I can’t believe I got to travel to NYC. This was my first time on a plane since March 2020 when I went to Oahu. The last time I went outside of the state was in September 2019. This trip has been a long time coming. How does one prep and pack for a trip to NYC during this COVID craziness? Much the same way you did in the past except for addition of the Ziploc bag of disposable masks.

• Lots of disposable masks
• COVID Vaccination Record card
• Sanitizing wipes that I always packed anyway
• More hand sanitizer than usual
• Hilo Lunch Shop for snacking and for the flight attendants
• Big island Delights omiyage
• Pashmina-style scarf – easily packable and versatile cover up
• Black dresses and a variety of scarves
• Cute shoes I can walk for miles in. I love walking in NYC. Unless it is hot. Or raining.
• Shorts and tees since the weather is expected to hit 90 degrees
• Umbrella since rain and thunderstorms were forecasted
• At home, I cleaned out and restarted my AeroGarden with a fresh crop of lettuce and arugula. *Note — the seeds were just sprouting on my return after just 5 days away.

On the day of our flight, the check-in process at the airport was very smooth and easy. Nothing different since our location did not require any proof of vaccination or COVID testing. The TSA checkpoint was smooth as well. The flight attendants handed out wipes as we boarded but I would recommend bringing your own wipes if you want to clean your area since the ones they give you as you board are so tiny. The flights to HNL and to JFK were both full! I guess I’m not the only one with travel fever! I wiped down the seat area including arm rest and trays and sat down for my first flight in over a year.

I had a bunch of miles so I upgraded our seats on our Hawaiian Airlines HNL-JFK flight and so this long flight was comfortable and relaxing. We started off with some bubbly but instead of macadamia nuts, Hawaiian Airlines now serves their prepackaged snack mix. Our dinner by Chef Dell Valdez from Vein at Kakaako was a Yukari (shiso/salt) Panzanella salad with soy balsamic vinaigrette, Chicken Shisomboca with soy yuzu caper jus and fried rice style orzo pasta, and dessert was a yummy chocolate haupia crunch cake. The food was fine but the star of the flight is being able to stretch out on lie-flat seats on this long flight. A future blog post will take you into day 1 of our NYC weekend. Living Hilo Style in NYC.