Getting to the Hui
As planned, I was up at 5:00 Saturday morning, getting ready to leave for Omaha to catch my first plane on my way to Moloka'i at 8:25. I had also planned on coming home early from work Friday night, but that didn't happen - I was actually about an hour later than normal. The flights from Omaha to Denver, Denver to San Francisco and San Francisco to Honolulu were all right on time and uneventful, as well as getting around the airports.
The Honolulu airport was a bit different. The gate I was needing to get to was only mentioned on half the signs. As I followed them, I ran in to the end of the terminal with no more directions. I finally figured out that I had to go outside and into a different terminal building, through security again. Luckily I had plenty of time to figure all of this out. The flight to Moloka'i was delayed 15 minutes. For having that many flights and only having one 15 minute delay, not too bad. On the plane, I found out I was sitting right in front of Jazz, another workshop participant who missed her flight several hours earlier.
Cherrie was at the airport, wondering if she had the wrong time (since it's a small airport without delay information), to pick Jazz, Kellen and me up, the final three workshop participants. It was only a few miles to our destination, Hui Ho'olana. When we got there, we entered through a gate that's meant to keep deer off the property and especially out of their gardens. We were welcomed by one of the hostesses out in the parking lot and we each received a leigh that was so fragrant. Real flower leighs are so much better than the plastic toys. :) In Hawaiian tradition, we took our shoes off on the porch and were then shown to our rooms.
Of course, the three of us were late comers, so as soon as we knew where our rooms 
were and dropped off our luggage, we went back to the main room. Everyone else had already eaten dinner so we filled our plates and sat down to eat just in time for the slideshow of some of the pictures Jack Davis, our main teacher, had taken around the island and where we'll be going.
After the slideshow, the three of us were pulled off to the side to go over the house rules since we missed them during orientation. Just a few basics. Take off your shoes before entering as is tradition and to save the lodge and cabins from the red dirt. Shut lights off when you aren't using them, electricity on Moloka'i is expensive. There is wireless internet service, but like most things on this island, it's not the fastest so be patient. We were told that Moloka'i is a really laid back, slow paced island that gets shipments by barge twice a week. There's very little shopping available - if you run out of something, you often just have to wait until it comes on the barge. We had been instructed to bring a flash light. She explained they have centipedes that come out at night, and their stings hurt, so you use the flashlight to watch where you're stepping more than where you're going. We were also told about the amenities. They do have a couple regular bathrooms in the lodge, but also have several outdoor showers, tubs, and bathrooms.
After our personal orientation, everyone headed to their rooms. It was about 9:30 (2:30 a.m. central time.... well, actually 1:30 a.m. central time with the time change). I was asleep in no time.
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