Starting in the middle...

It always starts the same way. A singular idea. A pinpoint on the map. A destination.

But no trip is ever about the destination. It's about how you get there and the experiences you have while you're there.

It's in the planning, too. As much as my free-spirited, loosely structured self would like to not admit it is.

I should have started this blog months ago, and would have had I thought of it! But I guess it's better to start in the middle than to never start at all.

So, I will start (now) with the beginning...the idea, and the formation of the destinations.

Really, this all started in October 2009. As a participant with Team in Training, I had signed on to do the Seagull Century Ride in Salisbury, Maryland. Team in Training (TNT) is a volunteer/participant endurance sport training program and fundraising organization through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. While out in Maryland for event weekend, our Campaign Manager, Julie, mention that there was a 100-mile bike ride in Honolulu that TNT sometimes does, but that the Nebraska Chapter had never done before.

Bells and whistles went off. The proverbial light bulb switched on. THIS NEEDED TO HAPPEN.

With the assistance of several other teammates, and the enthusiasm from the campaign manager, the Honolulu Century Ride ended up being selected as the Fall 2010 cycle event through TNT.

The crowds rejoiced! The clouds parted! It was a good day.

So I signed up for it, agreeing to raise over $4,500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. After having raised $5,730 in 2009.

A challenge. I like it.

So, the plotting began!

Soon, my bestie who I went to high school with, Laura, decided to sign up for the century ride and be my travel buddy for the rest of the days of Hawaiian travel! She and I have been long-time travel buddies. You might remember us from such travels as:

• How to Get 2nd Degree Sunburns, Get in Car Without Air Conditioning Mid-Summer, and Travel 2,000+ Miles
• How to Travel on a Ferry and get your Luggage Crapped on by Dogs.
• How to go on Vacation and Wind up in the Hospital Having Emergency Surgery

SOME DETAILS:

Dates of Travel:
9/24/2010 - 10/5/2010

Planned Stays:
Waikiki: 3 Days
Kailua: 4 Days
Maalaea: 4 Days

Hawaiian Islands to check off bucket list:
Oahu
Maui

In the coming days, I will be posting information about hotels, rental properties, and activities and how they were researched and booked. Then, the end of next month, I will try my darndest to post about out travels as they happen, and follow up with more posts after I get back from Hawaii.

My hopes for this blog: That it's informative, full of pretty pictures and lively descriptions, and, above all, I hope it's entertaining!

Sara