Day 34: St. Louis, MO to Kailua, HI and Charleston, SC (by plane)

Well, my flight to Dallas went off without a hitch, and from there I was taking a flight to Honolulu. I still wasn't sure who was picking me up at the airport, so I called to possible candidates, Mac and Grayson. I got Mac's voicemail, and when I called Grayson he actually answered. "Where are you Dawg?" Grayson exclaimed in his usual but almost unaturally excited (yet very genuine) state. "Texas," I replied. "Where?" Well, it didn't take us much longer to figure out that we were on the same flight to Hawaii from Dallas. It took only a minute to track down Grayson and Beth, his wife of almost one year now. Grayson and Beth welcomed me to Dallas warmly and Grason practically crushed my ribs with his bear hug.

On the flight we did some barganing to all sit together. We ended up with the three seats together in the middle of the plane which are usually terrible, but we were happy to be seated together.

The 8 hour flight to Hawaii was brutal. Other than "Food for Purchase," American Airlines has moved away from serving anything to eat other than one bag of pretzels. I'm surprised they have to gaul to do that on a flight of that length. The idea of "Food for Purchase" is just ridiculous though. I guess the insane amount of money I paid for the flight isn't enough to cover the cost of some soggy, subpar, "five dollar" sandwich.

Anyway, I guess I wouldn't be so irritated about that if they had served us soft drinks and juices more than twice during the 8 hour trip. Litterally, the service from Dallas to Hawaii included two drinks, one bag of pretzels, occassional yet trash pick-up, and a lot of complaning from the flight attendants about how busy they were. Although, I still haven't figured out what they were really busy with. Since lately my body demands heavy hydration, this limited service was a bit rough on me. At one point I went to the back of the plane with hopes of getting something to drink. I was turned away and told that I'll have to wait until the service cart comes out and that the sooner people stop coming back to ask for something to drink, the sooner they'd get the cart out. Sheish! Talk about an industry that has changed a lot in the last ten years. It is all about paying more and getting less. If that is the future of airline travel then we all can look forward to feeling like cat!
tle, but at least grazing cattle can eat when they want. Needles to say, I am no excited about my flight back! Traveling by bike is much more comfortable.

Anyway, despite American Airlines' prison-like service, the day was actually very positive. When the three of us arrived, we picked up Beth and Grayson's bags and headed over the Hertz shuttle to pick up their rental car. The plan was to get over the the wedding rehersal ASAP by following Nic over to the location of the wedding.

The Hertz shuttle at the Hawaii airport was really funny since they litterally drive you 100 yards. "Hey, isn't that where you are taking us," I asked the driver as I gestured to the kiosk that was close enough for me to recognize Nic waiting next to. Yep, it sure was, but in no time, people had filled in around us making it nearly impossible to escape and walk over.

Hertz hooked up Beth and Grayson with a car that certainly matches their perfectly matched personalities, a bright-red, new Mustang convertable. Now, I don't mean that the Mustang matches their personalities, I mean that the fact that they rented the most fun car of anyone, and are absolutely loving it. They were so excited to take the top down, turn up the stereo to upbeat music and soak up their first visit to Hawaii. I jumped in the back and we had a blast driving over to te rehersal. "At least we don't look like tourists in this car," Grayson joked.

The rehersal was a bit hectic as the majority of us had just arrived and still wanted to chat and enjoy the moment of seeing everybody for the first time in ages. After sometime, the excitement level decreased and we were able to practice walking and standing.

Next, we all went to the two houses that were rented for all of us Groomsmen/Bridesmaids types were to stay in for the weekend. Nic and Rebus knew that it costs a lot for us to fly here and didn't want us to have to stay in a hotel as well. They rented these two homes that can sleep a total of ten and only ask for 20 bucks a person per night. That sounds much better than a hotel to me, and more fun.

Then it was off to the rehersal dinner, where we practice eating (which lately, I am very good at and need very little practice). On the way, AK called and she had made it it Charleston and is having a great time. It was nice to check in with her.

I had a great time at the dinner. People had all sorts of questions about the ride, the FFB, and everybody got a good laugh at my Lance Armstrong tan. Many people told me that that they really enjoy the journal which is always great to hear. The dinner/party was at the house the Bonnings are staying out for the week (which is awesome) and they hired a caterer too. They food was fantastic, and I ate steak, fish, salad and fruit until I nearly popped. It was my first meal of the day. Peter Bonning, Rebus' brother bought fancy hats for all the groomsmen and Rebus. I am not sure how to describe them, but they are all of similar style but each is different in fabric (plad, checkered, pin-striped, etc.). Anyway the party was great. Many thanks to the Bonning family for hosting us.

I also got to see my mother for the first time since leaving which was fun. She brought a bag of "real world" clothes that I packed before I left. She told me that Maggie, my cat that is staying with her for the summer, spent a lot of time sniffing and investigating my bag that must have reminded her of me. She misses me!

As if Rebus and Nic did not have enough to worry about this week, last Sunday, Nic's car was broken into and among other things, Rebus' wallet was stolen. What a bummer. They actually caught the guy in the act (it was broad daylight), but the guy still got away with a decent haul and jumped into a waiting car.

Anyway, we are having a great time here. Thanks for reading!

Jeff