebration, followed by a few extra days with just the two of us. Two nights at the  Seattle Airport Aloft will also help break-up the long flights to and from Fort Myers, Florida. 

This will be my 10th visit to Hawaii, beginning with a 25th wedding anniversary trip in 1998 with my ex-wife. I.U., where both of us attended, was the runner-up to Syracuse in the Maui Invitational. It was the first time that we met Coach Bob Knight. Five years later, I was in Honolulu with a new wife, our first of nine times together. One was for the 2008 Maui Classic with a group of Indiana friends where we shared a Thanksgiving dinner. It was the start of a miserable basketball season for the Hoosiers. Four of my travels to Hawaii were to accompany my wife for the Auto Dealers Association annual meetings. She may have gone once by herself. 

Outside of Honolulu and The Big Island our lodging was primarily at Marriott Vacation Clubs, frequently in Wailea. For fun, we tried various “Rock Star” restaurants like Gannon’s and Fleetwood’s. We’ll soon add Todd Rundgren’s place to this distinguished list of musicians. Other restaurants favorites include Longhi’s, Hali’imaile General Store, Mama’s Fish House, Monkeypod, and Lahaina Grill. It will be a whole new experience on the island of Kauai, since we were only there for one day on our recent cruise. We’ll also take turns preparing meals in the condo because there are few restaurants in our secluded area 

I secured my final reservation for the trip to Kauai this morning, after earning enough  Marriott Reward Points to cover the cost. This will be my first stay in an Aloft property located near the Seattle airport, where we make an overnight stay on our way to and from the island. It helps break up the long flight from Ft. Myers, although substantially out of the way. Getting to Hawaii was easy on the West Coast, but here in Florida much more of a challenge. We typically either fly through L.A. or Seattle to get there.

It was supposed to be my first time on the island of Kauai, but with the itinerary change on the recent Alaska cruise we ended up there for a day. We were able to check out the Marriott Vacation Club site where we’ll be staying with my wife’s two daughters and their spouses. There should be plenty of room with three bedrooms and three baths. The “kids” will be much more active and adventurous than me, but we did schedule a joint catamaran tour for all of us. It’s a very remote location, so we also needed a rental car, but the airport is nearby. My wife and I are there for two full weeks, but the girls are staying ten days. Each of us will plan a group dinner in the condo, and we’ll go out to eat on a couple of occasions. 

Kauai is known for its natural beauty, as we discovered on our boat excursion on the Kalapaki and Hule’ia Rivers during our whirlwind stay there a month ago. Many movies were filmed there, as documented in a article by Margy Parker:

“It all started in 1933, with the filming of White Heat, directed by Hollywood’s influential female director, Lois Weber. Originally titled Cane Fire, the feminist Weber worked with a diverse cast to show the angst of mixed ethnic love relationships. White Heat was released in June 1934. From there, Kauai has served over the decades as a movie location for more than sixty feature-length films shot by a host of national and international film-makers.”

Sixteen years after the release of White Heat, Olympic swimmer, Esther Williams came to Kauai to film Pagan Love Song (1950). Rita Hayworth showed up in 1954 to star in Miss Sadie Thompson. Tony Curtis followed two years later to star in Beach Head. The international hit, South Pacific, was filmed entirely on Kauai’s north shore in 1958, starring Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi. Jack Lemon and Ricky Nelson hung out on Kauai in 1960 to star in The Wackiest Ship in the Army.

The 1960 film first connecting Elvis Presley with Hawaii, Blue Hawaii, also made Kauai’s former Coco Palms Hotel famous. Presley starred in three movies filmed in Hawaii. Following Presley to Kauai in 1963 were Hollywood’s macho men, John Wayne and Charlton Heston. They starred in Donovan’s Reef and Diamond Head.”

