This trip was a solo one for me. My husband, never a fan of sunshine or water, decided to stay home

While most of the United States this past weekend was in a deep freeze complete with snow, ice, and wind, I flew from sunny Florida to tropical Hawaii to participate in the 41 st Honolulu Marathon on the island of Oahu.  I love warm weather so this was an ideal choice renaissance hotel columbus ohio for me, although I have to admit that the race and my trip did have some negatives.
I left Florida on Friday, building in an extra day before the race just in case; with such a long flight, I didn’t want to take any chances on missing the race.  Whenever I travel west of the Mississippi I try to add that extra day if my budget renaissance hotel columbus ohio allows.  I had registered for Honolulu early this year when there was a half price special for mainlanders.  I then looked on the Marathon renaissance hotel columbus ohio Maniacs Facebook page to check on recommended hotels.  That was how I decided upon the Marriott Courtyard renaissance hotel columbus ohio on Waikiki Beach; it was supposed to be within easy walking distance of the expo, the bus to the start line, and the park near the finish line.  Indeed it was, although if I had it to do over again, I would select a hotel closer to the finish line.  More about that later.
When I checked on airfares, I was astounded to see that it would cost about $1000 for an economy ticket.  Given the popularity of Hawaii as a tourist destination, I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised, but I was.  I decided renaissance hotel columbus ohio to use my Delta frequent flier miles and save money for the hotel and other expenses.  Once all that was settled, I concentrated on the many other races that were on my calendar and put Honolulu out of my mind – until last week that is.  All of a sudden, the race was upon me and I had to read up on the course and what to expect.
This trip was a solo one for me.  My husband, never a fan of sunshine or water, decided to stay home and relax.  I flew to Atlanta, spent a couple renaissance hotel columbus ohio of stress-free hours in one of the Sky Clubs, and then settled in for a long, 10.5 hour flight nonstop to Honolulu.  The good news about this otherwise boring flight was my bulkhead economy comfort seat with extra legroom and an absorbing movie about Steve Jobs.  Still, it was a very long flight.  Delta no longer serves meals to economy passengers renaissance hotel columbus ohio on flights to Hawaii but they did have food to buy.  I had some coupons for snack boxes so I nibbled on a couple of those.  There is a 5 hour time difference so it was only around 4 pm when we landed but my body was still on Eastern Time and it felt to me like 9 at night.
After picking up my checked bag, I looked for the SpeediShuttle vans that were advertised on the airport website.  Dozens of other travelers were also looking for them.  I found a SpeediShuttle representative, renaissance hotel columbus ohio paid for a round-trip renaissance hotel columbus ohio passage, and then joined a long line of people waiting to board.  Each van could hold about 9 passengers and I took a seat in the front of one of them, next to two women from Chicago who were also planning to do the race.  Everyone was staying at different hotels in Waikiki Beach so the driver of our van made notes on the places he had to stop. As we headed out, it was 4:30 in the afternoon and traffic was at a standstill.  I guess that was to be expected for Friday rush hour but in addition renaissance hotel columbus ohio to the long lines of cars, our driver seemed unsure of where the hotels were actually located.  He finally managed to drop off the other passengers, leaving just three of us, all marathoners, still in the van.  It was now 6:30 and dark.  The two other women had paid for the pricey ($75 a ticket) Friday evening race luau but because of the long delays in finding our hotels they were unable to get there in time.  Finally the driver found their hotel but mine was not on his radar.  We drove around and around and I was beginning to think I would never get to my hotel.  I moved into the front seat of the van, looked at my map, and began to give the driver directions to the Courtyard.  Me, give directions? In a city I had never been in before?  In the dark?  It was pretty funny once I could look back on it from the inside of my hotel room but while we were searching, it was not so amusing.  SpeediShuttle was definitely a misnomer.  Eventually, though, we arrived at my hotel and I was able to check in and make my way to a room on the 17 th floor. renaissance hotel columbus ohio The room was tiny but functional and clean.  I was hungry and tired and impatient.  I walked to a nearby grocery store and bought a large bottle of spring water and a tiny bottle of wine, then crossed the street to McDonald’s and bought a chicken sandwich.  I ate, drank, and slept.  Tomorrow was another day.
