Where is my mind?

I just want to apologize for the lengthy post. I left a lot out trying to cut it down but it is still long! Sorry!

About 3 or 4 months ago my friend Fai'ana invited me to go to Hawai'i with her and her cousin V for the graduation of a relative. I really couldn't afford to go because the airfare was so expensive but V is a Delta employee and said I could have a buddy pass. Score! I would only have to pay $150 for my ticket from Salt Lake to Hawai'i! There is no way I could pass this up! It would be the 3 of us going and we would stay at their cousins house in Hawai'i. We even planned an excursion to swim with dolphins and manta rays! Let the countdown begin! I bought a new swimsuit, some snorkel gear, underwater cameras and started packing.

The morning we were scheduled to leave it was pouring rain which made it all the more exciting that we were leaving. We get to the airport, check our luggage, and then go get us something to eat while we wait. Now, I've never flown stand-by before so this was a whole new experience for me. For those of you that don't know they have a television screen above the desk at the gate that tells you whether or not you've made the flight. It also lets you know your priority on the stand-by list. Well, Salt Lake only has one flight a day to Honolulu and this one was looking pretty full. None of us made the flight! It was a little disappointing but V made a few phone calls and it was decided that we should try our luck and fly to Los Angeles because they have 2 flights a day to Honolulu. So, we headed over to the gate and started our long wait staring at the tv screen. V made the flight but it wasn't looking good for F and I. At the last minute we got good news because some of the people on the list higher than us didn't show up so we just made the flight! Things were starting to look good for us!

We get to LAX and head over to the gate. We looked at the screen and my heart sank. The stand-by list was even longer than it was on Salt Lake and my name was getting closer and closer to the end of the list. Well, the flight came and none of us got on. Again V made another call and we decided to spend the night and try the morning flight. The next morning the stand-by list was looking just as long as it was the night before. The only difference was that both V and F got on the flight! Well, V had to be there for the graduation and F didn't want to leave me behind so we told her to go and that we would wait and see if we could get on the evening flight. Well, of course F got on the flight but once again, I didn't. So, we found ourselves a little corner and made our home for the night.

Now, let me just say that the Delta terminal at LAX is severely lacking in food choices. There was a McDonalds, a mexican restaurant, and a California Pizza Kitchen. All of which were EXPENSIVE! And it is a good thing we decided to pack playing cards and books before we left because waiting in the airport makes for a long night. After midnight there pretty much weren't any more flights arriving or taking off so it got pretty quiet and creepy. We were jolted awake around 3am by airport security because they had a power outage and wanted everyone in a central location. So there we were with one other traveller and about 15 McDonalds employees sitting on the chairs waiting for them to let us go back to sleep. There was some drama with a door too. Eventually they let us go back to our corner so we could go back to sleep.

The next day we once again tried to both get on the flight but once again F made it and I didn't. The stand-by list just kept getting longer and longer. There were other people that were on the stand-by list that had been trying to get onto all the flights with us. Some of them had been trying for weeks and others had flown all over the country (Atlanta to Salt Lake to LAX) trying to get one a flight. I was so sad and frustrated! It got to the point that I called my brother to see if he could find any cheap last minute deals online but the cheapest we could find was still around $600. So we discussed it and decided that we would try one more time that night and if I still didn't get on, she should go and I would take the next flight back to Salt Lake in the morning. Well, wouldn't you know it...she didn't even make the flight! We decided that we'd had enough of sleeping in the airport and got a hotel room. The next morning I got on my flight back to Salt Lake and she got on her flight to Honolulu. It was so sad. I know that F felt bad too for going and leaving me behind but I wanted her to go and have a good time with. It just wasn't meant to be for me. My suitcase made it to Hawai'i and I couldn't even get that back until Tuesday! I hope it had a nice time. They have another cousin that graduates in 2 years so I've started saving for my confirmed seat to Hawai'i! So, here are the pictures of my 'trip' to Hawai'i.



These are the results of my many attempts to get onto a flight.



This was the stand-by list for the final flight. Notice my name is #57.



This was across the street from the hotel we stayed at. It was the closest I got to the big island.

Overall, it was a good time and an experience I won't soon forget. Next time something seems too good to be true I'll think twice!