Hawaii 2026 — Errands & Prep (Passes · Cody's Flight

1Get the passes — where to go near Pasadena

Buy the $80 America the Beautiful annual pass AND get the free Access Pass in the same visit. In person = the Access Pass is free (it costs $12.50 by mail/online).

⭐ Go here first

Angeles National Forest — Main Office (Arcadia) · ~15 min from home

701 N. Santa Anita Ave, Arcadia, CA 91006 · (626) 574-5200 or (626) 574-1613 · Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–4:30 PM (closed 1:00–1:30 for lunch; closed weekends & federal holidays)

Per the official NPS pass-pickup list (updated June 12, 2026), this office carries all pass types — Access + Annual.

⚠ Call before you drive — this one has conflicting info. The official NPS list says the Arcadia office sells passes, but the Angeles Forest's own site has posted an alert saying its Arcadia HQ does not sell America the Beautiful / Adventure passes. Forest Service front desks also run out of stock. So call (626) 574-5200 first and confirm they have annual passes in stock and can issue the Access Pass that day. If they can't, use a backup below.

Backups (both confirmed, both do the annual + Access pass)

Office	Address	Drive	Phone
San Gabriel River District (Glendora)	110 N. Wabash Ave, Glendora 91741	~25 min	(626) 335-1251
LA Gateway / LA River District (San Fernando) — the one you named	12371 N. Little Tujunga Canyon Rd, San Fernando 91342	~30–35 min	(818) 899-1900

Your San Fernando address was correct — it does issue both passes. All Forest Service offices are Mon–Fri only, closed 1:00–1:30 for lunch. Skip REI (sells the annual pass but can't issue the Access Pass) and skip the Santa Monica Mountains / King Gillette visitor center (stopped selling federal passes back in 2013).

A free lifetime Access Pass is also available in person to anyone with a qualifying permanent disability — same offices, same visit. Bring a photo ID (in the pass-holder's own name) plus the required documentation. Details are in the private prep notes, not on this page.

2Cody (age 2) — flight prep

~5.5-hour LAX→Maui flight plus a short inter-island hop. Ears, headphones, and a full checklist.

Ear pressure — what actually works for a 2-year-old

Descent is the painful part, not takeoff. The goal is to keep him swallowing as the plane comes down.
Offer his straw cup or sippy plus a suckable snack or lollipop the moment descent starts. Swallowing opens the eustachian tubes and equalizes pressure.
Wake him before descent if he's napping — a sleeping toddler doesn't swallow enough to keep up with the pressure change, and wakes up in pain.
Optional: a pediatrician-confirmed dose of children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen (dosed by weight) ~30 min before descent if he's prone to ear pain. Pre-measure it and confirm the dose with his pediatrician first.
Skip "EarPlanes" filtered earplugs at age 2 — they're not recommended under ~3 (fit + choking risk).

If Cody has an active ear infection near travel day, call the pediatrician first. Flying with a full middle-ear infection can be very painful and, rarely, rupture the eardrum — the doctor may advise a decongestant plan or timing tweak.

Headphones — 2 picks (buy same-day)

Pick	Why	Price
BuddyPhones Play (volume-limited kids' headphones)	Its 75 dB "Toddler Mode" is the gentlest cap on the market — ideal for a 2-year-old's ears. Bluetooth + comes with a wired cable.	~$40–50
JBL JR310 (wired)	Cheap, durable, 85 dB safe cap. Good backup — wired means no charging and it always works with the seat-back / tablet.	~$20–30

Reality check: plenty of 2-year-olds won't keep on-ear headphones on — don't over-invest. Buy today via Target Drive-Up, Best Buy Pasadena, or Amazon Same-Day.

