Hawaii Trip Part 1: Travel to Hawaii

We stayed at a hotel in Calgary on Thursday, April 28th and flew out on the 29th. We left Calgary at 11 and arrived in Vancouver at 12:30 with a stop in Kelowna. Our flight from Vancouver left at 6:05. The Vancouver airport was a challenge for Mark. We were there for 5 1/2 hrs between flights. Mark's chair got damaged on the flight to Vancouver--the metal on the support for the right foot rest got bent so that that mechanism wouldn't attach to the chair. I was freaking out a bit,having that dreaded feeling of, "oh no, the nightmare is beginning...." I was stressed because Mark's right hip is in bad shape (he's having surgery on May 6th), and with the footrest broken, his leg was just dangling and likely to get bumped or caught in the wheel. Anyway, the Westjet people were really good to us. The arrival people worked with Rob to try and fix it, and then they called in an airplane technician who had tools and a mechanical mind. He was able to jerry rig a temporary fix until we can get new parts. Also, they gave us vouchers for free lunch at the airport and have agreed to pay to properly fix the chair. All the confusion and jostling around was hard on Mark and he had a big meltdown partway through our layover, but later settled down and was good on the flight. Anyway, our flight to Hawaii left a little ahead of schedule and we got in to Hawaii around 9pm (1 am out time). The kids ll slept a little on the flight which made it easier to survive the fact that is was easily 3 am MDT before we were tucked into bed Make-a-wish had arranged a lei greeting for us at the airport and a wheelchair van. The hotel was also awesome and with unexpected extras which, though we may not have fully comprehended and appreciated them that night, we sure did through the week.

 

On the Sunday before our trip, a volunteer from Make-a-wish came to our house and showered us with gifts--balloons, beach towels, t-shirts, a blanket for Mark, t-shirts, a back pack and more. In addition she presented us with spending money for our trip, a parking pass for the airport and travel insurance.

Make-a-wish also sent April and her kids, who are volunteers, to see us off at the Calgary airport.

When we went through security and customs at Vancouver, Mark was starting to melt down. Luckily  we found a quiet spot near our gate where he could lay on the floor and play. He was happy the rest of the day!

While Mark played on the floor, the kids took advantage of electrical outlets and free wifi to pass the time during our 5 1/2 layover. Just like home!

The seating arrangement for the flight to Hawaii. I don't know if it was because of Make-a-wish or the broken wheelchair, but all our food was free on the flight, and the kids got to go see the cockpit after the flight.

Mark on the airplane, sitting up big between mom and dad. He travelled remarkably well. I am so thankful!

The kids with their leis at the Honolulu airport. Our Lei greeter happened to be  LDS (and polynesian) from Laie. His brother was the main character in the Breath of Life evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center.