So this is the “How we got to Maui” post that catalogs our trip, which went well and (happily!) wasn’t very exciting. Unless you’re making notes, you could probably skip this one.

We were all up pretty early today, doing last minute packing and tidying up for our house-sitters. Mimi walked Molly  -who really wanted to come! At one point she camped out on a packed suitcase, later she escaped the house and stood waiting at the car with a toy in her mouth). Sharon and Robin grabbed cappuccinos from Township. Robin made some directions for how to work the four different tv remotes. Etc.

Between 10 and 11am, our house-sitters arrived and we loaded up the car, hoping we had everything!

Our trip to the ferry was uneventful, if a bit damp. We were well in time for our reservation, and we drove on as scheduled.

The ferry trip was also very smooth. We had some lunch from the White Spot on board, and then all had a round of Five Crowns to pass the time. Ross and Mimi migrated to the arcade where they enjoyed the oddly configured Mario Kart game.

Our drive to the airport was a bit convoluted as the Google map didn’t always seem to align with the signage, but we arrived at the long-term parking without getting lost. A shuttle picked us up within ten minutes and dropped us off at the main terminal.

I think we may never have been in YVR international departures before – often we find ourselves going from Victoria to the hub in Calgary – but it’s a fairly spacious and bright space. We needed some assistance with our boarding passes as some software failed to print the final “D” on Ross’s last name, creating a discrepancy with his passport. Quickly resolved. Security – no one stopped (excepting Robin’s pocket change being dumped out on the conveyer…). Customs – which seems almost all automated, until an agent has to review what you did at the terminal. Not sure why this is better.

And then gate E81, where we sat for awhile and Mimi did Math homework, Ross found a Donkey Kong emulator, Robin explored his new phone and Sharon read. We picked up Tim Horton’s sandwiches and ate just before boarding.

The flight to Maui was not full so we got to spread out a little. We mostly read, or studied, or played, but the ride was smooth. One big bonus was access to the internet for the trip – $7 – which allowed Robin to set up this trip blog and get recommendations from friends for more things to do in Maui.

We were a few minutes early getting into Kahului Airport and didn’t wait very long to get our bags. A shuttle was along relatively quickly to drive us around to the car rentals, where we picked up an Impala hybrid and got directions to our Kihei hotel. We arrived in Kihei a little sooner than expected (20 minutes?), and then in Wailea (oops!) but a quick loop down to the beach had us at our new home in under ten minutes.

Our rooms at the Aston at the Maui Banyan are nice and there’s plenty of space for us all – the kids basically have their own room, and the cooking and cleaning facilities look like they will do nicely. There are tvs in each bedroom and one in the sitting area, the A/C is a bit loud but keeping things reasonable cool, and there’s plenty of closet space.

A quick walk up the 2400 block shows that everything is closed up tight, so exploring will wait until tomorrow – which is fine as it’s after 3am for us!