Aloha...Hawaii Day 8...

I did not look forward to this day! I did not want to leave this paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I don't know why vacations and visits with family always have to have a "last day!" But, alas, our last day has come and we must say good-bye to this beautiful place that has blessed us with so many wonderful adventures and memories that will last a lifetime.

For some reason, our flight did not correspond with Billy and Anna's flight, but we all had to go to the airport at the same time. We got up early, ate a minimal breakfast consisting of whatever was left over in the fridge or the cupboards, got ourselves packed and ready to make the trek to the airport. The traffic in Kailua was horrible! More and more folks were arriving daily in preparation for the upcoming Iron Man Triathalon. More and more skinny people on bicycles and in swim suits and jogging attire. All the way to the airport, we saw them bicycling along the side of the road or running somewhere.

The first thing we needed to do when we arrived at the airport was to check in our wonderful rental car. It had served us well and given us a good ride. It was interesting to note that when we picked up the car, the lot was full of cars ready to be rented. But today, the lot was practically empty! All those athletes, I suppose!

The shuttle dropped us off at the airport and we waited around for a half hour or more, waiting for our plane to come so we could board it. Billy and Anna's flight wasn't for another hour and a half. Poor guys! They had to wait in all that heat.





With a reluctant step, I made my way to our waiting area when our flight was called. We said our good-byes with hugs and kisses and tears, and left Billy and Anna sitting in the main part of the airport while we went to our gate. Saying good-bye always brings tears. I really, really don't like them!


Once aboard the plane, we could concentrate on a very long flight home. I got to have the window seat, so Dean handed me the camera and I took some pictures of the airport, our lift off, and the islands that we passed on our way to Honolulu. We tried to guess which island was which, but it's so hard to tell when you are up above them looking down! They were a pretty sight, however.





When Honolulu and the island of Oahu was in sight, I felt a thrill, as I recognized many of the landmarks that I was seeing. There was Diamond Head and the huge Veterans Cemetery within the crater; there was the beautiful white-sand beaches with the tall hotels lining the edges of them; there was the crystal blue Pacific Ocean licking the shores of those same beaches. I craned to see if I could see the USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor, but it must have been on the other side of the plane.


We only had a short lay-over in Honolulu, but we couldn't really go anywhere, so we just made ourselves comfortable and waited for our flight home. I kept myself busy texting my kids, saying "Aloha" and that we were on our way home -- reluctantly!

Our flight home was uneventful, but very long. We ate a pretty good dinner and watched a movie, "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock. I really liked that movie. I always seem to like the movies that Sandra Bullock is in. She can be so funny.

We arrived safely in Portland about 9 p.m. and then had to collect our luggage and ride the Max Train to Dean's cousin's house in Gresham. By the time we got to the station near her house, it was quite late and she was very tired! She had been waiting for an hour for us -- our plane was a half hour late!

Ah, but the end of a wonderful journey always makes one very tired! We have so much to reminisce about over the coming weeks and months. In fact, it has taken me a month to write this entire travelogue, so I have been reliving it over and over again as I write. Wish I was still there!

Back to Hawaii...Day 7...

Today was a wonderful day to go flying. And that is exactly what Dean and I did, while Billy and Anna stayed in town and caught up on some much needed rest. We got up early and headed to the airport to catch a tour plane that would fly us over nearly the entire island. It was an amazing flight!

We started out flying south, over coffee bean fields, huge lava flows, and amazing views of the southwest coastline. We were seeing from the air what we drove over on the ground just a few days earlier. What a beautiful sight. We got to see Hualalai, the northernmost volcano and the oldest one that sits to the east of Kailua-Kona. It's interesting because there are always clouds surrounding the mountains -- they create their own weather.

As we neared the southern tip of Hawaii, we could see a great view of Mauna Loa, or "Long Mountain." Then, as we rounded the southern tip and headed east, the steam pouring out of Kilauea volcano became visible and looking toward the coast, we could see the steam coming from the fissures in the earth and then a huge amount of steam where lava was meeting the ocean. We couldn't see the red lava flow like we had from the boat at dawn on Saturday morning, but it was impressive none-the-less.



We then headed north to the northern part of the island. We sort of by-passed Hilo, as it seems to always be under clouds and rains there a lot. As we continued north, we could see Mauna Kea and the huge telescopes up on top. Quite a different view from the one we had there on Friday.

Flying further north, the huge Parker Cattle ranch came into view and the "fingers" of rain forest that stretched toward the ocean. It was in stark contrast to the gray and black of the old lava flows that dominate the western side of the island. It was beautiful. There were many, many waterfalls in this area and some of the country was so remote that the only way in and out was by back country backpacking. Our pilot flew us over a waterfall that he had hiked to to go swimming in the pool at the bottom of the fall. It was breathtaking.


We flew over the relatively new town of Waimea, and Dean made a mental note to drive back there later. This part of the island isn't that far from where we are staying. Continuing our flight west now, we approached the north-western shoreline and then continued south to the Kona airport. Our pilot pointed out several of the big hotels complexes that line the north-western shore. He also pointed out some beautiful white sand beaches.


Back on land, we had a chance to reflect on what we had just seen and decided to take a nice, quiet walk on the Temple grounds back in Kona. It didn't take a very long time to find it, as the nice girl at the "Del Sol" shop in town told us how to get there! She was LDS and she and her husband were runnning the shop, which is a Sandy, Utah company. Small World.


The Temple grounds were beautiful. It was closed, as they were doing some work on the inside of it. There was lumber everywhere near the front entrance. We walked, sat down on a nice bench and just filled our spirits with the sacredness of these grounds. Visiting Temples is my favorite thing to do. It took me back to our honeymoon trip to New Zealand, when Dean talked our driver into taking a side trip to visit the New Zeland Temple near Aukland. I will never forget that act of kindness.


After visiting the Temple, we drove back to pick up the kids and headed north to the beautiful white sand beaches we had heard about. On the way, we stopped at a wonderful shopping center to purchase lots and lots of fun gifts to bring home. The beach was beautiful. We stayed there for about an hour, soaking up the sun, and cooling off in the wonderful water -- until -- Dean got stung by jelly fish! Then, they closed the beach to swimming! What a bummer.
We packed up then, and continued our journey north to visit the Pu'ukahola Heiau National Historic Site. There is a huge rock structure there, built by slaves for King Kamehameha as a "Temple". All of those rocks were hauled by hand and handed up the hill via a line of workers handing them one rock at a time along the line and placed at the top. I cannot imagine such a feat! Much like the Pyramids in Egypt, I suppose!

After we left the site, we drove to Waimea and toured around the little town. Dean wants to come back some day and stay there. It doesn't have so much tourist traffic. Driving home, we caught some beautiful sunsets.

Ah! The perfect ending to a perfect day. Tomorrow, we fly home! It will be a sad day.