Hawaii vacation blogging - I had fun though some don`t · Wednesday January 14, 2009 by colin newell
Picture if you would… a little cafe that I have dreamed up. It is kind of a hole in the wall place. Long. Narrow. There are, like, over a hundred tables in this cafe… and the seats are really packed together. So much so that you cannot stretch out your legs. House rules: Everybody stays seated unless I say it’s OK to get up. I wander around the cafe once an hour or so offering people coffee or tea… or water.
And it’s not the best coffee either.
But my cafe is very, very expensive. And oddly, very busy.
People pay hundreds of dollars to sit here. Like I said, I just dreamed this up.
And I do not guarantee that I will actually serve any coffee – or offer any food.
I might charge a cover to come in… and not serve anything at all.
My cafe is so uncomfortable and unpredictable that you might ask yourself why on Earth you are coming here. I mean, what’s in it for you?
Truth is, this business, in real life is actually wildly successful.
Except, it is not a cafe at all. It is your average airline.
An Airline. Kind of like a cafe in the sky. You pay big money. You are treated like crap. Surly in-flight crew shuffle you around like bovine, throwing trowels of inedible food at you – all the while you wonder if your personal effects will be waiting for you at your destination.
Reminds me of a website I discovered on the weekend while thinking about my next trip. Airline Quality.Com blew me away with the candid reviews of Air Travel in the 21st Century. It seems that life on Earth in 2009 is in the 21st Century, but when you take off into the wild blue wonder – you might think it is actually the Dark Ages – right down to the cattle prods and Cat O’ Nine Tails .
Example of an Air Canada horror story – Total cumulative time spent on hold was estimated at 10 hours. I emailed AC this morning, Dec 30. They responded saying it would be 4 weeks before they would get back to me. Any airline can provide good service during the off-season, when the weather is good. The true test of an airline is when it is busy. Air Canada fails this test miserably .
Yup. Page after page of shocking true to life stories like these! I was glued to the computer for hours – my wife had to shake me out of my trance, locked into this like a mongoose being hypnotized by a cobra… couldn’t look away…
Personally, I like my humiliation on the ground where I am, at least, a little in control… or can walk away… Like work, or visiting the Passport Office (funny story – another blog) or doing a live television interview the very moment the interviewer realizes that I have the stage presence of Jean Claude Van Damme… Sorry Jean. At least if you get hassled in the air, you can round-house kick your way out of trouble and parachute to safety.
Anyway – before you fly or travel or plan your next vacation – visit two websites:
Airline Quality.Com and Trip Adviser.Com
For the coffeecrew blog, I am Colin Newell. Feet planted firmly on the ground… at least for now.
Hawaii vacation blogging - Return - Phil Fontaine - Air Canada · Tuesday January 6, 2009 by colin newell
Our return flight from Honolulu was at 10:45 PM On Sunday last… Andrea and I arrived at around 8, planning on chilling and exploring the lovely airport. Checking in at the Air Canada kiosk, we were informed quite gently by one of the gals that there was some snow in Vancouver and that the flight had been delayed getting out. So we were to be delayed. Initially the board showed about 1 AM. Then it moved quickly to 3 AM. Then 5 AM.
But the flight was never canceled – and I never doubted it would be. And maybe it was the culmination of a quietly creeping sleepiness that softened my nerves – I do not know. Either way, I was calm the whole time.
We got through the TSA Check-points effortlessly, like all the other TSA check-points at the other airports – coming to, in and around the Islands.
Truth be told, the TSA is brilliant. I have never had a problem. I do not anticipate ever having a problem with the TSA – and they were good-natured as heck – making the experience as seamless and painless as humanly possible.
American customs are typically more human and gentle than their Canadian counterparts.
Example: I am passing through TSA at Kona-Keahole Airport. My camera bag, bristling with unusual electronics and gadgets – more than enough to get a command module to the moon, catches their attention. The officer holds it up and asks, “Can I look at this again, please?”
Why sure officer. “What you got in here, Camera equipment?”
Yup.
“No problem… have a great day… safe travels…”
Yea. Pretty much it.
When officially crossing into America from Canada, a youthful male Customs officer commented as Andrea and I approached… “Hey! You two… Holding hands! My wife stopped holding hands with me 3 days after we got married!”
Welcome to America. Have a nice stay.
Back to Honolulu again. We wandered slowly around the International Departure area and finally found our tentative gate – there were few people there by 9 PM – having obviously figured out that they were not going anywhere… anytime soon.
Who I did notice almost right away was Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada, Phil Fontaine (Photo above) sitting and reading quietly.
Being who I am; inquisitive, curious, bold, annoying…
I wandered up and asked: “Are you Phil Fontaine?”
“Yes, “ he volunteered…
“It is… an honor… Sir. I am humbled to meet you… having followed your illustrious career all these years…
“And you are?” He countered…
Honestly, I think I said I was nobody. The mere fact that we had one of Canada’s most important and influential people… in our departure gate… flying Economy no less (Yes, he WAS flying Economy…) that I knew everything was going to be fine. He and I had several opportunities to talk story – but I tried not to impose. Andrea got the thrill of a lifetime meeting up with him as well. Our conversations about current political things were candid, open and at times, illuminating – And ALL off the record thank-you very much (so if you are a journalist reading this, do not bother e-mailing me for details…)
Anyway – that is part one of the story. More to follow!
Hawaii vacation blogging - watching the sun go down - and eating · Sunday December 28, 2008 by colin newell
Can you have too much of a good thing? Too much relaxation? Too much good food?
Kona, Hawaii has air that is like silk, water as pristine as the planet and Mother Earth will allow – and a never ending warmth and joy that is impossible to replicate anywhere else.
I never breathe and think so clearly as when I am in a place like this.
Today we had a tour of the Blue Horse Kona Coffee farm with the Oster family – wonderful, gentle, warm hosts – who gave 2 hours of their time. For me, this was the farm tour and connection I have been waiting a lifetime for.
If you love coffee – you must visit a farm and be with the people. It is that simple.
Hawaii vacation blogging - watching the sun go down · Wednesday December 24, 2008 by colin newell
watching the sun drop into the ocean
from Alii Drive, Kona Hawaii
while we eat spaghetti and marinara sauce
and passion fruit-juice
it slowly drops
and then vanishes into the sea
in a heart beat
like life
so fast
so short
words are pointless
Click on any of the photos for the full-meal-deal view
