Monday morning came early, but not as early as Sunday. Once we were ready, we walked up to IHOP for breakfast, then returned to the hotel to pick up the car. The major plan for the day was to drive to Diamond Head Crater and then hike to the top.
When we arrived at the parking area we were turned away because it was full, but given directions back to a nearby community college where we could park, then walk up to the entrance. Sure, we thought, as long as we are here to hike, what’s a little more distance?
Once we returned to the entrance, we began the steady climb to the top. It wasn’t a difficult route as hikes go (it’s known for its accessibility), but we did have to stop periodically to catch our breaths and get some water. We were rewarded at the top with a spectacular view.
And then we came back down. A much easier hike than going up for certain!
After returning to the hotel, Heather went out to do a little more souvenir shopping, while I headed across the road to the famous Waikiki Beach.
Now, I am not the world’s strongest swimmer, and I seem to have this irrational fear of drowning, but I was not about to travel all the way to Hawaii and
not swim in the Pacific Ocean! So I found myself wading out into the gentle surf and riding the swells with the best of them. Of course, I rarely allowed myself to be carried to where I couldn’t touch the bottom if needed!
After my oceanic experience, I stopped by the pool of our sister hotel (our hotel’s pool was undergoing maintenance that day, so we had passes to the much swankier pool across the street). It was a beautiful setting, and there were people wandering around offering me ice cream bars (now you know I’m easily amused).
Soon it was time to return to the hotel to clean up because Heather and I were meeting two ladies from her program at their hotel down the street for a luau. It was nice to see Judy and Jean again and we were very interested in seeing a luau. It was a fun evening, the food was fabulous, and our drinks were pretty (and yummy).
With Tuesday came our final day in Hawaii. In the morning we ventured out to find the Honolulu Hard Rock Café and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. so that we could add to our collections started in Kona. Then we returned to the hotel to finish packing and check out. Leaving our bags with the porter, we walked up to the Cheesecake Factory where we were meeting a friend of mine from high school for lunch.
After a delicious lunch, complete with cheesecake, and time catching up with Karen (and making faces at her adorable little boy, Nick), we walked back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and our rental car. It was time to head for the airport.
I dropped Heather off at the terminal with our luggage, then attempted to return the rental car. I followed the signs to rental car return, but, unfortunately, our particular rental car company wasn’t listed on the signs. After making a few extra laps around the airport and several wrong turns, I finally found myself back where I had rented the car in the first place and was able to get the shuttle back to the terminal.
As we waited in line to check in, we discovered that the time of our flight had been changed… not by much, only ten minutes, but it was a good thing we were there in plenty of time. We checked our bags (Heather’s had gained too much weight during the trip so she had to pay extra) and looked at our boarding passes to discover that we would be much closer on this flight than on the way to Honolulu. I was directly behind Heather. This proved to be convenient as we could actually communicate during the flight.
And before we knew it, we were boarding our flight and taking off for Minneapolis. No delays this time and a smooth ride the entire way there. Neither Heather nor I could sleep though, which made our arrival at 6:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. in Hawaii) a little miserable. We checked the departure board and found that, while my flight was leaving from the very next gate, Heather had a bit of a walk, so we hugged and said our goodbyes. Less than an hour later I was headed for Grand Rapids.
After my arrival at 9:15 a.m. (eastern time), I found Mom and went to baggage claim, hopeful that my bags had made the entire journey, and they had. I am, however, still cursing the moron who parked his baggage cart right behind me so that I fell over it and bruised my shin badly when I turned around. If he had only apologized, I would not be cursing him.
And then it was time to see my babies again. Copper chewed me out for about three minutes straight upon her release from her crate, but then she was ready to go sniff out some cats again. She and Coal both stuck to me for a four hour nap this afternoon, though. I don’t think they’ll let me out of their sight again until we are home, which won’t be until tomorrow. I’m not about to undertake a two hour drive at this point.
Labels: Aloha, Coal, Copper
