Coconut Chase 8k & Travel Day

So what happened yesterday? Brent and I did the Coconut Chase 8k. It is a run/walk race (for those who want to race) around Ala Moana Park. Twice. Start time was 6:30 so we were up at 4:30 in order to get there by bus by 6. Oooops! No bus service, had to take an Uber. It was a great walk, totally flat, mainly in the shade, nice people. In fact, their motto is, "No mean people." If any participant is mean to any volunteer they are immediately ejected from the event. I agree totally with that philosophy! During the 1st lap we saw a Black-crowned Night Heron along the canal. On the 2nd lap we saw 10 of them! They were hanging around the 2 fishermen there; we think they threw the small tilapia to them. Watching fish & wildlife along the route is one reason that I will never be able to race; I spend too much time looking around at the scenery!

Ten minutes before sunrise near Magic Island.

One mile marker for Coconut Chase.

Black-crowned Night Heron on first lap.

After we finished the Coconut Chase the plan was to get breakfast at the Ala Moana Food Court. But we finished too early, they weren't open. Curtis was waiting for us there; we headed to Zippy's for breakfast. No photos, my phone was acting up.

We then headed home for me to change in to other clothes and to pick up my suitcase and backpack. Then it was off to the airport to catch a flight leaving at 1 pm. It was a great flight; I was originally in a middle seat but switched with the lady on the aisle. When she made the reservations for herself and her 2 young kids had her separated from the kids. When I made my reservation, it showed the seat between them as vacant. It was a no brained to change seats with her so she could be with the kids. It turns out Jessie was born on Moloka'i and she was bringing her kids back to give them an introduction to their culture. They now live in Puyallup. It was fun to sit next to them for the flight.

The usual TSA line.

At the gate.

Dinner on Hawaiian was a teriyaki chicken sandwich with Maui potato chips. I had them fill my water bottle with water and that's what I drank throughout the flight.


Before my Seattle trip in February I ordered a sling that hangs off the tray table so I could comfortably rest my feet during the flight. It did not arrive in time for that trip so I used it on this one. It was wonderful! No more sore knees or hips or back from trying to get in to a position that was comfortable for one of those body parts. Now all those body parts were comfortable. Though now my butt was a little sore since I wasn't shifting positions all the time!


When I landed at about 9:30 it took a while for my suitcase to come out at baggage claim. It was bag #156; I counted up to 185 before my bag came around so I could get it. I took an airport shuttle to Jen & Susan's place. But because it was a shared shuttle I had to go to Sammamish first, it added another 45 minutes to my travels; I got to their house about midnight to pick up the van. I stopped and chatted for about 15 minutes before I headed to Mary Ellen & Michael's. It was after midnight when I arrived. (Yesterday's post says 11:15 pm because my computer was still on Hawai'i time! It's now on Seattle time.)

The traffic jam due to construction did not help.

Sitting still for 6 or 7 hours was probably not the smartest thing to do after doing an 8k. But I did stretch on my way to breakfast so I wasn't as sore and stiff as I might have been. And I was certainly doing better than Brent. As soon as we got back to the house, he gave me a good bye hug and said he was going to go to sleep!

Now you're all caught up!