If you're going to check luggage in...

...you might as well max it out on the scale, don't you think? I was slightly over 50# when I initially finished packing my suitcase, so I removed a 2# bag of Hawaiian rock salt and placed it into my carry-on luggage. A wise decision, it turns out, as seen in the photo below.

But the story doesn't end there.

You see, that bag of salt looked an awful lot like a bag of plastic explosives or fluids on the x-ray machine. So as I was going through security check, it got flagged and I had to wait there for about 10 minutes.

Nothing serious or anything. I was talking story with the TSA guys about the cost difference of Hawaiian and Asian foodstuffs between Hawaii and Oregon. Even though there are multiple Asian food stores here, the prices of these foods are much cheaper in Hawaii.

This is the opposite for other, generic foodstuffs. A dozen large eggs are easily $5. Bread is at least $3, even the cheap ones. Meat is killer, as is fresh fruit that doesn't come from the islands.

I recouped the $25 check-in baggage fee, easily. Half of that was absorbed by the rock salt and the Costco-sized bag of poi.

Mmm...food from Hawaii.