We Got "Robbed" in Bora Bora

Lost my spot already...

In preparing for our wedding, I asked countless newlywed couples if life felt different after being married. Some say nothing changed, while others acknowledged a kind of reinvigoration. I can safely say that waking up on Day 3 of marriage felt very similar to waking up the day before. I still have not recovered my voice from the wedding, my feet fall off with every step, and I'll never be hydrated again; but then I get to roll over and look at my Wife! which brings a level of calm and home that I hope never leaves.

Today we are leaving on the first of many travel days for our Honeymoon (and honestly, this post will follow the almost 3 days of "getting there".) The highlight of today is definitely waking up without an alarm for the first time in who knows how long. Obviously that means that at a bright and cheery 8:30... Kat and I are both in the kitchen making coffee and reviewing the never-ending lists.

In what will be a surprise to none, Kat was packed before we left for the wedding, and I'm just deciding what to put in my suitcases. I lug my large check bag back out (and then clean the rainbow suit, craft supplies, and therapy bands out) to start loading it up. First, the board games, then the puzzle, the frisbee, and finally - my first article of clothing - the water shoes. My first bag had only enough room for the alcohol, but I knew it was ready to go without anything else that I could wear.

Having a few final things to pick up, I left on a quick trip to the bank, gas station, target, woodmans, and of course Arby's, and returned I was ready to be home watching TV on the couch. Kat left anxiously to chop all her hair off, as I watched a goofy Korean drama, wondering about the amount of work still in front of me.

She returned to find me soaking in the tub, trying to heal my barking dogs before multiple days of travel. TRICK, I had also done all the things I was supposed to! Clothes sprayed for bugs, bags weighed and ready, kittens over-loved; we were all ready to go!

Dharma's Stoic Goodbye

Kat's mom, Mary, picked us up for the airport and the dog up for her sisters, and we were well on our way. I was excited to get to the Madison airport, because my favorite bartender proposed to his boyfriend in Hawaii since I last traveled and I was looking forward to seeing how it went. Sadly, it looked like he still hadn't returned from paradise, but then we were surprised by a visit when he said hello as we were closing out the tab to head for the gate :)

We flew firsties from Madison, to Salt Lake, to LA, and did our best to live it up. Snapping pics while boarding the plane, our pilot joined in the celebration by photo bombing and then congratulating us. Kat thought it fitting to celebrate our newly committed future by watching Frozen 2... next to her I viewed IT II - the reboot. Both of us asleep before the endings.

Our arrival in LA was insignificant. I booked an airport hotel for us to stay, thinking we'd leave at check-out and hang in the Sky Club for the rest of the day. Turns out LAX is more of an international hub than O'Hare or Detroit, and uses the international terminal for departures (instead of only arrivals). We arrive at the airport around 3:30 (8 hours early for our 11:30 flight) to find that the terminal didn't have a sky club AND that we couldn't check our bags until 8:30... Thank goodness a couple coworkers gifted us Phase 10, we were able to sit in a Planet Hollywood and play games for days while waiting to get through security.

After sound sleeps on the plane to Tahiti, our next adventure was getting through customs

Yes, I've done that...

and onto our puddle jumper to Bora Bora. Did I mention that I still had no voice and was sick leading up to the wedding? Tahiti has refused people form 14 different counties and was screening for Coronavirus immediately after getting off the plan. I stood there, sweating in my sweatshirt, in 90 degree / 1000% humidity, expecting to be turned around. Instead, the man took my paper, swiped my forehead temp, didn't ask me a thing to hear that I was hoarse, and let us on our way!!!!

The flight from Tahiti to Bora Bora was also stressful. We had heard (too late) that we could only have 1 checked bag and a small carry on due to the size of the plane and the need to weight balance the aircraft. I had 2 carry ons. We spent an eternity in line, without breeze or AC, waiting to get our boarding passes, evaluating everyone else and the amount bags they hauled along with. After an hour of worry, we reached the woman at the till, who apologized for charging me $10 to bring an extra bag, and everything was fine.

We arrived at the Marriott hotel around 10am, only to find that our room wouldn't be ready till almost 2pm. Even the wait in the ungodly heat couldn't have stopped us from being relaxed, relieved, and in love. At this point Kat turns to me and says "We've Arrived in Bora Bora". However, in true married couple fashion, I already can't listen and instead heard "We got Robbed in Bora Bora". Which was news to me.