Day 1: Drive, Fly, Wait, Repeat

 Today was quite a long day! We went on two flights, drove for more than five hours, and had to go through lots of extra detours due to COVID-19. So, here’s how it started!

We woke up early, around three o’clock in the morning, and finished packing all our bags. We were taking a total of four bags and four backpacks total, so we had a lot to carry! We loaded in all of our bags. Then, we tried to close the water supply to our house since our bathrooms have leaked once in the past during a vacation (the leak destroyed our wooden floor, and we had to replace it completely). Unfortunately, we weren’t able to close it, so we’re taking a risk on that part.

We then drove around three hours to get to another city and then take a flight from Honolulu. We had already booked the parking spot, so we parked into the vast parking lot, took a picture of our car (so we knew where we parked), and took the shuttle into the airport. We had our boarding passes thanks to the online check-in, so we got to our gate reasonably quickly – no issues with any security, check-ins, or boarding. And before we knew it, we were on the plane and ready to start our eight-hour flight to Honolulu, HI.

The airplane trip was long, mainly because it was our first flight in over a year! But we had plenty of entertainment to keep us occupied, and we even slept a bit. After all, we had woken up early! Unfortunately, we were unable to get a window seat on the flight. After the flight, we had an hour of a layover until our connecting flight to Kona (another city in Hawaii). But that hour was soon eaten up due to our gate being on the other side of the airport. We had to walk across the airport, and then we boarded our final flight. We got a window seat and got some awesome takeoff/landing pictures!

Our flights may have been over, but our trip wasn’t finished yet. After going through the health screening, we were able to take a shuttle to get our rental car. We’ll be using this car for about ten days, so we need to make sure it stays clean!

We then drove across the Big Island from Kona to Hilo (yes, another city) to reach our first destination. There was a heavy rainstorm while we were passing, but we managed to get to Hilo. We were starving after all the travel, but we could not find a restaurant that either had a short waiting time or had a quick takeout. So, we had no choice but to go to the hotel and find food there.

We unloaded our car and then heaved it all into the lobby, where we checked in to the hotel. Or, at least, TRIED. Here’s what happened—Hawaii requires people traveling into Hawaii to have a negative COVID-19 test the day before they leave (which we took) and need to have their temperature checked at all the airports to guarantee they are safe. Two of us (minors) are registered under our dad’s account, but our mom is alone in her account (since there isn’t a family account). When we left Kona Airport, they didn’t scan our mom’s QR Code, which links to her account. This means that she either had to go to the airport to get it fixed or quarantine and not leave the hotel. Thankfully, the front desk was able to call them, and we got everything sorted out.

The day wrapped up then. We got some Chinese food and relaxed after our big flight. Tomorrow—sightseeing!