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As I said, it was a long journey. During our layover in Dallas, we had the privilege of meeting James Magellas, author and World War II veteran. He was the most decorated member of the renowned 82nd Airborne Division and has written an autobiography that looks very exciting. He had all of his medals, including his Purple Heart and his Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster. It was a distinct honor to shake the hand of such a courageous and interesting man.

Four hours later, we were cruising at approximately 6 1/2 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Georgia Bunny crawled out of Dear Daughter's backpack to take a peek at the waves far below. She seemed pretty impressed, as stuffed animals go.

Finally at 7:30 p.m. Hawaiian time (that's 12:30 a.m. CST), we landed in beautiful Kahului, Maui. As our jet skidded to a fishtailing halt on the rain-slick runway, I thought it would be just my luck to fly all that way only to crash at our destination. It was truly the scariest moment of the entire trip, but our magnificent flight crew wrestled our big bird into submission and brought us to the gate. We hustled down to the baggage area and found the Loved One, fresh from Alaska via Seattle, and our luggage. Wow --everything and everyone we wanted, all in one place!

We were wiped out but starving, so we grabbed a rental car and headed for Marco's in Kahului for some late-night Italian food. It was really good, especially after airport snacks and soda all day long. You can see by this photo how impressed Dear Daughter was: