Travel Day from Los Angeles to Lahaina Maui

United Airlines terminal 7 in LAX

Maui Wedding Vacation in Lahaina – Day 1 

Here we are at last.  Day one of our Hawaiian vacation in Maui is finally coming to an end.  My wife is fast asleep in our master bedroom suite here at the Royal Lahaina Resort, while I’m in our living room marveling at how we survived the grueling day of travel.  Our 10 month old son Christian is sleeping in his hotel supplied Port-A-Crib just a few feet away from me as I reflect on the day’s events. 

I woke up this morning about 8:30am.  One by one I checked off the items on my to-do list.  I can’t fall asleep the night before a big trip without keeping a list next to my bed.  My brain has trouble shutting down at night and I find that writing things down is a way for me to offload those loose ends that would otherwise weight on me and keep me up.

Our United Airlines flight was due to depart at 4:50pm, and we had to make sure we were all packed and in the cab by 2:30pm.   Travelling with a baby is stressful enough without having to worry about missing your flight, so I always make sure we arrive at the airport at least 2 hours early.

The biggest challenge we faced was packing our two large suitcases with everything our family of three would need without exceeding the 50 pound per/bag limit.   In order to accomplish my wife and I agreed that we would buy most of Christian’s baby food and diapers in Maui since we needed to stop at the store regardless so we could stock our refrigerator with snacks and drinks that would last us throughout the week.  Our suite at the Royal Lahaina came equipped with a full kitchen and we planned to take full advantage of that! 

Wolfgang Puck in LAX United terminal

We arrived at terminal 7 in LAX on schedule.  After unloading our bags and personal items from the taxi, I quickly removed and unfolded the snap and go stroller.  My wife had already unbuckled our son’s car seat.  I grabbed the arm handle and gently lifted it out of the car and placed it on the snap and go until I heard it snap in place.  The line at the United Airlines ticket counter moved very quickly, and before we knew it we were at the counter signing in.  My first bag weighed in at exactly 50 pounds for which I was thrilled!  The second bag however was overweight by 4 pounds.  I was hoping the attendant would let it go as they’d done many times before, but he actually told me to either remove 4 pounds of items or pay a penalty.  I dug through the suitcase and removed a package of baby wipes and my wife’s toiletries bag which was just enough.  I placed the items in my carryon back pack and off we went to the airport security line. 

Christian stopped breastfeeding when he was about 4 months, so brining baby food and milk formula along on the plane is a must.  We had a 5 and a half hour flight ahead of us so Christian’s carryon bag was full of the portable baby food tube meals, as well as bottle milk formula.  We knew from prior experience that the airport security makes an exception in their liquid restrictions for babies, but that still meant we had to go through a secondary screening process.  Each and every baby food tube was taken out and tested for explosives.  The milk was also removed, sampled, and tested.  As they were doing this it occurred to Gina and I that the toiletries bag I had removed and packed in my carrion at the last minute had liquid cosmetic and hair products which were over the 3 ounce limit.  My bag was next to be analyzed and I was so irritated with the ticket counter attendant for his petty enforcement of a mere 4 pounds over the limit.  Thankfully the TSA screeners ended up not looking in my bag most likely because of the distraction caused by the baby’s bag and the time it took to clear it. 

Lobby at the Royal Lahaina Resort

With about 1 hour to spare before boarding we ordered a last minute lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s just a few gates away from our departure gate 77.  My wife ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza and I ordered an oven roasted chicken, mushroom and onion melt.  Both meals were greasy, but they absolutely hit the spot and my mouth is watering right now thinking about how good they were. 

We took our seats on the plane after boarding our United Airlines flight.  The stroller and car seat were checked at the gate, and our belongings were packed under the seat in front of us and in the over head compartments.  We hadn’t yet taken off and Christian was already restless and fussy. All I kept thinking was how long and stressful the next 5.5 hour flight would be!  As the plane began to taxi on the runway we heard a toddler start to cry just two rows in front of us and it made me feel a little better.  The toddler continued to cry loudly even after the plane took off and I really felt bad for the parents who were completely helpless!  I started laughing when the embarrassed father announced loudly and in a sarcastic tone “oh no, are we going to be that family?” 

I’m happy to say Christian was well behaved for most of the trip.  He was restless and fussy at times, but we are amazed at how little he cried considering the long and arduous trip in such a confined area.  He didn’t have his own seat so he spent most of the trip on my lap or in a harness as I walked up and down the aisles.  My only complaint is that there wasn’t a changing table in any of the lavatories so I had to make due by using the toilet seat as a back rest. 

We are very grateful to our friends Gabriel and his fiancée Jessica for picking us up from the airport in their rental car.  They waited for us to check in to our hotel so we could dump our belongings and head back out for a bite to eat.  It was getting late and Christian was finally asleep so my wife decided to stay in the room with him while I went back out.  We decided to eat at the Outback Steakhouse.   It was already 9:30pm and most everything was closed so we were lucky find something that was open.  I was famished and devoured my rib eye steak and baked potato in record time.  I drank down a Cadillac margarita to take the edge off and made sure to order my wife her meal to go. 

I’m looking forward to the rest of our trip.  We have 1 week to enjoy ourselves and we are so happy to be on this beautiful island.  I just finished unpacking and expect to be in bed and asleep in about 10 minutes.  Until tomorrow!

About the Author: Stan is the proud father of three young children. He and his wife love to travel frequently to places near and far with their extended family.