Mahalo, Maui

I enjoyed writing the Coldplay entry so much that I am officially taking over for Shandi, well, at least for one more entry. This is the first entry, in a forthcoming series, detailing the events of our recent trip to Maui-- a vacation this good can’t be given justice with a single entry.

Saturday afternoon saw us make our way to SLC airport, carry-on bags in hand and us fully expecting to be denied a seat on the plane. This vacation was only made possible by my friend Ben Kent. He provided the buddy passes, (a wonderful benefit of being an airline employee) and the travel experience that made this trip so enjoyable. Anyhow, rewind to the airport, flying standby has its ups and downs, but this time luck was with us and we were on-board for a quick hop to LA.



When we landed in LA, luck was with us yet again, Ben and his wife Jamie were bumped to first class and Shandi and I were also cleared for the flight to Maui. Being the stand up guy he is, Ben adamantly offered his first class tickets to Shandi and me, insisting he had “been there and done that” and that we needed to experience it for ourselves. I sheepishly declined a few times before accepting his gracious offer.

I contest, I have the best friends in the world, I just don’t know how better people could exist.

So as we boarded the plane, Shandi and I made our way to the front, huge childish grins on our faces. The other passengers must have thought we won the lottery, and indeed, we felt like we had-- we were about to travel to Maui in first class for less than $200.00 each.

So we were off, the sun setting in LA. Apparently, when you’re traveling at 550 mph to the west, it takes considerably longer for the sun to submit to the darkness, before it did, we snapped a few pictures.

A nice view from 35,000 feet:





For anyone wondering, first class isn’t a bad way to travel, a full meal in our case, and more soda than we could drink. Ben gave up a lot to let Shandi and I take his seats, and I was reminded of it every time the flight attendant leaned over to me and said “Is there anything else I can get for you Mr. Kent”.

We touched down in Maui, and stepped 5 hours into the past, as we walked off the plane I immediately realized I no longer needed my jacket. We made our way to our hotel\time share, where we were duly impressed by our accommodations. Although we tired from traveling, we were excited enough to be in Maui that we stayed up to have a good chat and walk across the street to the beach.







Shandi will resume the next entry, undoubtedly full of days at the beach, Iao Valley, Dragon's Teeth and other incredible experiences from Maui. Until then...