“Frank Sinatra starred in None but the Brave, filmed on Kauai in 1965. Julie Andrews was seen on both Oahu and Kauai during the filming of James Michener’s Hawaii in 1966. Charlton Heston returned to Kauai in 1970 to star in The Hawaiians. Four years later James Garner showed up for Castaway Cowboy, the first of Disney’s five movies featuring Kauai.”

“The second production of King Kong was shot on Kauai’s Na Pali Coast in 1976 with Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges. Two years later, George C. Scott showed up on Kauai for the film, Islands in the Stream.”

“Disney came back to Kauai in 1979 to film Last Flight of Noah’s Ark with Elliot Gould. Steven Spielberg chose Kauai as a location to film parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981 starring Harrison Ford. Kathleen Turner and William Hurt turned Kauai “steamy” during that same year for the filming of Body Heat.”

“In 1987, Danny DeVito brought comedy noir to Kauai with the film Throw Mama from the Train. Nicolas Cage was spotted around Kauai’s east and north shores in 1991 during the filming of Honeymoon in Vegas. Steven Spielberg returned to Kauai in 1992 to shoot Jurassic Park starring Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. Its sequel, The Lost World, was shot on Kauai four years later. Castle Rock Pictures brought Bruce Willis to Kauai to film North in 1993, directed by Rob Reiner.”

“The filming of Outbreak followed in 1994 starring Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman. Disney showed up on Kauai three times over the next five years to film George of the Jungle (1996), Dinosaurs (1997), and Lilo and Stitch (2001).”

“In 1997, Harrison Ford came back to Kauai bringing his co-star, Anne Heche for the filming of Six Days Seven Nights. Four years later Kevin Costner was seen on Kauai locations to star in the movie, Dragonfly.”

“Kauai was featured as a film location for two action movies released in 2006 and 2007. The first, Tears of the Sun, starred Bruce Willis. The second, Tropic Thunder, included the masculine trio, Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr.”

“From 2008 through mid-2010, four more movies were filmed on Kauai; The Descendants, staring George Clooney, Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides with Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz. These three will be released in 2011. The fourth, Soul Surfer, with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt is the story of Kauai’s, Bethany Hamilton, made famous by her comeback from a shark attack. This movie was released in 2009.”

“Undoubtedly, more movies, TV series and commercials will be filmed on Kauai in the years to come taking advantage of its extraordinary scenery, rural charm, and outstanding climate.”

Although this article was at least ten years old, we’ll be making our own memorable film in a few weeks and sharing some more movies captured in Paradise. 

I got up this morning from my own bed and ran a full 5k, lumbering along like Frankenstein. The stitches come out on Tuesday, but the bruising is frightening. Oddly, there is very little pain but still some vision blurring and sensitivity to light. I continue to wear the Cheap Sunglasses to protect my eyes and hide the swelling. My wife is expecting her company today and will pick them up at the Sarasota airport. I’ll meet her other friend here at the house where we’ll all have dinner before I vacate the premises. While I’m at my son’s house for the next few days, it will give them time for bonding, shopping, drinking, swimming, and dining out. In other words, I’ve been booted!

Life also got a little less complicated after a call  from my Portland friend this morning. We had tentative plans to get together with him and his fiancée in Mexico this March. It was an opportunity for my wife to meet his new wife to be before their wedding next July. However, it was getting complicated trying to coordinate with my son in Phoenix, Spring Training, our friends in Tucson, and ultimately get to Mexico. They have decided to consolidate their living arrangements with her moving to Portland to be with him. This is great news for them, and will give us a chance to get together somewhere on the West Coast, rather than deal with the hassles of Mexico. After all, in these Covid times, I’ve already recently  had trouble with Canadian border officials. 

With me off the hook for a car rental in Kauai and taking a simpler path to Phoenix, I can feel the relief of being my own travel agent. We also got all our excursions arranged and paid for our river cruise to Egypt in May. I’m still a bit travel weary after the Alaska cruise, so I’m in no hurry to hit the road again. For now, even though I’ve been kicked out for a few days, there’s no place like home.