What's That I Smell?

The waiting area at LAX was packed with Trojans flying to Honolulu for Saturday's football game.

I hope United Airlines packed extra liquor on the plane because these people were ready to party!

An elderly couple in front of me starting raising their hands and snapping their fingers at the flight attendants within 5 minutes of our take off seeking alcohol. After several drinks the flight attendant told the gentleman he was going to have to slow down and the next drink would be his last one for a while.

I don't know what's going on, but I keep getting seated next to people who hardly ever fly. (On the way from Dulles to London my seat partner actually filled out a United Frequent Flyer application on the plane. How do you get seated in Business without being a frequent flyer? Did he actually pay the airfare?)

I don't mean to be snobbish, but tonight when the flight attendant asked the guy sitting next to me if he wanted steak or chicken for dinner he actually replied, "I'd like the 'fill-it mag-none.'"

Later in the flight he couldn't figure out how to turn on the light above his seat and he asked me how to do it. I honestly was trying to be helpful (and not condescending) and pointed to the button in his armrest and said, "it's the one with the light bulb on it." He got a little huffy until he realized it did in fact have a little light bulb on it. That shut him up for a while.

The flight was completely full, but it took off and landed on time with little fanfare.

They play a "Guess the Halfway Point" game on flights to Hawaii. The prize goes to whoever guesses the exact time the plane is halfway between LAX and Honolulu. Sadly, my guess of 5:04 p.m. was 5 minutes off the correct answer of 4:59 p.m. Someone else got the can of Macadamia nuts from Hilo Hattie's.

They use the cutest little dog (photo above) at the Honolulu airport to sniff for agriculture not allowed on the Islands. Let's hope he's not sensitive to whiskey breath because this load of Trojans drunks would really throw him for a loop.

I'm staying in the iconic Rainbow Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Management was nice enough to upgrade me to a corner room so I have one balcony facing the lagoon and one facing the beach. Photos to follow when it's daytime.

Aloha!