A negative COVID test was required to clear us for travel to Hawaii. So aside from the standard washing and packing normally involved before a trip, my less enjoyable preparations involved an overdue dentist session and a COVID test on the same day. Oh the trauma, first world problems.
I was somewhat wary of the COVID test, having heard the process of someone sticking a cotton bud swab up your nostrils described as being like “tickling your brain”. Turned out to be really not that bad, although I spent the rest of the evening feeling like my facial privacy had been violated, my nose making its objections known through random bouts of sneezing. Best get that out the system before we get on the plane!
We weren’t too concerned about the result, having been model lock-down citizens for three weeks at home in California but it was still a relief to know for sure the trip was in the bag. On the plus side, I’ve never seen LAX airport so quiet, and getting through security was a breeze. It was kind of comforting to know that virtually everyone else around us had also received a recent negative test result.
The flight too was eerily quiet. Bring on the pre-downloaded Bridgerton binge watch, if only to distract me from wearing my mask for such a long time.
And so the plan is to spend a month working from Hawaii. Unfortunately, we couldn’t bring the BaseCamp, so our tin palace is having a well earned break. Instead we have a couple of Airbnb’s in the North Shore area of Oahu, with maybe a spot of camping in between.
The two hour time difference means we start work at 6am, zzzzz. I’ll take it in exchange for an early work finish time. And thanks to Hawaii’s policy of no daylight saving time, we have a good few hours of sun, sea and tropical paradise before bed.
But wait, we have Sunday, the day of rest, to chill out and relax before we start the work routine. No such chance. To be fair, it didn’t make a lot of sense to have a lie in or we might struggle to get up early during the week. So Sergeant Major Darren stepped in and stepped up, with a steep and sweaty route march through the jungle. Otherwise known as the Kealia Trail. Welcome to Paradise!
This one was a delight 😊