Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened! Dr. Seuss

"Brain Dump" is a strategy I used with my kids at school. It was a way of keeping memories ( or important ideas) to be referred  to later. Just list words or phrases that evoke a memory.

Here is our Hawaii stream of thought!

Oahu

Wrangler Jeep
Honolulu, Waikiki
Scott, Kip, Sofia, Lois and Jay. Party of 10
Loft bedroom
Big waves
Coarse sand that looks like Panko breading on your skin
Surf competition
Hang ten
Wave surfing
Bathing Suits filled with sand
Pearl Harbor
Diamond Head
Kathy/ Hawaiian food
8k Road race
Wild Chickens walking around with the other birds
Turtle Bay
Food trucks
White cat
Garlic shrimp
Shave ice
Pacific isle apples
String bikinis
Bikes with big tires
Riding in the rain
Seal
Wild boar on the side of the road
Moan-ning!
Banyan trees
Vodka
Sippy cup
Helicopter crash
Who's lost???
Overweight suitcases

Mauiu

Kona coffee
Condo on the beach
Listening to the waves at night
Happy hour Mai tais
Beach Bums Restaurant
Dylan the waiter... dude!
Whale watch
Hikes
Road to Hana... scary-ass turns
Beach days
Broken toe
Running along the beach
Sand sand and more sand
Broken blender and umbrella
Yay for washer and dryer!
Shopping
Hello..ha!
Sarongs
Bamboo trees
Nice restaurants
Eating fish we never heard of
Calamari
Big lips
Brush fire
Watching whale breaches from the lanai
Jumping on the beach
Shadow jumps
Lighthouse sunrise
Mamas
Lou's first (and second) manhattans
Rock and Brew (truly the best and most intoxicating Mai Tail!)
Serendipity
Airport access road
Full moon

How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon? Dr. Seuss January 24

 

bob discovers his ideal man cave!

 

Sunday, January 24th
Our last day! Usually at the end of a vacation I am ready to get back to home and friends. While we certainly did miss everyone, there is no doubt that we could have easily stayed!

Didn't have to check out of the condo until 11 so there was some serious packing going on until then. Some anxiety was in the air about weight limits and luggage but we did our best.  Our plan was to check out at 11, head to the airport, check our luggage, and spend the day beach hopping. Unfortunately when we got to the airport we found out that the Air Canada desk did not open until 2 hers. before our 11:45 pm flight! We were able to weigh our luggage though and found out that the Cannata luggage was over so some creative  rearranging took place. (once again, my over packing paid off since I had packed two tote bags that they were able to use to rearrange their things!) You're welcome!!😅

Back in the car (with two suitcases crammed into the back seat with us) and we were off for a day of beach hopping! So Kari and I couldn't see each other or feel our arms. It's still Hawaii baby! We were in search of black sand beaches.  Several of the beaches we went to weren't named but of the ones that were, We went Polo beach, Mokena State Park, Big Beach (little beach was listed as a nude beach but "unfortunately" we didn't find it! ) Oneloa beach, Pau Olay (winding road)  Ahihi Kina Natural Area Preserve, and  Kanahena beach (where we found some black sand and the man cave in the photos above. The sand we found was course salt and pepper, more tiny pebble like than sand.  Now our sand collections of Hawaii sand was complete! (calamity if the weight of the sand put us over 50 lb.!!) lunch was at Starbucks and snacks were from our favorite ABC store.  We went back to our favorite sunset spot on Kalama Beach Park for our last Hawaii sunset and dinner at the Palo Fish Market. never enough seafood!! These beaches  were all very different from the ones we'd been to previously as they were all covered with black volcanic rocks and boulders. Some serious toe damage could be done here!

wild chickens walking around like any bird

 

 

toe damage alert!

 

 

We enjoyed the full moon and reluctantly went to the airport. All 4 pieces of luggage weighed in between 48-50 lb. (one of the Cs's luggage was 50.4 but the lady just rolled her eyes and let it go! Success!! The fact that B and K carried about 50 lbs in carry on between them went unnoticed! There were some hrs. to kill at the airport and a few more shops so... more carry on! The confiscated passport did not turn out to be a problem. Again, Nexus turned out to be our friend. I've grown found of Lou so I'm glad I got to keep him!

Our flight left at 11:45. The flight wasn't full so J & L got an extra seat between them. Not much sleeping happened. We had just enough time in Vancouver to run to our next gate and board. Not a lot of sleeping on that flight either although, again the flight wasn't full so we had some extra seats.  They don't  offer  any food on any of the flights any more. What's the world coming to??? Mary Ann picked us up in Toronto, and we got to see her new puppy before moving on. We dropped B & K off in Buffalo and got back to Rochester about 7:45 PM.

It was a long day and a half of travel to mark the end of an unbelievable trip. 🌊🌅✈🌋🌟🌛☀🌄 Aloha Hawaii.  A hui hou! (until we meet again)

 

 

Saturday, January 23
Got up early to watch the sunrise. Lou ran up and met us. Beautiful sunrise! We stayed to watch the whales.

saw lots of whales but got really excited when we spotted what we thought were two whales who were repeatedly waving their pecks at us. We proved we were truly from Mayberry when we realized we had been watching the fins of 2 snorkels!😝

We had breakfast at Beach Bums. ( no Dylan) we did a little more shopping.

Sarongs. We blend!

 

Spent the day on the beach!

Went to see the sunset and dinner at Kiehi

 

Why fit in When you were born to stand out?" 1/22

Friday, January 22
Morning Run/ early swim on the beach
Drive to Lahaina which is an historic old town which at one time was  the capital of Hawaii.its a beautiful oceanfront village with cute little shops, restaurants and galleries. We had a bit of a delay getting there because the road was closed again because of the brush fire. We ended up having a bit of lunch at The Blue Moon in Kihei. We shopped once we got to Lahaina and then we ate at Kemos. We watched a gorgeous sunset from our outside table. Another day in paradise!

You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights! 1/21

Thursday January 21
It was a drizzly morning. Took a hike in the Iao State Park. Short but scenic. It features the famous Iao  Needle.  It is a 2,250 Ft high basalt core rock which has survived eons of water carving it into the shape it is today. (the sign actually said "phallic like structure")
It is also the sight of one of the bloodiest battles. Sign stated  "corpses filled the stream".


the needle

must have been a lot of corpses!!

more up!

channeling Tarzan

We drove to the Town of Wailuku.  Had lunch in a little coffee shop. The sun came out again so we went back to hang on the beach at the condo. The water was delightful!  to our left we saw  a brush fire. Helicopters went back and forth carrying water. It ended up smoldering for days and tied  up traffic on the only road in that direction off and on.
We had dinner at cafe o'Lei at the golf course. Good seafood, good drinks.

golf course

         

Did a little shopping at the only Walmart we saw the entire trip. Ruth the cashier gave us tips on places to go. She wrote them right on our receipt. Once again, we ended the day with drinks on the lanai. We may have been a bit loud today. The peel in the condo beneath us walked out a few times and shot us a few looks. 😇

view from the lanai

white rice was big!

 



Adults are obsolute children. Dr. Suess

Wednesday, January 20th
Today was a low key beach day

morning run
 

yup... it's a tattoo
 

 

Happy hour at Beach Bums. Who knew you could drink so many Mai Tais!🌊😋