Hawaii - Part 6 - The Final Day

We were in the car the whole day before our last day so we knew we wanted to relax a bit before heading home. We decided to look at the checkout rules the night before and saw that check out time was 11 am. Our flight didn't leave until 6 pm. Oops. Rob was able to sweet talk a variety of people and they allowed us to check out at 2 which meant we could head down to the beach. It was another beautiful day and we made sure to soak up all the sun, sand and water we could.



The boys went out for a final boogie board.


I got to dig my toes into the sand one last time.


Rob and Kasper dug a big hole.






Carol had read somewhere that the proper thing to do with leis once you are done with them is to remove them from their string and release them back into the environment. We unstrung all the flowers from all of our luau leis and returned them to the ocean as we said a few words vowing to return to Hawaii.









Bye bye Maui!


It was totally cloudy as we got to the airport. I think Hawaii was sad to see us go.


Our flight from Maui to Oahu was delayed about an hour but luckily we had scheduled it plenty in advance. Unfortunately it meant we had to run straight to our gate because they were already boarding and we didn't really get anything to eat! Rob, Kasper and I boarded first because we need "extra time". Once we were on board, we asked the flight attendant what food was available for purchase. Apparently since it was an overnight flight they didn't offer food! Cue the panic as we realized we didn't have dinner. Rob actually ran off the plane (that sounds like it was fast but he had to go against traffic and get out) to find something to eat!!! I was pretty nervous he might not make it back on! He was one of the last people on the plane and came bearing a little pizza and a fried chicken dinner! Haha! Kasper had some food which helped to calm him down. Same with the rest of us. The flight left Oahu around 9 pm so I was hoping Kasper would just sleep the whole flight. He fell asleep right away but woke up with about an hour left. He was so tired but refused to relax so Rob walked him up and down the aisle until we landed. We got off the plane in Seattle and it turned out I forgot a bag in the overhead compartment but they wouldn't let me get back on and get it. Then Kasper was being a fussy little boy who wanted to push his stroller around the gate and bump into people walking by. I was fed up. As luck would have it, we turned around and immediately got back on the same plane. Rob had enough time to grab us some Seattle's Best coffee and muffins before we were boarding again. Kasper was DONE and when we finally got into our seats and I was about to explode in exhausted frustration, he laid down and fell asleep. Homeboy slept from wheels up to wheels down and was still sleeping as Rob carried him off the plane in Minneapolis. It helped us all relax from the hectic red-eye travel we had just been through, that's for sure! We got home around lunch time and forced ourselves to stay awake until bedtime to get back into the time zone. We did pretty well but Kasper did fall asleep once. There was nothing we could do. So we put stuff on him and took pictures.




Hahahaha! He was OUT! We woke him up for dinner then it was early to bed for us. I think it worked because there was no jet lag for us coming home! We fought it for days when we got to Hawaii so I'm thankful we were spared.

We had a FABULOUS time in Hawaii and are so thankful we have such fun and willing travel companions in Steve and Carol. We're looking forward to the next adventure!