Long ride to Maui

    We left Minnesota late morning for a 3.5 hour flight to Phoenix.  Unlike many times we have left from MSP in the winter, there was no de-icing.  We arrived on time in Phoenix and had an hour to stretch our legs and get some food before the long ride to Maui. 

     Our ride over the Pacific was bumpy and required seatbelts a lot of the time.  The plane was old with little to offer in entertainment.  Lots of kids on the plane too.  We flew into the sunset and saw a froth pink clouds like cotton candy as we approached the chain of islands so far away from all other land masses.

    We landed about 30 minutes late which made a long ride even longer.  But a warm breeze blew through the open airport as we waited for luggage - we are in Paradise.  We found our rental car, crammed four suitcases in the trunk and drove across the island to the Safeway market for snacks and breakfast.

   Thanks to Google maps we found our condo without a problem and dragged our luggage up to the third floor.  Before even turning on the lights I threw open the sliding door to the lanai and saw waves glinting in the moonlight just steps from our new home.  

   It was 2 am Minnesota time as we sat on the lanai listening to the waves and feeling the warm breeze.  We headed to the two wonderful kingsize beds to sleep after a really long day.