My plan was to have a light breakfast and then find the Convention Center, site of the expo.  The lady at the hotel desk gave me an easy-to-follow map of the area and explained how to get to both the expo and the zoo (the locale for meeting the buses to the start line on Sunday morning).  The Convention Center was an easy 15 minute walk away and I found it without trouble.  People were lining up outside the Expo doors and at 9 am on the dot, we were allowed inside.  We had earlier been sent an information sheet with final race instructions and a tear-off form with our running number. I walked to the appropriate table and picked renaissance hotel columbus ohio up my bib with chip on the back and a plastic bag that was meant as a drop bag for clothing.  There were souvenir tee shirts, caps, socks, renaissance hotel columbus ohio and other race items for sale and I ended up purchasing a couple of marathon tee shirts, one cotton and one tech, just in case the finisher shirts we were to get at the end of the race did not fit me.  I had learned my lesson from Dublin.
Now I was juggling several bags plus my backpack with my glasses, camera, and map.  I walked around the expo, taking pictures of the many booths with signs in Japanese.  This race is extremely popular with people from Japan and more than half of the entrants are from that country.  As I approached the exit, I was stopped by some expo photographers who were snapping pictures of people in front of a marathon backdrop.  I handed my camera to one of the photographers renaissance hotel columbus ohio and he snapped a couple of pictures of me with my camera.  I think he handed it back to me but I can’t be positive.  He also took several professional photos of me.  Then I left.  I juggled my bags and backpack and put on my sunglasses.  As I walked to the bridge to return to my hotel, I looked for my camera renaissance hotel columbus ohio so I could snap a few pictures.  That’s when I realized that the camera was missing renaissance hotel columbus ohio – and I couldn’t remember what had happened to it.  I quickly retraced my steps, looking renaissance hotel columbus ohio all around at my surroundings to see if I had dropped it somewhere.  I re-entered the expo and asked the photographers if someone had found it.  I checked with ‘lost and found’ and left my name and number just in case.  But my camera never surfaced.
So this report has no pictures.  It was pretty disillusioning to think that a fellow athlete may have stolen renaissance hotel columbus ohio my camera.  Since expos are open to all, I prefer to think that the culprit was a petty thief who benefited from the trust of runners and walkers.  Still, renaissance hotel columbus ohio I had traveled to races in Rome, Athens, and Dublin and all over the United States without a problem so I was disenchanted that something like this would happen in the island paradise of Hawaii. renaissance hotel columbus ohio From that point on, I kept one hand on my wallet and cell phone at all times, even during the marathon.
I returned to the hotel to deposit my bib and shirts away and then walked in the other direction to the zoo in Kapiolani Park.  It took about 20 minutes to get to the parking lot where the buses were to leave.  By this time I was pretty hungry so I walked around town looking for possible places to dine.  When my husband comes with me, I usually follow his suggestions for meals.  He does his research thoroughly and checks out reviews and menus.  On my own, I look for places that are convenient, quiet, and not too expensive.  I ended up at a P. F. Chang’s near some upscale shops; I had a yearning for Chinese food so I indulged.  The leftovers went in the room’s refrigerator and turned out to be a good post-race meal for me.  My only other restaurant renaissance hotel columbus ohio meal turned out to be a not-so-great French toast breakfast on Monday before I left for the airport.  This trip was not a culinary adventure.
The Honolulu Marathon begins renaissance hotel columbus ohio at 5 am, no doubt to avoid the heat and humidity of the day.  Buses to the start line begin leaving at 2 am and continue until 4 am.   Since I’m an inveterate early bird, my plan was to rise at 1 am, have some coffee and a granola bar, and walk to the buses by 2.  Getting up that early was not a problem because I had not yet adjusted to the time change.  However, the mile or so  walk to the zoo led me past an array of bars and restaurants and condos that were still open.  I thought I would see other runners on their way to the buses but that was not the case; I was probably the only sober person on the street at that hour.  I walked by boxes and cartons on the sidewalk and wondered who would put their suitcases and belongings outside – and then realized that there were people sleeping INSIDE those boxes.  It was very sad and very strange.
I made it to the park without incident and took a seat on one of the first buses to leave for the start line at Ala Moana Beach Park.  The ride took about 25 minutes.  Because I was so early, I had my pick of the many portapotties that lined the area. I watched as volunteers and racers arrived in succeeding waves of buses.  Eventually, 22,000 of us would line up according to pace in the street.  At least that was theoretically what was to happen.  However, a lot of people who do this race seem unfamiliar with traditional racing etiquette because many slower runners, joggers, and walkers lined up in the faster corrals.  I discovered this because there were numerous bottlenecks during the race, even on the wide streets and even very late into the race.
Before the race began, I met a number of people, including several Maniacs, and met up again with the two women from Chicago who had sha