Cleared for Takeoff: Key Takeaways for Heading to Hawaii During a Pandemic
The rules are changing quickly as the country begins to shut down again. I am so thankful we got away when we did. Here it’s easy to disconnect from all that’s happening on the mainland. That’s the beauty of being in paradise: nothing else has to matter.
However, if you aren’t here yet, you should stay up to date with the island news. Check out the Star-Advertiser for all island news or find your local island paper. For Kauai, it’s The Garden Island. I also follow the County of Kauai on Facebook. Read the comments with respect but caution. At least the locals I have met do not seem the reflect the views of the “Karens” of Facebook. Our neighbors have been more than welcoming to our family and sharing their yard with our kids.
On the table right now from the mayor of Kauai are two emergency orders. One requires that you have your negative test results prior to departure and the other requires that you quarantine for 72 hours and then take a required post-travel test. I think the latter is a bit extreme, but I don’t disagree with the former. I’m not happy that travelers boarded their planes without results and learned that they tested positive after arrival. I’ve done my part to stay safe. I hate to be exposed because of someone’s careless action.
People have asked what I’d have done differently now that I’m through the experience. If you think about anything before going, plan your flights around your testing. The testing piece caused the most anxiety about this entire trip. Simply having backup flights a day later would have eliminated some of the stress.
Getting to the Airport and Onboard
My number one hack, even during normal non-pandemic times, is that we rent a minivan the night before from the airport. Thanks to Costco’s low rates, it’s significantly less money for us than a taxi, rideshare, or shuttle to get our family of five to the airport. Even taking out the money part of it, I’ve been stood up way too many times by rideshares and shuttle drivers. I like the control. Now that we only take small booster seats, it makes a lot of sense for us.
I went prepared that we wouldn’t be able to have anything to eat and drink on the plane. However, I wish Alaska would have warned me when I halted my cheese plate purchase transaction online that it would be my only opportunity to get food. Alaska is only taking pre-orders and serving a limited drink menu. And, it’s just wrong not to serve alcohol to people traveling with children.
I turned down an upgrade to premium class and regretted the extra hour I spent in the rental car line because of that. Prior to leaving, a neighbor sent over a friend’s detailed notes about their departure and arrival in Maui. Their key piece of advice was to be in front of the plane. We were row 26 and it was at least a half-hour before we cleared through the Safe Travels table. Then I headed over to Hertz, who failed to tell me ahead of time that Gold Service was suspended, and I waited an hour to get the car. It might have been slightly less if I took the Thrifty shuttle which also goes to the Hertz rental center, but I had forgotten they were a combined counter.
What we were a bit unprepared for onboard is that we took fewer personal tablets with us, so it was harder to have devices for the kids to watch movies. We took all the school-sanctioned devices which are blocked from outside apps. We ended up giving up our phones for the kids to watch. My older Mac wasn’t supported any longer on the Wi-Fi. And even if we had wanted to rent an airline tablet, they were not available.
Because we had lightened up on the excessive hand sanitizing the last couple of months, I was unprepared for the dry air and cracked skin at thirty-five thousand feet. It would have been nice to have some lotion to put on my hands.
Packing and preparation
Let’s be clear. There wasn’t a pound to spare in our luggage. If our kids had bigger suitcases, we might have been able to put more in, but they wouldn’t have fit in the minivan. We had to make hard decisions about tennis shoes and snorkel gear for them. It only took a few days to regret the tennis shoe decision when I discovered inexpensive tennis lessons for them to take. Even though it doesn’t perfectly fit my shop-local philosophy, I do like that Ross is around to get some great deals on shoes.
Alexa — if you love her, you’ll miss her. It would be great to have an easy speaker and ask how the weather is changing every minute. Though I still have an Altec Lansing Orbit from almost a decade ago that still packs a ton of sound.
What we were unprepared for when we arrived is how difficult it would be to get takeout on a Wednesday night. Restaurants still have very shortened hours, and many are only open Thursday to Saturday. We usually stop and get groceries on our way in, but we knew we wouldn’t have room in the car to get a month’s worth of stuff. I also underestimated how much shopping time it takes to load up for the month. I spent most of Thursday going to stores. I had a dream of shopping at farmer’s markets while I was here, but many of the markets are closed until further notice. I do check weekly to see if there are changes.
In the end, was it worth it? Absolutely. These days together as a family overlooking the endless horizon and taking life at a more relaxed pace are, as they say, “priceless.”
