Friday, March 28, 2014

ten randoms from a flight with me

(I wrote this post yesterday while flying from Maui to Oakland, California- we had a great flight, a long drive home from Oakland last night- in our car, which did not get stolen :) and I have spent the morning cuddling with Ellie...tis good to be home!!)
 
·         Every time I fly I will write in the margin of my Bible, usually after getting comfortable in my seat (but sometimes after takeoff).  I flip to Psalm 91 and write the date, where I am flying out of, and where my destination is (we are flying from Maui to Oakland California as I type this blog post- in the margin of Psalm 91 I wrote 3/27/14 OGG to OAK).  I do this because each time I am able to fly I am reminded of the incredible healing the Lord did in my life in 2005.  I was unable to fly because of an anxiety disorder (terrified to fly is an understatement) and in 2005 the Lord delivered me from it and I will forever be grateful…..

·         I choose Psalm 91 as my ‘go to’ place to write my flying destinations because it is, in my opinion, one of the most comforting chapters in the Bible if one is struggling…..It talks about the Lord being our refuge and strength…our protector- When I first started flying, after being healed from anxiety, I would struggle with being really nervous still when I would fly- I would read it (Ps. 91) and feel an incredible amount of peace and comfort....I don't feel as nervous now to fly BUT I still love reading Psalm 91....God's peace that passes all understanding never ceases to astound me....

·         Hawaiian and Alaska are my 2 personal favorite airlines to fly- Hawaiian because the seats are bigger (this was confirmed by an airline stewardess when I asked), they serve you free food, and they use coconut soap in their bathrooms- really, what’s not to love about those 3 things J  Alaska serves free Jones Soda and has a classy feel-

·         Our Ticket total for all 4 of us (E,R, M, and I) to fly from Oakland to Maui and then jumping on an inner island flight to Kauai that same day….. Then 5 days later from Kauai to Maui…. then 4 days later  from Maui back to Oakland was just under $1100 round trip…...  In Jan. Hawaiian ran a special ($188 one way)- I had enough Hawaiian Miles for all 4 of us to get to Hawaii on miles one way (17,500 one way each) and paid just under $800 for the one way tickets home.  Because we wanted to visit 2 Islands (Maui and Kauai) we needed Inner Island Flights- I had enough  miles left over to purchase a one way ticket (7500 miles) from Maui to Kauai for all 4 of us- Hawaiian also ran a special in Jan. on Inner Island Flights- $74 each one way- so for a little under $300 we made our inner island flight….the downfall was we needed to travel by car five and a half hours away to Oakland from our home town…

·         Speaking of Oakland……If given a choice, we will NEVER fly out of Oakland again….if your home town is Oakland, I am sure there are amazing areas (that we missed) in the town....should have listened to all those that said ‘are you sure you want to fly out of Oakland….it really is not a safe city’  WORD!

·         We did the park and fly package at the hotel we stayed at in Oakland- my 2005 Honda Accord is sitting at the Hotel- the one that made 3 stars but still has graffiti and barb wire surrounding their parking lot- I’ve told Matt several times on our trip….’Wonder if our car will still be there when we go to pick it up’….to which he replies in a completely honest tone….’I don’t know?’

·         It is 6:20 p.m. Mainland time (3:20 Hawaiian time) we took off from Maui about 12:10 we are set to land in 1 hr 15 minutes (7:35)

·         Our Flight over to Maui took almost 6 hours (Headwind)

·         Our Flight back to Oakland from Maui is supposed to take 4 hrs. 19 minutes (Hallelujah for tailwind)

·         The boys and I are so excited to see Ellie- She stayed with my parents this week while we were gone.  Just before I left, I asked Ellie what she wanted as a ‘prize’ when I got home….she loves wearing my rings and quickly answered ‘I want a ring’…….I wasn’t sure what type of ring she wanted because along with wearing rings on her fingers she will also wear my toe ring around.  ‘TOE RING’ was her enthusiastic response………I have a toe ring, Havaianas size 6 with the strap in the back, an adorable Hawaiian dress, 2 more pair of adorable flip flops, 2 necklaces, and a bracelet to give her when we get home…..This does not include the gifts the boys got her…………We love our Elle’s!!

Hope you are all having a great Thrus.- Thank you for spending some time with me 35,000 feet in the air thousands of miles out in the Pacific!

My view as I type this blog post
 
Aren't they CUTE!!!
 

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