Have an Exit Row, as Long as You're Not a Terrorist

I'm back from Hawaii and back at work this week, so I was planning to say I'd get caught up on my blogging. That was until I had one of the best dates EVER last night. Not that this was too hard, given that the last two include a guy whose somewhat suicidal and one who called me 3 days later to say he was going to "take it to the next level" with someone else. What am I, a Sega game?

I'm hoping to see my gentleman from last night again soon. So this may be all I get to this week.

This trip to Hawaii was for a conference called "The War on Pain". The conference was in Maui, but I wanted to leave open the option of going to Honolulu to look for a place to live if I took the Hawaii job. I originally booked to one-way flights, then changed one of them late. In the end I flew round trip from Oakland to Maui, but apparently I had already raised some flags.

On my flight out of Oakland, I got the full pat down and carry-on bag check. What cracked me up was the way back. I was in line in Maui and an agent asked for my name. When I gave it to her, she said:

"You're on my list. Please step over here."

This time, one of the TSA guys took my checked bag and opened it up to search in front of me. While he was doing this, I heard the agents trying to "open up" a new seat for me, which was odd, given I hadn't asked for a change. I don't know if it was the MD in my reservation (I try not to throw it around, but I'll take any airline perk I can get), but they moved me to an exit row.

Then I got the pat down again on my way through security, and all the explosive checks. BTW - this bothers me NOT AT ALL -- the way I bought my tickets was unusual, and I'm glad they did a little extra checking. Everyone from the airlines and TSA was professional, pleasant, and helpful. And I enjoyed my exit row seat.

A few pictures from the recent Hawaii trips, beginning with Oahu

Sunset from the east side of Oahu:
Mountains on Oahu:
From my window in Maui (the Marriot):
The beach between the Marriot and the Grand Wailea:
Little Beach, the gay/nude beach on Maui. If you try to find it, get good directions:
Sue was is Maui at the same time as I was, and stayed at the Westin. It seemed much more hip than the resorts, and is probably where I would stay if I weren't going to a conference. These are the flamingos (live) from their garden/pool area:

A waterfall in the garden at the Grand Wailea. The place was ridiculous:
Wednesday, I went to Maui's only winery -- it's up toward the crater on the west side of the island. They make pineapple wine, which actually wan't bad. It took me 50' to get there, only to realize that I could see my hotel from the road up. They tell me that it was only 2 miles away, but there were no direct roads through the private property. I think the large white building is the Grand Wailea, where I spent 3 nights.
Don't forget to vote. If you live in California, I suggest voting for a governor who didn't veto a bill to legalize gay marriage. Aloha and Mahalo!