The Severed Cortex

Ah the wonders of modern pharmaceuticals. Like magic in convenient pill form. I wake up as we are descending into LAX. Once we land and disembark the plane, we start scanning the board for the flight to O'Hare. We had only a one hour layover. We figured as early as it was in LA, we'd be fine for catching the Chicago flight. It was the flight home from O'Hare that we were most concerned about. Fortunately in LAX our Chicago flight was only one gate away. Too sweet. I am totally in a cartoon world from the Ambien and I really struggle to stay awake. I'm not even sure I was awake when we took off from LA. I only manage to sleep halfway through the Chicago flight but life is good anytime you can make a 4 hour flight seem like 2 hours. All in all, sleeping 3/4 of the way home sure makes the reality of going back to work tolerable.
We made the flight back out of O'Hare. We had to ride a shuttle from the C gates to the F gates, and then walk to the very end of the F gates ... and then walk down a flight of stairs. All in less than the allotted 45 minutes. It seems impossible, but it can be done. Another forty five minutes later we arrive at our new home airport. I have to say that Abe Lincoln Regional Airport and Discount Shoe Emporium is damn easy to get in and out of. And you sure can't beat the free parking. All this and just 10 minutes away from the house.
I thought this trip ranked up there near the top of the Places Visited list. British Columbia has to rank up there pretty high too. If we had maybe two more days in Maui, that would definitely put Maui over the top. Two more days allows you a little more beach time, plus the activities we did, plus maybe one more activity like a snorkel trip to Molokini Crater or maybe even a flight to one of the other islands. I would have liked to have seen 50 foot waves on Oahu, although in the right conditions the beaches outside Pai'a can produce some very big waves. The live volcano on the Big Island would have been cool to see too. If you are going I have to say the Kaanapali resorts are a very good way to do it. At least the ones south of Black Rock are. The ones north of there might be fine too. In general, if you choose to stay in Kaanapali you can't go wrong. You have many options for food (and some shopping) without leaving the area. Plus you have Lahaina a short distance away. Be prepared to spend some money once you get there for food. Very expensive. You can probably save a buck or two by getting a condo or a time share and cooking your own food, but you won't save a ton. The grocery stores are not exactly cheap. Whatever you spend, it is all worth it. Even the long flight is worth it. Maui is so nice that you won't want to leave. Then again, who wants to leave vacation and go back to work.

I don't have any pics from this day. (remember the whole Ambien thingy) Instead, here are a couple of my personal favorites.

The orchid. If you view this full size, the detail is incredible. Almost dSLR worthy. It would have been better had I not chopped off the top part of the flower.
Banyan tree gnarls. This is actually a terrible picture other than it having some nice texture. What I like about it, and I didn't know this at the time, is that there is a little alien character sitting in the tree amidst the gnarls. I am Kaldon-5 from the planet Nimutard. Take me to your leader.
Sailboats in Lahaina. This one actually looks better at less than full size. Yes the one in front is no more.
Catamaran at dusk. This one turned out postcard worthy. Probably my favorite one of the trip. You can see Lanai on the left and just a bit of Molokai on the right.