Day trip to Honolulu | Travelling in Hawaii
A critical planning error ended with a delightful day trip to Honolulu while travelling in Hawaii. If you are putting together a travel itinerary, I’d recommend this (without the stress of the passport error, though!!)
Needing to renew my passport ended with a delightful day trip to Honolulu when travelling in Hawaii
Our appointment with the passport agency was made for Monday in Honolulu – a short airplane ride from Maui
The fun activity of the past few days had done a very good job distracting me from my passport snafu. Monday arrived. It was now time to deal with it.
Our research on Thursday had informed us that my only hope of receiving a new passport on time was to appear at the Honolulu passport agency in person. That meant securing transportation (flights are the only option) to the island of Oahu.
My conversations with a few Passport service agents through the toll free number had given me very clear directions. They also informed me that, thankfully, Honolulu is one of the few passport agencies that actually assembles passports right in their center. There was a small chance that I could get the passport on the same day.
That’s what I was praying for with all my might.
{As you read the rest of this story, keep in mind I am a U.S. citizen with a U.S. passport. If I were a Canadian passport holder, this story would be much different…}
When we stepped on to the plane at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, we really didn’t know what the outcome would be. The expedited service the passport center offered was only a 3 day guarantee. The first available appointment open in the Honolulu passport office was 2:00 Monday afternoon. We needed to fly back to Canada from Maui on Wednesday.
The timing was beyond tight. I was nervous. Very, very nervous.
Upon arrival to the Honolulu airport, we secured a taxi and headed straight to the Federal Building. My plan was to talk to the reception area and ask if there happened to be any cancellations so I could get an earlier appointment.
After walking past various security guards and screening areas, we finally arrived at the passport center office door. My heart was pounding like I’d run a marathon.
History has taught me that you don’t mess around with government agencies like this. I was really nervous that by showing up before my appointment, I would somehow be committing a big “no no”.
I stopped right before the door and turned to my husband,
“This is so dumb. They’re not going to let me in before 2:00.”
He assured me that it wouldn’t be harmful to at least ask nicely…
I gulped in a big breath and opened the door.
I approached the tall reception desk with 3 security guards seated below, and started out my inquiries with this statement,
“I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
I can’t begin to tell you how kind that gentleman was to me. After hearing my predicament, he calmly chuckled and said, “well, obviously, we’re not that busy, so go stand in line right now!”
(Hallelujah!)
I ended up being number 6 in line, and saw the agent at 9 am.
He listened to my predicament, reviewed my documentation, attached multiple stickers and notes, and then said,
“I can’t make any promises, but come back at 2:00. Don’t be late. We close right at 3.”
I didn’t stop praying for a miracle…
My passport situation was now in the hands of the Honolulu Passport Center.
We had 5 hours to “waste”, and we wanted to use the time wisely!
While waiting for my passport to be made, we explored the city of Honolulu
Stop number one was the Ala Moana Shopping Center
Through asking questions of the many helpful locals, we discovered the city transit system. By using its services we were able to get to the Ala Moana Shopping Center
It was a large shopping mall with one major difference from any other one I’d been in – There was no ceiling!! It was big and beautiful and had SO MANY shops, but we really didn’t feel we should use our precious time in Honolulu in a mall! So we got back on the bus.
Stop number 2 – Waikiki Beach
This picture says a 1000 words, and the backpack says many of them. We were on the move! We didn’t really have time to stop and linger. Irwin said, “I at least want to stick my feet in the water!” And, other than snap a few pictures, that’s all we had time for at the beach.
The friendliest city on earth?
A cruise ship had just docked in the harbour, and the area was filled with people carrying Princess Cruises bags. As we walked on the sidewalks, we couldn’t get over the amount of people everywhere. It was a far, far more “hustle and bustle” environment than we’d seen in Maui. Other than the beach, you would have thought you were just in another big city (with palm trees!).
It took us a while to figure out where all the bus stops were and heavy on our minds was the 2:00 appointment that I HAD TO BE on time for.
At the corners of the streets we noticed uniformed individuals who were positioned solely for helping guide lost tourists. It was such a lovely touch of hospitality that I’d never seen before.
Lunch at Cheesecake Factory
I was ready for a little relaxation, so we chose to sit down and have a nice, unhurried lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.
A larger restaurant, I have never seen before!
It was beautiful and delicious and wonderful to sit down in a quiet space.
Then we headed out into the throngs again and started the city bus journey back to the Federal Building. Part of the fun of the day was meeting and visiting with many people at the bus stops and in the buses. The cruise line people were very chatty, happy people…and just as lost as us! We all helped each other figure things out.
Stop #4 – The Federal Building
The bus deposited us to a stop near the 300 Ala Moana Federal Building at around 1:30. We headed into the office at 1:45.
As we entered the door, a little cheer went up from the man behind the reception desk.
“Oh, yeah! You made it back to pick up your passport!”
We couldn’t believe that, other than the workers, the whole room was empty!
I walked up to the counter, and after shuffling through a few envelopes, the dear lady pulled out my passport.
I can’t explain how relieved I felt in that instant…
It was a passport miracle!
The sun seemed to shine a bit brighter after that…
A walking tour of the downtown area
After the kind local lady took our picture in front of the Federal Building, Irwin asked if the “Hawaii Five-o statue” (actually, the King Kamehameha the Great Statue) was nearby. Sure enough it was. Walking there and seeing the beautiful architecture of the downtown was definitely a highlight of our Oahu daytrip.
***I feel I need to tag a disclaimer on this post. Please, please, please don’t use this story as leverage to try to force a passport agency, immigration, or any other government officials to expedite a service you need. Trying to coerce a government worker in a position of authority is never wise. My dad taught me many, many years ago to treat them with the utmost of respect. Be humble. Use few and precise words. Don’t ramble. And above all else, respect them…
I fully understood that the predicament I was in was utterly and completely my own fault. That passport agency didn’t have to get me my passport in 4 1/2 hours. They never claim or guarantee to have same day service.
At the time, I knew the outcome of when I would actually get that passport was completely in their hands.
It was by a great act of grace on their part that I got it so quickly. At the time and as I reflect on it, it is one of the greatest examples of grace I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime.
I made a terrible mistake.
And God provided a miracle through an act of grace.
My humble thanks goes to the Honolulu passport agents. They gave an amazing gift to this traveller in distress.
And, I must say, I’ll be much more mindful to check the expiration date on my passport in the future!
***
Stop #5-The Honolulu Airport
Our journey ended with quite a long wait in the Honolulu Airport. However, it was the one and only time while we were on this vacation that we sat still and did nothing for any length of time…
…except listen to Hawaiian music…over and over again…
Oh – I am sooooo glad everything turned out okay. I know how that feeling can be when things like this happen. More great pictures…truly paradise!
I’m so thankful to read that you got your passport taken care of. I loved reading your posts about your trip. We went on a trip of a life time to Oahu back to 2000. My husband had the privilege of doing the wedding for a couple from our church. She was from Oahu and they made it possible for us to go to Hawaii. As I read your posts and enjoyed your photos it brought me back to our trip. The smells of the flowers and the warm tropical breeze along with the beautiful blue ocean. You can truly see God’s artistic beauty in Hawaii.
When I read your post about the passport ordeal, I told my husband that sound like something that would happen to us.
I’m so happy for you that you were able to have a wonderful time despite the passport ordeal. While you’ve been enjoying the wonderful warm weather, we’ve had but yet another ice and snowstorm here in the mid-west.
Oh Rita, I don’t know what to say! I’ll leave it at my heart with filled overflowing with joy! 🙂