WE ARE BACK IN HONOLULU

Yes, we made it home.  Left Zurich a bit late at 1:30PM.  5827 miles to San Francisco, then another 2392 miles to Honolulu, safely.  Almost 12 hours for the first leg on Swiss Air, then 5 United hours to Honolulu, with a lengthy stop through immigration and customs in SFO.  If the United Air flight was not an hour late, would have missed it.

If you ever need to do what we did, make sure you have three hours in SFO because:

• You will need to pick up your baggage in SFO and go through customs/immigration.
• Then, you need to re-check the luggage to Honolulu.
• The walk to the F gate area is long, very long.
• And you will be forced to go through airport check and long lines to get back into the airport wait area.
• All this after a long day from Europe.
• We left the hotel at 10AM Zurich time, and returned home around 11PM, exactly 24 hours later.
• I should have been exhausted, but slept a small bit from SFO to HNL, and actually had a scotch and boiled peanuts at home, before going to bed at 2AM, 27 hours after leaving the Marriott Zurich.
• Got up today at 9AM, and watched the Dolphins beat Jets in overtime.

The Swiss Air flight was wonderful.

• Our business class seats could be placed in a bed mode.
• Watched three films:

• 
  Before Sunrise, rated 100/93 by Rotten Tomatoes.
• Starred Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, with Richard Linklater, director.
• Released in 1995.
• I've long wanted to watch this film because it told of a story that could have been mine, but I decided to just work in the sugar industry.
• Before Sunset, released nine years later, rated 18/52 by Rotten Tomatoes.  Too talky with no real ending.
• 

  Killing Me Softly with his Songs, a documentary of Charles Fox, who wrote a lot of popular songs and film scores, including the hit by Roberta Flack and Happy Days.

So here is a photo collage of our trip from Zurich, beginning with the Swiss Air Lounge, which had the best whiskey collection for an airport anywhere.  Let me show you what I saw and sampled.

Kavalan from Taiwan won the Best of Best Whisky award in 2023.

Several Japanese whiskeys.

Finally, a few minutes late, we depart in the rain.

Business class.

Started with Swiss Single Malt Whisky and the The Irishman.

Had a Hess Cabernet Sauvignon.

Lager beer.

Approach to SFO.

United flight to Honolulu.  Not much.

Made it to San Francisco, as explained above.  Boarded our United Airlines flight to Honolulu.  The seats in business class were abominable.  No leg rest and the seat back moved all of 3 inches, if that.  Thought I would try to sleep so did not eat or drink much.  Made it to 15 Craigside and noticed I had waked 7623 steps this long day.

Nice to be home.  Slept well.  Gained 5 pounds on the trip.  Went to Marukai and bought some steak and chu-toro sashimi.  My final splurge supper before going back to soup/salad lunches to lose those 5 pounds.

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