Edit: Just scroll down to the photo... ;-)
Finally getting around to posting this up.
But first, we met up at Chamberlain's on Saturday the 24th. On the 26th I flew out to Honolulu. Stayed at the Ala Moana Hotel for a couple of days and visited a little B&M within walking distance just down the road. Great little shop.
Woke up the morning I was supposed to fly out to Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands. Checked the United schedule online. Flight status: On Schedule. So, I get a cab and get out to HNL at 0600 hundred o'clock AM in the morning. ;-) Walk up to the counter. Sorry sir, the flight has been cancelled due to strut problems. They put me up overnight in the Airport Hotel. It's not a nice hotel, but it'll do for an over-nighter.
Get up the next morning and head back out to the airport. This time we did take off on schedule. So, we fly along for the 5 hour or so flight. No problem. So we fly to Majuro and land here: (just an image I found on the internet.)
http://sportysnetwork.com/airfacts/wp-content/blogs.dir/13/files/2015/05/majuro-airport.jpg
At the airport, half the people have to get off the plane so they can do a security sweep and cleaning. But this time, we were told.. everybody off the plane. So, I grab my carry-ons and walk down the ramp and into the little terminal waiting 'room'. We sat around in there for an hour or so. There were a few people scurrying around the plane for a while and then we saw the pilots coming down the ramp with their bags. Sorry, folks. The rest of the flight is cancelled. Strut problems. So, we have to stand around and wait for our checked bags. This airport has NO modern conveniences. They bring the bags up to an open air space that looks like a baggage turnstile thingy, but it's only about 50 feet wide and they drive up behind it and one guy throws the bags on it from behind. There is no A/C in this area, so you sit and sweat and swat at flies for the couple of hours we were there. Then we get shuffled through to the other side of the airport building and stand around for another 3 or 4 hours waiting to hear about lodging.. or maybe a 'rescue' plane. There's no A/C on that side of the building either.
We heard 5 or 6 different stories from 4 or 5 different United agents, who were little Marshallese girls who really were trying hard to get us set up. Anyway, no rescue plane until tomorrow. They finally arranged lodging. Oh, and by the way, there is a shortage of lodging on this little tiny, one road atoll island. So, I had to share a little 2 bedroom apartment with 2 other guys I wasn't traveling with. On the way over, the old, little van we were in almost caught fire. Smoke and fumes were coming in under the dashboard. When we got there, they couldn't find the key to the room. So they moved us down two doors. Then the people who dropped us off left. For an apartment in the Marshall islands, it wasn't bad... but there were no amenities. We had 3 towels, 2 little bottles of shampoo, no internet access. And you can't drink the water. But, that place did have A/C!
So, they tell us they will pick us up at 5:00 am the next morning for a 7:30 flight. Well, we settle in and after a while we walked out to the street and caught one of the dilapidated $2.00 cabs and headed down the single road into the 'downtown' area and ate at a place called Reimers, at the Tide Table restaurant. Fortunately, one of the guys knew about the place. That was actually pretty good. I had the grilled Wahoo and a baked potato. We grabbed some bottled water and head back to the apartment and kicked back and watched black and white TV for a while (it started showing color after a while).
Anyway, we get up the next morning,pack up, head out the door at 0500 hundred o'clock AM in the freakin' mornin'... and there's a note on the door. Plane is delayed until 12:30, we'll pick you up at 10:00. D'OH...
At 7:00, a knock at the door. We'll pick you up at 9:00. At 9:00, nobody showed up so we grabbed our bags and walked down to the other end of the apartment row, to where the little van was and stood around out there for over an hour, waiting around. Finally a woman representative who apparently helps in case like this... because this happens a lot, showed up and told the driver to take us on to the airport. We all hop in, sweating of course, and the driver jumps in and can't find the key. He goes off for another few minutes, finds the key, and finally we get underway.
Back at the airport, we stand around for another 2 or 3 hours, when the normally scheduled plane comes through. Our 'rescue' plane wasn't there yet and wasn't likely gonna be. So they put some of us on this flight... woo hoo, I got the middle seat of row 26... :-/ (I had paid for First Class on this trip!) Fortunately, this last leg of the trip is only just over an hour.
Good to be home. United sends me an email.. sorry for the inconvenience, we're gonna put 15,000 miles on your account. I replied... that doesn't quite cover the 2 days I missed and the missed day at work when I did get back... late. They replied, sorry, we got you to where you were going, so here's 2500 more miles. United kinda sucks.
So, I'm back for a couple of days. Eat at the chow hall. They have some mystery meat they call 'beef tips'. I ate some of that and the next day I had a full-on gout attack in my left ankle. That lasted for 3 excruciating days and is still sore today.
--- Here's the happy part. I got these cigars at the N. Dallas Herf. These were from stinger, Mikey, coolbreeze, and wheelrite. I took some cigars with me, but they were basically left overs at the end of my vacation. Stinger grabbed an Undercrown Corona Viva, and I think that was the only one I gave out. But these are gonna be good.
Special thanks to Bill for the FFOX... for traveling the farthest to get to the herf. It was only about 6,200 miles as the crow flies. :-D
Oh, also while there, smoked a Robaina that wheel handed out. Nice.