Long-flight checklist — the 5 that matter most

Car seat decision: if you're renting a car in Hawaii, bring his car seat (gate-check is free and it's the safest seat on the plane). Otherwise a CARES harness (FAA-approved, packs tiny) is the travel-light option. Both are FAA-approved.
Tablet loaded with OFFLINE shows + a power bank. Don't count on plane Wi-Fi. Download everything the night before.
Snacks & drinks — pack 50% more than you think, pre-portioned. Toddler liquids/pouches are allowed through TSA; just tell the agent you have them.
Pre-measured pain-relief dose (pediatrician-confirmed) + a dosing syringe, ready for the descent.
Divide-and-conquer boarding: one parent pre-boards to install the car seat/gear, the other stays at the gate letting Cody run until the last call — minimizes strapped-in time.

Also pack: full change of clothes for Cody AND a spare shirt for you/Vanessa (spills happen), extra diapers/wipes, hand sanitizer, a small blanket, and 2–3 little wrapped "surprise" toys to dole out. Try to align the flight with his nap window if you can pick timing.

3Bags, fees & cooler — Hawaiian Airlines

Tickets bought after April 10, 2026 → the current (higher) fee table applies. You have 3 ticketed passengers (you, Vanessa, Cody in his own seat), so you get three separate baggage allowances.

Checked-bag fees — per passenger, per direction (Main Cabin, LAX ↔ Hawaii)

	1st bag	2nd bag	3rd bag	4th+
Mainland (LAX ↔ HI)	$45	$55	$200	$200 ea
Inter-island (OGG ↔ HNL)	$30	$40	$50	~$50 ea

Overweight (mainland): 51–70 lbs +$100, 71–100 lbs +$200. Oversize (62–115 in) +$200. These stack on top of the base fee, so keep every bag under 50 lbs.

The bag math you asked for

The key: fees are per person. Three passengers each have their own "1st bag." So if your 3 checked bags are one bag per person, all three are billed as a "1st bag."

Your 3 flights: LAX → Maui (mainland), Maui → Oahu (inter-island, one-way only), Oahu → home (mainland). So you pay mainland bag fees twice (there and back) and inter-island fees once.

Scenario	Mainland (×2: out + home)	Inter-island (×1)	Total
3 checked bags (a 1st bag for each of you)	2 × $135 = $270	3 × $30 = $90	$360
Adding a 4th bag (a 2nd bag for one person)	2 × $55 = +$110	+$40	+$150

👉 Dropping the 4th bag saves you about $150 total across all three flights ($110 on the two mainland legs + $40 on the inter-island hop). A 4th checked bag stings because it's counted as someone's second bag ($55 mainland / $40 inter-island), not another cheap 1st bag.

Possible: your first bags could be FREE. Back in your 2025 texts, Ebner said he'd book "under my account, because then we all get first checked luggage free." An Alaska/Atmos or Hawaiian World Elite Mastercard waives the first checked bag for the cardholder + up to 6 guests on the same reservation. Ask Ebner whether the booking carries that benefit — if it does, all three of your 1st bags are $0 and this whole fee question goes away.

Carry-on rules

1 carry-on: 22" × 14" × 9" (45 linear inches), roughly 25 lb limit + 1 personal item that fits under the seat.
Cody, in his own seat, gets his own carry-on + personal item too — so as a family you have up to 6 free cabin pieces.
The diaper bag is free and doesn't count. Stroller + car seat gate-check free.
That's a lot of free space — leaning on carry-ons is exactly how you avoid that pricey 4th checked bag.

What to buy

Carry-on that maxes the limit

Travelpro Maxlite 5 (22")

~$140. Very light, so the ~25 lb allowance goes to your stuff, not the bag. Fits 22×14×9 exactly. Travelpro / Amazon Basics / Away are all solid.

Cooler — carry it on

IceMule Classic (packable backpack cooler)

~$65–100. Collapses flat. Bring it empty through TSA (empty coolers are fine; frozen-solid ice packs are allowed) and fill it after security or at your destination.

Cooler-inside-a-bag option

Costco Titan Deep Freeze, folded

Packs flat inside a big checked duffel — a Patagonia Black Hole 70L (~$160) — so the cooler rides free inside your checked allowance instead of taking a cabin slot.

Cooler strategy in one line: a soft collapsible cooler (IceMule) can travel as one of your free carry-ons/personal items empty, then get filled in Hawaii — that's the cheapest way to have a cooler there without adding a checked bag.