Glad your trip didn't do you in. Now you know that ice, both on your back and in a glass help a lot... when you go to Hawaii, see if you can find some of those cold pacs that have the chemical reaction. You break them or shake them and they get cold??? Bring a lot of them with you and use often. They might just do the trick.
About leaving a teen-age son at home alone
. Can't help you with that one. Damned both ways.
Happy flying, Dale