Finally!  We are back on the road for another road trip… and this one will take us not only across the country but across an ocean.  We are flying out of Charlotte, then to Los Angeles and then onto Hawaii.  State #49! This is the farthest any of us have traveled, so we are packing our patience for this whole day full of travel.

We made it to Charlotte with plenty of time to spare, grabbed lunch and found our gate… time for pictures!

Off we go for Leg 1 of our Quest… because it is no longer a vacation, its a quest, a quest for fun 🤪.   So glad we paid a little more for the extra leg room, especially for growing man-child boys!

One of the cool things about flying literally across the country is seeing the different topography … from the green pastures changing into divided parcels of farmland, then shifting into sandy deserts and then to mountains.  Finally, it all became the metropolis of Los Angeles that went on and on…

Five hours and the whole continental US later, Leg 1 of the journey was complete!  Hello LA!

Sure looks different now ♥️

We had a 2 hour layover at LAX, which seems like a long time but when you factor in a terminal change and the sheer size of LAX, it was about perfect.  Bellies and hearts full after getting a text and pics from sweet Charlotte Stewart about the fur babies, we were headed onto the second even longer leg of the journey from LA to Maui… a 6 hour flight and with the time change, we will arrive on Maui at 8:30pm (which is 2:30am EST) 🤪

BUT nothing happened until we completed the State of Hawaii Dept of Agriculture Plants and Animals Declaration Form. Basically, we had to fill out a form stating that we were not bringing any pets, animals, plants, fruits or vegetables on the islands. I am assuming this is due to the islands’ ecosystems, but whatever the reason, we attested and declared ✅

We said goodbye to the last land that we would see for the next six hours and off we went over the Pacific Ocean. (Cannot spend a lot of time thinking of the fact that we are flying over water and ONLY water for the next six hours)

Six hours and some amazing views and sunset later, we landed on the island of Maui!

Still smiling, although not quite as chipper 🤪

One trolley ride later, and we have rental car and headed to Ka’anapali to check into hotel.

So 22 hours since we woke up in NC, we are putting our heads to bed in Hawaii. That is awesome! Now, just need about 8 hours of sleep, and we’ll be all set for a full day on the beach