Aloha Vacation, part 2

   We watched a little football that morning (Cowboys lost again), but mostly took it easy since my sunburn was hurting me; we wanted to stay out of the sun. A few weeks before we left, David made a sale to a bakery in Honolulu. He wrote down the address and we decided we would try to go there. We took the free trolley to the end of it’s line, and figured it couldn’t be more than a couple blocks down the road, so we walked. And kept walking. The numbers were not shrinking fast enough, but we kept walking. We kept walking in the direct sun as we were sweating in the humidity. As we got closer, I had a troubling thought- maybe they’re closed on Sunday. We had lost track of what day it was since we were on vacation, and we just laughed when after walking for 30 minutes we found the bakery closed.  We quickly turned around and started the trek back- this time on a different street that was shaded. We decide to take a break and see a movie since we remembered walking past the movie theatre. That’s something we haven’t gotten to do at home in far too long, so it was a nice break. We sat in the front row, enjoyed RED, and enjoyed cooling off in the air conditioning.

   The next morning we were scheduled to take a dolphin-watching/snorkeling full-day boat tour. We woke up early and called just to find out that we missed the bus by about 30 minutes. Our email conformation didn’t tell us what time or where to meet. LUCKILY they were more than accommodating and rescheduled us for Tuesday, our last day on the island. Now we had an entire day that we had nothing planned. Dave decided to rent a car and explore the other sides of the island a little. We found a small rental place up the street from our hotel, and got a ‘deal’ on a late model Impala without hubcaps and with a bullet hole. Quality, but we didn’t expect much less for last minute and local. Our first stop was back to the bakery, since we didn’t have to walk there. I SOO wish I had gotten a picture of the delicious cupcakes we got, but I didn’t. They were perfect and worth all the trouble we went to for them. After that, we drove along the east coast of the island and enjoyed the views. We stopped at the same two beaches we did three years ago- and loved it. First we found a beach with smooth sand and clear water and we both got in and played for more than an hour. This time I lathered up in sunscreen and wore Dave’s swim shirt since I had left my recently purchased one at the hotel. I had a blast and it was nice to escape the crowds of Waikiki.

After that, we drove and found some lunch that our kids would have been proud of- McDonalds, and then headed to another beach park farther up the coast and we both got comfortable and took a nap in the grass listening to the ocean. Bliss.

  We had to have the car back before 6pm, so we headed back towards Waikiki. We got cleaned up and went out for dinner; Our goal was pizza. As we were headed down the street in search of the restaurant that we had seen earlier in the week, it started sprinkling. Quickly those sprinkles turned to full on raining, and I could hardly walk in my flip-flops. We took a break strolling through some shops, and after a few minutes it cleared enough for us to find the pizza place we were looking for.

  Our last day: We had to meet the bus at the adjacent hotel at 6:55 am, so we needed to check out bright and early since we wouldn’t be back until about 5pm. We made the bus, and started the trip to the west coast of Oahu to where the boat left from. It was more than an hours trip through traffic, and we had a few stops to make to load the bus. We were GAURANTEED to see dolphin, so I was a little excited. Okay, I was also exhausted from a busy vacation and from getting up early, but all my energy returned as we boarded the boat and took off into the ocean. It wasn’t 15 minutes later that we spotted our first pod of spinner dolphins. I figured that would be it. I was wrong! The pod of dolphins just hung out next to our boat for about 10 minutes. There were easily a dozen of them and they were showing off nicely for us. The boat moved on, and we quickly spotted another pod and they were just as eager to perform. It was amazing and so cool to see them so clearly and up so closely to us.

  We traveled about 3 miles out and were served a really nice lunch on the boat, and returned to the marina to let about 90% of the people off. The rest of us were headed back out to go snorkeling. The water was crystal clear and our snorkeling guide was feeding the fish so we had tons to look at. It was great and we were able to see lots of the reef and had a good time. A few of the other people that stayed to snorkel were from Australia and I got to use my ‘McLeods Daughter's’ knowledge to impress them. I think they thought I was funny… maybe. This time snorkeling, I had the brilliant thought to get two different size fins to give my ‘bad foot’ just a little more wiggle room so that it wasn’t sore for the rest of the day from being squished. It really was brilliant and I plan to remember it for next time. The people on the boat were great and we were very well taken care of. If you are planning a trip, I’ll look up the company name and would definitely recommend them. As we were headed back they served us all these yummy green-pineapple drink. I thought it made for a cute picture. :)

  We got back to the hotel, got a room to clean up in and made our last stop before the airport:: Puka Dogs. We saw this place featured on The Food Network and made note to stop there the next time we were in the area. The bun is toasted on the inside, then a polish sausage is put in, along with delicious sauces and different relishes. Delicious! We went twice while we were there, and will definitely return. Our only complaint was that they don’t offer sides- a plate of fries would have been perfect next to the Puka Dog, but it didn’t stop us. 

  We both took Tylenol PM for the red eye home. At the check in counter, Dave requested the bulk head/exit row and scored some serious extra leg room. It made for a manageable flight home.

  We were back to Tucson, and in our car on the highway by 10 am. We meet Sarah in Lordsburg, and could see Jenna’s smiling face before she even parked the car. I was terrified that Adam wouldn’t come to me, but he curled right up with me and David, and wouldn’t even give his Auntie Awesome a hug good-bye. Oh, It felt so good to hold our babies! We cannot thank Sarah (and her family) enough for her willingness to watch our kids. She was incredible the entire time we were vacationing at taking my calls and let me know how they were both doing (and sending picture messages when I asked for verification that they were still alive). Adam slept in her bed for the first few nights, but did about as well for her as he does at home. Jenna cannot get enough cuddles, and missed us more than any of us really expected. They had a great time playing with their cousins, and my dear sister now finds her 3 kids (and fourth that she’s still cooking) ‘easy’ and ‘quiet’.

   ** Overall, Hawaii is great. If you want a tropical, beach get away, don’t go to Oahu, or at least don’t stay in Waikiki. It’s a hugely crowded area and the streets resemble that of what some might consider NYC:: high dollar shopping, chain restaurants, every square inch developed, sky rises packed solid… Now if you plan to stay in a beach-side resort, it’s great, but the beaches are still crowded. I would easily, hands-down recommend a different part of Oahu, or we LOVED Kauai. A few of our Intuit friends spent time in Maui before coming over, and they raved about it as well. I don’t think that we will ever use our own money to vacation in Oahu in the near future at all. Dave’s brother and his family are moving there in a few months, so we might find reason to visit them in the next few years, but as just a quick stop before island hopping.